[LE] How do I make characters play certain animations while speaking with the player?

[seanaes100]

Hello, rookie modder here.

I'm trying to create a mod that makes the actor play certain animations while engaging in dialogue with the player. (More specifically, I want the actor to play magic casting animations while talking to me.)

I know about the 'idle animations' in the dialogue box of the Creation Kit, but the idle animations I set there doesn't seem to play when the actor is talking with the player. (It does play when I create scenes with them though.) Moreover, there doesn't seem to be a working 'magic casting' animation among the idle list. (there is one idle named 'IdleMagic01' but that seems to do nothing.)

In short, this is what I'm trying to fix:

A dialogue between the player and Brelyna where Brelyna is supposed to make spell casting animations

Do I need a script to force animations to the speaker? If so, how do I create them? (Perhaps a link to a tutorial or similar mods I can refer to?)

Also, is there a way I can preview the various animations? Especially, some animations never seem to pause, like the wounded animations, and I'd like to know which animations do that or not beforehand.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[maxarturo]

When you record an npc's response, where you write the subtitles, there is the "Idle Animations", from the drop down menu you can choose which animation will play when the npc's dialogue response in "That" recorded line.

[seanaes100]

When you record an npc's response, where you write the subtitles, there is the "Idle Animations", from the drop down menu you can choose which animation will play when the npc's dialogue response in "That" recorded line.

Yes, I use that feature a lot when I'm creating scenes. The thing is, 1. they don't seem to run properly when I put them in a normal dialogue with the player, and 2. There doesn't seem to be a working spellcasting animation among the list. Or am I missing something? (And is there a way to preview the animations in the list?)

[Sovrath]

 

When you record an npc's response, where you write the subtitles, there is the "Idle Animations", from the drop down menu you can choose which animation will play when the npc's dialogue response in "That" recorded line.

Yes, I use that feature a lot when I'm creating scenes. The thing is, 1. they don't seem to run properly when I put them in a normal dialogue with the player, and 2. There doesn't seem to be a working spellcasting animation among the list. Or am I missing something? (And is there a way to preview the animations in the list?)

 

 

 

There is a wand waving animation though it's rather quick. It's true that some animations don't seem to work.

 

There is a preview of animations "somewhere" in the popup window for when you make packages. One of the tabs (and I'm not sure if you have to choose a particular thing) seems to offer a preview of animations. I've stubmbled upon it a few times.

 

I just can't talk you to it at the moment.

 

It could be a button or feature on one of the tabs but it's not the tab where you define the package.

[maxarturo]

1) The animations that exists inside the idle 'drop down menu' are limited to dialogue expressions and the tool has 1 major flaw:

a) The dialogue line (audio line) must not be smaller (in time length) than that of the animation assigned to play for that dialogue line.

b) The following behavior is closely related and attached to the above:

- If you have animations assigned to each dialogue lines in succession, the animation must finish before the dialogue line (audio line) for the next animation to fire correctly.

If an animation overlaps another in the 'dialogue animation sequence', the animation that gets overlaped will not play.

And according with the length of the animation that overlaps the next, it may even cause the 2 next animations following to not play at all.

2) In order to make an npc to cast a spell (to any target npc) while in or after dialogue with the player or any npc, you need to utilize the 'Scene Creation' tool that is inside the 'Quest Object'.

This is done inside a scene with sequences and with 'cast magic' packages that are handled by the quest's scene creation tool.

As for preview animations:

I've no idea my friend, I've never bother trying to find an animation preview tool. The animation names are pretty straight forwards so that I would also need and a preview.

Edited December 9, 2022 by maxarturo

[seanaes100]

 

2) In order to make an npc to cast a spell (to any target npc) while in or after dialogue with the player or any npc, you need to utilize the 'Scene Creation' tool that is inside the 'Quest Object'.

This is done inside a scene with sequences and with 'cast magic' packages that are handled by the quest's scene creation tool.

 

Hmm.. So far this seems the only reliable way to implement spellcasting animations then. I did see this method works by creating such scenes between NPCs, but I haven't tried creating a scene involving the player before. I'll give it a try now.

 

Thanks, you guys are really helpful!

[seanaes100]

 

 

When you record an npc's response, where you write the subtitles, there is the "Idle Animations", from the drop down menu you can choose which animation will play when the npc's dialogue response in "That" recorded line.

Yes, I use that feature a lot when I'm creating scenes. The thing is, 1. they don't seem to run properly when I put them in a normal dialogue with the player, and 2. There doesn't seem to be a working spellcasting animation among the list. Or am I missing something? (And is there a way to preview the animations in the list?)

 

 

 

There is a wand waving animation though it's rather quick. It's true that some animations don't seem to work.

 

There is a preview of animations "somewhere" in the popup window for when you make packages. One of the tabs (and I'm not sure if you have to choose a particular thing) seems to offer a preview of animations. I've stubmbled upon it a few times.

 

I just can't talk you to it at the moment.

 

It could be a button or feature on one of the tabs but it's not the tab where you define the package.

 

 

 

Thanks for the pointers! You guys are really helpful :-)

[maxarturo]

If you want for example to create a dialogue scene where an npc is 'trying' to cast a spell but without actually casting it.

Example line:

Player: What are you doing?

Npc: I'm trying to cast a spell but I can't!

Here you can add a fragment to the beggining or the end of the dialogue line the following script line:

Debug.SendAnimationEvent(Npc, "CastSpell")

Function SendAnimationEvent(ObjectReference arRef, string asEventName) native global

https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=SendAnimationEvent_-_Debug

But since you will be doing this on a quest, then the 'npc' needs to be on an alias, and the line goes like this:

Debug.SendAnimationEvent(NpcAlias, "CastSpell")

* The name 'CastSpell' is random, I don't actually remember the names.

You can see spell casting animation names in the 'Npc Preview Window' (if I remember correctly), or in the tab:

Gameplay > Animations > Actors\Character\0_Master.hkx

Edited December 9, 2022 by maxarturo

[seanaes100]

 

If you want for example to create a dialogue scene where an npc is 'trying' to cast a spell but without actually casting it.

Example line:

Player: What are you doing?

Npc: I'm trying to cast a spell but I can't!

Here you can add a fragment to the beggining or the end of the dialogue line the following script line:

Debug.SendAnimationEvent(Npc, "CastSpell")

Function SendAnimationEvent(ObjectReference arRef, string asEventName) native global

https://www.creationkit.com/index.php?title=SendAnimationEvent_-_Debug

But since you will be doing this on a quest, then the 'npc' needs to be on an alias, and the line goes like this:

Debug.SendAnimationEvent(NpcAlias, "CastSpell")

* The name 'CastSpell' is random, I don't actually remember the names.

You can see spell casting animation names in the 'Npc Preview Window' (if I remember correctly), or in the tab:

Gameplay > Animations > Actors\Character\0_Master.hkx

 

 

Thank you! This is really helpful ^__________^ b