Whats the easiest way to make a NPC glow?

[BlueClaw]

I wanted to try to make some glowing giant insects but I'm not sure how to do it. I managed to make a scorpion glow using the glowingone actor effect but for some reason the same effect on the scorpion wouldn't work on giant ants. Plus I see no way of changing the color or brightness. Is there any other way of making creatures shed light, I mean besides duct taping a torch to their head?

[BlueClaw]

At one point I was thinking of using a permanent weapon damage effect like how an enemy glows blue when hit with a holorifle or red with a laser but I couldn't find anything like that that seemed to work. Not sure if I have to pick the right actor effect AND give it a specific condition to actually get it to appear and be permenant.

 

I know very little about modding so I was trying things like picking flame damage effects and then giving it conditions like Getdead != 1 to trigger the effect as long as the npc wasn't dead(IE Getdead=1) but I'm not even sure thats how that even work. I was kind of guessing. I'm hoping thats how it works though because then I could set it to check for life and time of day so I can make them glow only at night :)

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can give.

Edited June 17, 2013 by BlueClaw

[devinpatterson]

I wanted to try to make some glowing giant insects but I'm not sure how to do it. I managed to make a scorpion glow using the glowingone actor effect but for some reason the same effect on the scorpion wouldn't work on giant ants. Plus I see no way of changing the color or brightness. Is there any other way of making creatures shed light, I mean besides duct taping a torch to their head?

 

I don't know why it doesn't work on ants, but you can change the color by selecting the GlowingOneFXShader and changing color key 1, 2 & 3 under particle effects. They can be any color. You probably want to create at least one new glowspell unless you don't mind the glowing ones changing color when you alter their spell. If you do create new glowspells you'll have to copy and change;

GlowingOneGlowSpellScript

GlowingOneFXShader

GlowingOneGlowEffect

GlowingOneGlowSpell

 

I think Vegas Tonics has a tutorial on that showes how to chain them all together (although just copying them and linking them to the new names works fine and is fast),

 

Here is a link to a mod with fireflies I made. It uses the glowing one's effect on some bloatflies and a brighter new glowing spell on others. Might help guide you to set it up.

 

 

 

 

At one point I was thinking of using a permanent weapon damage effect like how an enemy glows blue when hit with a holorifle or red with a laser but I couldn't find anything like that that seemed to work. Not sure if I have to pick the right actor effect AND give it a specific condition to actually get it to appear and be permenant.

 

I know very little about modding so I was trying things like picking flame damage effects and then giving it conditions like Getdead != 1 to trigger the effect as long as the npc wasn't dead(IE Getdead=1) but I'm not even sure thats how that even work. I was kind of guessing. I'm hoping thats how it works though because then I could set it to check for life and time of day so I can make them glow only at night :smile:

 

I'd appreciate any help you guys can give.

In the mod for the fireflies, I have an optional one where the fireflies only glow at night or in interiors. That can ge a guide to set your conditions. But set it up in the script attached to your magic effect (MGEF). Check GlowingOneGlowEffect (MGEF) and see it has GlowingOneGlowSpellScript attached? In that script you could set conditions.

 

Here is a little esp with an extra glow spell. You can alter it's color, conditions etc without disrupting the glowing one's effect. To see it's components just search in geck for GlowingBug

[BlueClaw]

Sweet thanks a lot. I'll check out your mod out when I get home(at work atm). On the ants I'm wondering if its because I altered their actor effect values AFTER I placed them. Maybe they'll glow if I delete the originals and replace them. Like I said I know very little about modding. Pretty much just enough to be able to open geck and be dangerous. And I don't know squat about scripting, at least not yet.

 

Was just looking to fill dry canyon with giant glowing bugs for my Cosmic Bug Hunting parties lol.

 

Hm, maybe a glow gun. Something you could shoot at an actor , pick a color and impart a glow on it, or maybe a mini nuke called a chaos bomb whose explosion does no damage but imparts a random color glow effect and randomly alters the scale of everyone hit. As you can see I have more ideas than mad modding skills hehe

[BlueClaw]

On that extra glow spell. Do you apply that to a actor the same way you add a actor effect? Right click, click new and just add it from the list and then modify it? And if I save the spell under a different ID so as to not modify the original will it still work? Because honestly that sounds like it does exactly what I need done. Hell If it can do at least 3 or 4 colors that sounds perfect!

[devinpatterson]

On the ants I'm wondering if its because I altered their actor effect values AFTER I placed them. Maybe they'll glow if I delete the originals and replace them.

It shouldn't, you can edit the base form (archetype for all ants of that type) at any time, before or after you place the ref's (your specific ants)

 

Like I said I know very little about modding. Pretty much just enough to be able to open geck and be dangerous. And I don't know squat about scripting, at least not yet.

That's OK, you don't have to learn a lot, mostly just make sure "pms" is in the script, it's what starts teh glow effect (play magic shader). You'll also need to put some conditions like If isInInterior == 0, and a time comparison if you only want them to glow and night and in the dark (actually inside, but close as we come).

 

And don't sweat the geck thing, 99% of us our just newbies, trying to learn.

 

Was just looking to fill dry canyon with giant glowing bugs for my Cosmic Bug Hunting parties lol.

Sounds like a plan

 

Hm, maybe a glow gun. Something you could shoot at an actor , pick a color and impart a glow on it,

Might check out Boone's spotting perk as an example

 

or maybe a mini nuke called a chaos bomb whose explosion does no damage but imparts a random color glow effect and randomly alters the scale of everyone hit. As you can see I have more ideas than mad modding skills hehe

Sounds mighty colorful :thumbsup: We're visual creatures, and light is the canvas

 

 

On that extra glow spell. Do you apply that to a actor the same way you add a actor effect? Right click, click new and just add it from the list and then modify it?

Yep apply it hte same way, it's the same spell in essence, just a different id and shader effect.

 

And if I save the spell under a different ID so as to not modify the original will it still work? Because honestly that sounds like it does exactly what I need done. Hell If it can do at least 3 or 4 colors that sounds perfect!

If you change the id of the glowing one spell, it's still linked to the previous script, magic effect (MGEF) etc, so you have to change all 4 components I listed above;

 

GlowingOneGlowSpellScript

GlowingOneFXShader

GlowingOneGlowEffect

GlowingOneGlowSpell

 

and not just the id. They have to be linked to each other. There somewhat convoluted. Maybe a hold over from the huge trove of spells in Oblivion that are the basis for the system? So you will probably want to check that tutorial, otherwise it's probably going to be pretty rough.

 

If it turns out to be a real hassle, and you feel like you've reached an impasse, I can put together 4 (or more) separate glows for you that are easy to edit colors on and ready to add to actors.