dubious

Good enough for this. Thanks. -Dubious-

I'm trying to set up 3 static 'marker images' (based upon the 'blankcanvas02.nif') sitting one on top of another afixed to a wall. I've set up a cylinder triggerzone around the images, which is only triggered when the player enters the zone. I want the associated script to then enable the first image and start a timer, then disable that image and enable the next, etc. When the last image is displayed for a short period of time, it will be disabled, the first enabled, and the sequence will run again until the player leaves the zone. I know I could make the first image a parent of the triggerzone and 'set parent to opposite state'. (Basic idea of the 'Light Switch' tutorial.) But since I want to enable the second image after a period of time has elapsed and when I do so to disable the first image but not the triggerzone, I don't believe I can use the 'set parent to opposite state' feature to further link the images, but instead have to handle the enable/disable process in my script. (Will the triggerzone be disabled if the parent is disabled?) The logic problem I am encountering is that the Wiki on 'Disable' says: 'Does not work on objects with a parent ref. You will have to use the function on the parent ref instead. Use GetParentRef to find the parent ref. There is currently no function to determine the "Enable State to Opposite of Parent" flag.' I believe I need the GetParentRef function to identify the next image in the sequence, as the script is tied to the triggerzone base object and I am going to need to set this up for a number of locations. I'd rather avoid setting up the same basic script tied to each specific location if I can help it. But how can I get around this problem with the disable function? Or do I need to refigure my approach? I am using OBSE20, and do have a Quest Init database script (no blocks) holding cross-script variables. Oh, and this is my first Oblivion mod so I have to look up everything so please don't assume I know anything beyond the very basics. -Dubious-

Giving your recommendations a try, and I notice the 'Lush and Gaudy' is superceded by the author's newest 'Lush and Gaudy Floriana Gloria'. The description says, in part: Have you tried it, and if so, do you still recommend the Low/Vanilla Res (512x512) version over either of the others for moderate cards? [Edit: Any comments on the patches there as well?] [Edit2: Missing Links: 'Wayshrines Improved' has a version with the texture path fixed to be relative instead of absolute to 'Program Files' tree, but it's got a separate download page (linked). Slofs' Hive (Her website) Slofs' Horses 'Oblivion Beasts Improved' seems to have evolved to a resource pack 'Claws for Demons' Her website seems to have limited bandwidth, so recommend using any of the listed alternates available.] -Dubious-

They are GREAT! I love 'em. And all three backgrounds. I'll have to find places to use them all. The canvas NIF is perfect, because I had already decided these are probably better as 'paintings', since I don't want them to be opened like books or the 'wanted posters'. I replied in more detail to your PM, but did want any lurkers to know how pleased I am with your work. I'm going to test my script with these and then make a determination about animation. I'm already leaning towards it for the transition from image1 to image2, because that will occur over a longish period of time, on the order of a minute. But some testing is in order first. -Dubious-

Excellent! Spot on. That will do nicely for the final image. [Edit: And since I see there has been some interest, here is the link to the original source image this was inspired by, so people can appreciate what a nice job it is: LAIR2000. The site has a large collection of dragon images of all styles.] For the 'intermediate' image I would think we just want the outline, just enough to tell where the nose and mouth are. And both eyes to include the pupils because I want to begin using them as directional indicators in that image. For the 'scratches' image, just suggestive elements from opposite parts of the face such as the the tip of one ear, tip of the horn on the opposite side, the pupil of one eye (looking straight out) and the eyebrow of the other, etc. Just enough for someone who is spending some time trying to puzzle it out to get an imaginative impression before we show them the intermediate image. If you want to do some of the 'filling in' images for the animated version, go ahead. But only what you feel like doing. If need be I expect I can fake it from the intermediate and final images. And needless to say you will get full credit in the mod. -Dubious-

'Fu manchu mustache'? I presume you are referring to the 'whiskers'? Yes, they are characteristic of Chinese Dragons and I feel fully appropriate for the Akaviri. I think of them as prehensile 'hands' rather than 'feelers' or mere 'hair', if that helps. You can even add a couple of 'feeler' types if you like. As for the transparent background, I'm not sure what would work best. Transparent will let the marker fit over any background color (I expect), but will it cause us to lose the ' artwork' by blending into a dark background like a wooden wall or stone too much? I'm especially concerned about this for the initial 'scratches' image. Won't using a specific 'standard metal' background color for the 'marker' make your job easier? Dull bronze or unpolished brass for instance? Even duller colors if the contrast is sufficient, though bear in mind these are supposed to be old and neglected. (Something appropriate for Blood & Mud's Bravil I should think.) If we can separate the image from the 'surface' it will be 'etched into', then definitely transparent. I'm willing to be guided by your experience and preference. I just don't know what is possible to make an informed choice. -Dubious-

