Need help with Nifskope :) : IV

» Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:49 am

I'm following as best I can the http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Making_Ridable_Creatures Tutorial. There's at least one part so far that I can't follow:

... Back in the lionRide skeleton, right click the block list window and choose 'paste branch'. This will put the ActorParent node into the lion skeleton with all the data it needs. Now we just need to link it all up. In the 'xform' node, double-click on its 'Num Children' attribute, and increment it by 1. Then refresh its list of children, and make the new child link points to the ID of the ActorParent node in the skeleton (This number is probably 266).
Now, find the bone in the skeleton you want the player to be riding off of, let’s try Bip02 Spine2. Navigate to said node (36), and give it a new child link, pointing to the xform node. Now save your changes.

How do you "point" a child link to a node?

» Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:51 am

You add the block number ie. if the node is block 43, enter 43 in the child link (that's what '266' and '36' in your quote are referring to).

» Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:14 am

Thanks! Worked. Now I've got a more technical question. I'm following the Making Ridable Creatures tutorial. It shows that you can affect how the player appears when mounting your creature, and you can decide that with NifSkope by manipulating the node that controls mounting. Can you, say, make it so the player is invisible when mounted?

» Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:39 am

Thanks! Worked. Now I've got a more technical question. I'm following the Making Ridable Creatures tutorial. It shows that you can affect how the player appears when mounting your creature, and you can decide that with NifSkope by manipulating the node that controls mounting. Can you, say, make it so the player is invisible when mounted?

I think so. Try making the "ActorParent' node scale to zero in the "mount.kf", then back to 1.000 in the "dismount.kf", of the creature mount you are working with. You can make the scaling down/up happen real fast, too, so that the rider visible seems to instantly become visible. A scale of zero, scales something into nothingness. And a scale of 1.000 scales that something back to original size again. The "ActorParent" node is the bone that holds the rider.

Koniption

» Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:04 am

On an Actor's nif, what determines where enemies concentrate their attacks? Is there a "center" or "target" established in the nif that determines this?

Also, determines collision in Oblivion's nifs? Is the collision mesh the same as the 3D model, or is it more simple like just a box around the model?

Thanks, Koniption. I might have an alternate solution. It turns out, at least for me, that first person view if you reduce yourself to scale 0.0 can turn wacky.