REF can't be enabled after waiting outside cell

[Belthan]

I'm seeing a weird problem. I have a dead NPC with a persistent REF in a cell, disabled by default. It gets enabled by a script when certain conditions are met. If I wait in the same cell, the REF can be enabled normally by the script or a console command. However, if I wait outside the cell and re-enter the cell, when the REF is enabled by either the script or a console command, it does not appear. After calling Enable, GetDisabled returns 0, so the game thinks the REF is enabled, but you can't see or interact with it. I do this all the time with items and world objects, so I thought maybe it had something to do with the game cleaning up dead actors, but changing the "Never resets" flag for the cell's encounter zone has no effect.

 

In most cases, I could place the NPC in the cell alive but disabled, and use KillActor when the conditions are met. Unfortunately, I want the body to be placed fairly precisely on an autopsy table, and the body can fall anywhere when the NPC is killed with a script, so that technique won't work here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Belthan

[sesom]

It's a bit dangerous to enable a disabled a dead NPC which is placed on a table. Havok updates as soon as the NPC is enabled and he can fall through.

 

Have you tried to make him a quest object? This should make him 100% sure persistent and controllable from scripts outside of the cell.

[Belthan]

It's a bit dangerous to enable a disabled a dead NPC which is placed on a table. Havok updates as soon as the NPC is enabled and he can fall through.

 

Have you tried to make him a quest object? This should make him 100% sure persistent and controllable from scripts outside of the cell.

 

Making the NPC a quest object did the trick, thanks!

 

I used havok sim in GECK to arrange the body (adjust pos & rot, start havok, let everything settle down, stop havok, rinse and repeat). Tedious, but I watched the NPC get enabled a few dozen times in game and the body & table don't seem to have any collision/clipping problems. In fact, the body doesn't move at all when enabled, so I guess the havok sim in GECK is pretty close to havok in game.