Magic Effect - "Light" Archetype

[robotized]

From what I understand, you can select a Light from Assoc. Item 1 and Art Object as Hit Effect Art. This art object will be the source of the light. I did a quick test with enchantment on a helmet and couldn't get any light to show.

Does it work in Fallout 4? Has anyone tested this and do you know what node is required inside the nif of the art object?

[hereami]

As i remember, Immolation critical effect has Light archetype, so it works. Just an example to look at if nothing else.

Edited March 3, 2024 by hereami

[robotized]

It's enough to get me started. Thank you kindly .

I'm hoping to get this method working and potentially use it for headlamps/flashlights. Well, if not for the character, then at least for NPCs(if the lights don't work/can't be attached in 1st person). I'm pretty sure, beside a light attachment node, the nif of the art object can include a glow mesh. This way you can edit the glow mesh however you like, create your own light and choose it separately, without worrying about IDs for the Addon Nodes.

[robotized]

Update - What I've learned so far about attaching the light with constant magic effect to self. Not what I hoped for, but I will experiment more later.

• The magnitude of the magic effect doesn't matter.
• The only important flag for the magic effect is "FX Persist".
• The light doesn't work in 1st person.
• BSX flags in the nif are important. There are some hidden ones, you can't select from the menu, you have to type manually 2048.
• You can attach the light to a bone with NiStringExtraData.
• The only effect node successfully working so far is NiPointLight.
• NiPointLight is working mostly with omnidirectional lights.
• Using spotlight type of light with NiPointLight has mixed results. If I attach it to Head_Skin bone, there is no light, only lens flare if available. If I attach it to HEAD bone, the spotlight is displayed as omnidirectional in the game.
• NiSpotLight refuses to work. NiDirectionalLight works, but it's weird.

[LarannKiar]

55 minutes ago, robotized said:

Update - What I've learned so far about attaching the light with constant magic effect to self. Not what I hoped for, but I will experiment more later.

• The magnitude of the magic effect doesn't matter.
• The only important flag for the magic effect is "FX Persist".
• The light doesn't work in 1st person.
• BSX flags in the nif are important. There are some hidden ones, you can't select from the menu, you have to type manually 2048.
• You can attach the light to a bone with NiStringExtraData.
• The only effect node successfully working so far is NiPointLight.
• NiPointLight is working mostly with omnidirectional lights.
• Using spotlight type of light with NiPointLight has mixed results. If I attach it to Head_Skin bone, there is no light, only lens flare if available. If I attach it to HEAD bone, the spotlight is displayed as omnidirectional in the game.
• NiSpotLight refuses to work. NiDirectionalLight works, but it's weird.

Nice work! 

As for the 1st person, did you attach the node to the first person body mesh? Or have you tried worn "armors" shown in 1st person?

I remember I experimented on the Pip-Boy light node for a script extender project, basically to see how the game code applies the "Pip-Boy glow" to the node's color property based on the color slider in the PauseMenu. (I could read/edit certain NetImmerse data through Papyrus but only in very specific scenarios, haven't made progress since). I think the node in question was BSLight, BGS' own niobject. Maybe you could try that, or BSFadeNode.

Edit: sorry, BSLight itself isn't in NifSkope, I meant BSTriShape >> BSLightningShaderProperty / BSEffectShaderProperty.

Edited March 3, 2024 by LarannKiar

[robotized]

All experiments are done with override of the Army Helmet, with added Enchantment. I tried NamedNode&Camera for the extra data. This attaches the light to the camera in 3rd person only, behind the player. I tried putting the same art object in a visual effect and played it with script from the same magic effect. Even if I enable flags in the visual effect, it's not working. The light is attached only to the art object selected as Hit Effect Art in the magic effect.

The light is attached to NiPointLight or similar effect node, though NiPointLight seems to be the only properly working. I think it's possible to attach the light to a regular NiNode, but you can't do any translation or rotation, while you can do it for NiPointLight. I don't think BSTriShape with BSLightningShaderProperty / BSEffectShaderProperty will make any difference for the light.

Where is this 1st person body mesh? Does it have any bones like HEAD or Head_Skin?  Edit: Actually, never mind. Since the spotlight type of light is not working, there is no reason to search for a way to attach it in 1st person(if possible at all, I'm guessing it's not).

 

Also, another Update from my experiments:

• Beside omnidirectional lights, NiPointLight(or rather archetype "Light") works with Shadow Hemisphere. Edit: I'm not sure if the light is supposed to look like it does. I mean, it just looks like full sphere, but one half is a bit darker. I think it should be only hemisphere, light on one side, nothing on the other. But I haven't got experience with lights before, that's why I said I'm not sure about that.
• Any translation and rotation to the light is done by editing the NiPointLight. Problem is that the NiPointLight node is not moving in the nif, only in the game you can see the result.

[robotized]

Although I'm disappointed the Light archetype doesn't work with spotlights and in 1st person, I'm thinking it's a good idea to post this info as modder resource/tutorial with screenshots and stuff. I mean, it could still be useful for certain situations/applications. If I find the time that is.

And another small Update from experimentation:

• As far as I can tell, flickering lights don't work. But animated nifs as art objects do, so long as they are triggered. For the Immolation magic effect, in the nif the animation is moving the node around, which sort of imitates flicker of the fire.
• You can attach the light only once. You can create a lot of NiPointLight nodes, but the light gets attached to only one of them, perhaps the first one. So if you want to use the same light more than once on the same character, you'll need several magic effects with the "light" archetype.

[hereami]

Hm, curious, usage turns out overcomplicated as usual. Could Casting Light/Art be used somehow to emulate handheld light, it's said to be intended for hands specifically, although "casting time" concept is likely obsolete since Skyrim and all spells are instead thrown instantly without any possibility of preparations?

ps. https://skyrimck.uesp.net/wiki/Magic_Effect , should've mentioned earlier... That's the only place i know having at least some descriptions for Archetype. Might be worth updating with good findings? Beth.net wiki appears to be in deep coma at all.

Edited March 7, 2024 by hereami

[robotized]

Tested it, doesn't work, at least for constant effect on self. I think this is rather something left from Skyrim.

Considering the limitations, maybe it is a bit complicated. I can think of some usage for this. Like for example if you want to attach light to NPC, like the lantern on the pack brahmin. Or if you have glow effect on apparel, you can add light for illumination to represent that glow, with the right radius and color for the light.