Problem with Dead Creatures

[oc3]

Looks like I have to ask for help again!

 

I am trying to have a dead deer and a dead sheep spawn next to each other. In an exterior cell.

 

I have given them both unique IDs and zeroed out EVERYTHING as far as stats and AI go. There is no PC Offset Level checked, and the creatures are set to level 1.

 

 

The WIERD part......

 

If I test with a level 6 character, everything is fine....animals appear where they are supposed to and positioned exeactly as in the CS.. But If if test with a higher level character, the animals either appear alive/or dead, although standing and not moving.

 

Or... they spawn away from their CS editor locations, or not at all. At least I can't find them , maybe they fell through the world.

 

I don't understand why the player level makes a difference. ...... I am using Beta Testing Charecters by LHammonds.

 

Really need help here. I've read all on the CS site. Been working on this for a week and the mod for 2 years.....and I'm almost ready to turn it over to the testing guild. This is like the last thing.

 

Please....... Help meeeeeee!

OC3

[Striker879]

Can't say for certain it has anything to do with your level related inconsistencies but this is what I have in my Position Dead Bodies.txt file (a tip from The_Vyper) posted in this thread:

 

 

 

This is one of those less than intuitive things in the CS. Here's what you need to do:

1. Make sure your skeleton's health is set to zero.

2. Make sure the "No low level processing" flag is checked.

3. Place your skeleton in the cell and select it in the Render Window.

4. Click on the "Run Havok Sim" button (just to the left of the Light bulb button that makes cells brighter). Alternatively, you can click on the "World" heading at the top of the CS and select the "Run Havok Sim" option in the dropdown menu (it's the fourth option from the bottom). Your skeleton will collapse to the ground.

5. While Havok Sim is running, you can position your skeleton by holding Cntrl + Alt, clicking on a body part, and then moving it.

6. Once you've positioned your skeleton to your satisfaction, turn Havok Sim off using either of the methods outlined above in step 4. This is crucial because the CS won't allow you to save while Havok Sim is on and won't give you warning when you try.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Striker879

[oc3]

Thanks! I didn't know it would not save correctly with havoc sim turned on. Maybe that's the problem.

[oc3]

Well, it's still happening. Very strange. Resaved after havok turned off. Also changed creature to a quest item. No change. I find the 2 animals lying about 10 feet from where they should be. One time the ram was actually standing and appeared to be alive. Again, this does not happen with a level 6 character.

 

I tried changing the creatures levels to 100 and it made no difference.

[Striker879]

Are they close or right on a pathgrid node where you've placed them in the CS?

 

Emma went through a similar problem with a dead NPC in her Maple Cottage mod. In that case she finally just gave him a single health point and let the bandits kill him once the player entered Dzonot Cave. Different people would find the original dead guy way below the cave mesh and stuff like that.

 

Beyond being the guy who reads lots of stuff and keeps it in some text files I'm afraid I can't be of much more help.

[oc3]

Thanks Striker,

they do seem to be appearing near a pathnode grid. But there is more... I posted a lot more info earlier and now it is gone....... You probably never saw it. I'l try to resummerize:

 

I think I found a clue as to why the level 6 character works.... The area of my mod is near cloudtop. My level 6 character has never been to cloudtop, and things work normal with him.

 

If I load a player that has been to cloudtop, then the deer and the ram both appear alive. I have recreated them from scratch as opposed to just giving new IDs to existing ones with no effect.

 

They have unique IDs so I don't see how this can be a game save issue, and yet it seems to be.

 

The creatures are meant to be merely props. They are supposed to be prey that a snow troll has killed and are inside it's cave. They have to spawn right where their blood spatter is for a believable effect. Is there an easy way to convert the creature mesh into a simple static mesh and have it posed like I want? I.E. dead and lying on it's side?

[Striker879]

I know it sounds a pain, but have you tried checking with a new game? I have one save that I was using for beta testing a mod that was causing NPCs to continuously try to walk through the walls of the city of Cheydinhal. Wasn't a mod problem ... something had that save's knickers in a knot, but whatever it was wasn't apparent anywhere else.

 

What I'm saying is you may be trying to fix something that isn't even broke.

[IkeCoast]

Or before trying a new game, you could force the cell to respawn. Go outside the cell and wait 24 hours three times (I think this is the time period for cells to respawn, isn't it?).

 

Or make a clean save without the mod, force the cell respawn, and then enable the mod and let's see if the things concede to drop dead gorgeous.

 

Cheers!

[oc3]

Thanks to both of you. It's time to go eat and go to bed now. but will try tommorow...Thanks for helping.

[The_Vyper]

Also make sure the "respawn" flag is not selected. There's a "dead" guard outside of Leyawiin's Oblivion gate (once you reach that part of the main quest) that exhibits similar behavior to what you describe. In the CS, his health is set to zero, so he's most definitely dead. But he stands upright, and even registers to 'detect life' spells/enchantments, once the cell resets. This is because his "respawn" flag is selected, even though it shouldn't be.

 

This sounds a lot like what you're experiencing, so make sure your "dead" creatures don't have their "respawn" options checked.

 

Edit: typo.

Edited January 19, 2015 by The_Vyper