I expect I will try it both ways. But not only have I never done any animations of any kind, I've only tried changing a texture in Nifscope. So there is a learning curve to get through. But since Lanceor provided the pointer to the tutorial, I'll take a stab at it. It's all about which produces the better desired effect. Got some more script testing to do first. -Dubious-

Aha! Yes, I have already used OBSE for other scripts, so that function should do nicely. Thanks for the pointer. -Dubious-

THAT's interesting. I'll bear it in mind. As Hanaisse pointed, determining when the player is looking at my poster is something I need to pin down. I was thinking it would be activated by the same technique as a trap trigger. Can you point me to a good tutorial for that, or perhaps you have an alternative suggestion? It could probably simply run whenever the player was in view (LOS) but I would prefer to minimize the processing to only when needed. -Dubious-

Great, and thanks. I'll PM you the graphic I found. (Assuming I figure out how to do that here.) -Dubious-

Actually, I had considered that but decided against it as being too obvious. (This is a SECRET marker.) The poster/marker is a clue part of a puzzle quest, a 'yes you are in the correct general vicinity' marker. (I want to avoid quest markers, except perhaps to tag the city or general geographical area or whatever.) My thoughts are currently along the lines of 'scratches', once the player starts looking a timer will wait minute or so, then display the 'very rough outline', pause a much shorter period (perhaps 8-10 seconds), then full image for only long enough to register it's there (practically subliminal) and back to 'scratches'. Timing will have to be determined by testing. So only three 'posters' should do it. But that is not carved in stone. I know it would be easier to just use two and 'swap parent'. But I want that initial 'what just happened' reaction. The player may need to watch it a couple of times to make out the direction the eyes are pointing. (I was inspired by the practicing Arena boxers script.) There are going to be about 8-10 of these markers and quests. And thanks for the question. It's always tricky conveying what you see in your mind so others get the same idea. -Dubious-

I want to create a small 'poster' that looks like one of those brass name plates you see in Victorian era movies outside 'posh' offices (though not necessarily 'brass'). But I want to have it change if the player looks at it long enough. Probably will have to use an 'overlay' approach. The core idea is that it is a clandestine place marker, afixed to the corner of building like a corner stone. At first glance it consists of just some apparent scratches, forming essentially the corners and minimal sketchy, unconnected lines outlining different features the face of a dragon on opposite sides. Sort of along the lines of: ^ - o | ( To the casual glance it shouldn't even appear to be a face. If the player looks at it for a period of time I intend to have a script replace the base 'sketchy scratches' image with a more complete outline, to be followed eventually by a brief flash of the full visage. Which will then revert to the 'scratches' form. I'm thinking that there might be versions of the final image (or maybe just the intermedate image) with the eyes looking in each of the 8 cardinal compass points to indicate direction. I have found a good detailed image of a Chinese dragon face from a download site, but the authorship is murky and I would rather have it be used as the inspiration for an original work I can get clear permission to use. Hoping someone might find this idea interesting enough to tackle. (As should be obvious from above, I am not artistic.) -Dubious-

Well, I got my script working. But only after I worked out a different approach alluded to in my first edit which did not require me to determine an ID for the object. It appears despite the container being marked Persistent, the items from it are still considered dynamic. At least, I was never able to get an ID other than zero. Does anyone have a method to get that? I see several functions in OBSE that initially seem to be aimed to that end, but they all seem to require you to know the EditorID ahead of time. I couldn't find anything that would get me either the Editor or Base ID for a dynamic object without knowing one or the other beforehand, so that is still a mystery to unravel. Anyway, here is what worked for me: Scn KCShadowNinjutsu short sDBug ; Flag for DeBug messages short sIsEquipped ; Flag for GameMode section processing Begin OnEquip player ; Doesn't activate if item is broken. set sIsEquipped to 1 If sDBug == 1 Message "KCShadowNinjutsu item equip detected.", 1 EndIf End Begin Gamemode ; Processes every frame If sIsEquipped == 1 If player.isSneaking == 1 player.addspell KCFadeNinjutsu ; KCFadeNinjutsu is an Ability Spell added by the parent mod Else player.removespell KCFadeNinjutsu Endif ; Else Do Nothing EndIf End Begin OnUnequip player ; Doesn't activate if item is broken. set sIsEquipped to 0 If sDBug == 1 Message "KCShadowNinjutsu item unequip detected.", 1 EndIf End Edit: Removed erroneous reference that OBSE was required, left over from earlier attempts. It meets my design goals of being 'generic' enough to work without modification when attached to any suitable item. It doesn't deal with the issues if the item gets broken, but since I am only planning on attaching it to non-armor for the moment, I'm going to leave that as an exercise for the future. Hopefully this will help someone else through the learning curve in the future. -Dubious-

