Containers that glow when !empty...?

[davidnowlin]

I am a novice with nifskope and modding in general and I have been trying to make the wasteland a little more scavver friendly by making collectible items glow just a little (with like 15% screen) so they stick out from the background. I've gotten to the point where I know how to make them glow by changing the emissive whatever in nifskope and adding a glow map. The next step is to do that for all the hard to see items, I guess (unless someone can think of a way to do it for everything with fewer steps).

 

Anyone?

 

The other thing I'd really like to do is to get containers to stick out from the background, which is actually easier since there are fewer models to deal with and I think I can manage to make them glow, but what would be even more helpful would be to have them only glow if they have something in them. That I don't know how to do.

 

Seems like it should be doable. There is something that tells the game to display the [empty] sign in the object name when you view it in the game. Seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to have it use a glow texture when !empty, just like it shows the [empty] sign when empty. I'm not sure I'm up for it if it involves adding a script to every container in the game, but if here's a moderately easy way to make this work, I'd sure like to try it. Any suggestions?

[lostone1993]

i think for what you are asking you have to script every item to glow not use nifscope - dont know though know how to make it glow via script not nifscope havent used it

[Trueform]

I'm only a novice scripter and have much to learn, so I may be wrong, but I think what you are trying to accomplish can indeed be achieved with scripting. You'd have to make the glow effect in the GECK (possibly with the Effect Shader function under the 'special effects' tab on the main menu) and then make a script naming the effect you made. Attach the script to the item itself, it should in theory do the trick.

 

The script itself is not something I can name offhand being very new to the whole scripting scene, but go to the official GECK website and look under the P section in functions. Make a script using 'PlayMagicEffectVisuals' or 'PlayMagicShaderVisuals' and you should get the desired response with one of those functions.

 

This can be applied to containers or items, so you could make the container glow when empty or have the small items themselves glow if they are not in a container.

 

Hope I helped a little :)

[EldrickTobin]

Greetings,

 

I have 3 responses to your request...

 

Response A: If you have it... The Operation Anchorage Content has a bit of flicker added for you to see how they're doing it.

 

As you might guess Response A is "Oh you're a novice... well here's a point in the right direction." That way one day you won't even think of calling yourself a novice.

 

Response B: As you might guess from my first response it's quite possible. Anchorage adds a flickering light and a buzz to all the objects IT WANTS YOU TO PLAY WITH. And just about nothing else can be touched (no looting scrap metal... etc because they aren't necessary to the plot of the simulation in Operation Anchorage...)

 

It does this with (bare minimum) an Effect Shader, and an object script. The tricky part is utilizing the Effect Shader properly. Say close to this:

 

Begin GameMode
pms GlowingOneFXShader
End

 

With some shaders... it'll just load over and over layering on itself probably until your machine can't handle it. (cool effect however if you were making something that'll explode later...)

 

Response B is obviously a bit more a lead in the right direction. Response C is just a "how I have it setup on the things I have"

 

Response C: Lazily I use the GlowingOneFXShader as I am not graphically inclined. Perhaps one day... just not today. So right I have a shader... and it's unforgiving if allowed to run constantly. So lazily I've found a solution:

 

scn FlickerFlicker
ref myLinkedRef
float myTimer

Begin OnLoad  ; Using as a Variable Initialization... Should always be called afterall
set myLinkedRef to getLinkedRef
set myTimer to 0
End

Begin GameMode

if myTimer == 0
	myLinkedRef.pms GlowingOneFXShader
	set myTimer to 1
endif

if myTimer == 1
	myLinkedRef.sms GlowingOneFXShader
	set myTimer to 0
endif

End

 

The Timers are to force the shader to turn off and on. With this particular shader it's hardly noticeable on my system simply due to how the particles/animation( maybe even PLANETARY ALIGNMENT) work. It's decidedly noticeable ... at least to me.

 

 

Hope this helps. As for verifying when empty or not... I'm looking into that myself... I figure an ashpile after enough sifting might just blow away in the wind... but getting a count of what's in it......