Good point. Added messages to each conditional section of code that adds or removes the spell. Tested by equipping a scripted item of clothing, and I get the "No Gear reference" message immediately. Toggle on Sneak mode, but the message never changes despite waiting about a minute in case there is a stacked buffer of messages. Remove the clothing and the "no gear ref" message disappears. So despite the clothing object being equipped, it seems pretty conclusive that I am failing to get the reference. (And the intent is that it should not take effect until BOTH worn AND sneaking, so not having a valid reference when it is in inventory is expected of the design.) I suppose I could make the "worn" conditional into a OR for the EditorID of each scripted object, but that doesn't teach me the reference lesson. So I would like to pursue that angle. Thanks for the response. Edit: After doing some more digging, I wonder if this wouldn't work better as an OnEquip and OnUnequip block pair? Complete rewrite of course, and I still need to learn why this doesn't work. But a better approach, I think. Ack, no! OnEquip only runs once. Might be used to kick this off, but chaining scripts is more advanced than I'm comfortable with at this point. (Can you have more than one block in a script? Edit: Answer: yes you can. This is actually the approach that eventually worked. See next post.) Edit2: Now I'm wondering if the problem lies with the clothing mod I'm using. After reading some more about persistent objects, I thought the way I was testing might be causing my problems. I had been using "player.additem" to put it directly into my inventory, so I wondered if I needed to drop out of inventory and pick it up again to give it persistence. But when I did that, it appeared in mid-air in "crucifix" layout and could not be activated or grabbed. So I fast travelled to the container location and got it from there, but when I dropped it out of inventory, again with the unaccessible crucifix. Edit3: Answer to the "crucifix" is that the original mod is missing the "*_gnd.nif" files in the "World" NIF file slot. With that, the mod items can be dropped and grabbed, apparently unrelated to "persistence". -Dubious-

As my first foray into Oblivion modding, I'm trying to keep it simple by cloning a functional script from another mod (author expressly permitted this) and add it to a clothing mod. The basic functionality is simple: add the spell when the Player is Sneaking while wearing the scripted item of clothing, and remove it when not Sneaking. I've made a copy of the clothing mod, renamed it to a unique filename but retained the internal EditorIDs because once I've worked out the HOW, I plan add it to the original clothing mod (not for redistribution) so it will keep being sorted by BOSS. So far I have created a new "Chameleon" Ability Spell (75 magnitude, 0 duration, 0 cost: which I believe makes it "constant effect") to duplicate the one called in the script but with a new name (to avoid dependency on a second mod). I've adapted the original script to be a little more generic and added it to a couple of clothing items. The script compiles, and I got it to put out a simple message, but the spell never shows up in the list of active effects when Sneaking. Here's the original functioning code: Scn THShadowShield Begin Gamemode if player.isSneaking == 1 && player.getEquipped THShadowCuirass == 1 player.addspell THKameleontti elseif player.isSneaking == 0 || player.getEquipped THShadowCuirass == 0 player.removespell THKameleontti Endif End And here is my adaptation: Scn KCShadowNinjutsu ref refThisGear ; Object Reference Variable: When uninitialized, references scripted object Begin Gamemode ; Processes every frame set refThisGear to getSelf If refThisGear != 0 ; reference has been set If ( player.isSneaking == 1 && player.getEquipped refThisGear == 1 ) player.addspell KCFadeNinjutsu ; KCFadeNinjutsu is an Ability Spell added by the parent mod ElseIf ( player.isSneaking == 0 || player.getEquipped refThisGear == 0 ) player.removespell KCFadeNinjutsu ; Else Do Nothing Endif Else Message "No gear reference", 1 ; Debug message EndIf End So, where have I gone wrong? It looks like I'm failing to get a valid reference for the scripted object. If this "mod object" is considered a 'dynamic object', what am I supposed to use to get the reference? -Dubious-