Need some guidance about special ability creation using NI

fujisan

I am trying to create a kind of timed explosive.

The goal:
Cast spell, it plays a visual effect simulating the bomb, after some duration...BOOM!

Issues I am facing:
How can I make the visual effects last longer? I have increased the duration but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I am using TRVENTAA.VVC and TRVENTBB.VCC as the effects for the bomb. I can get it to trigger but it just lasts about a second. Can I make it loop somehow?

Triggering effect: The .PRO file is largely responsible for this behaviour right? I have tried a few but only some seem to work in triggering the effect above. I just want to create the effect with no projectile if necessary but setting default doesn't trigger. Can you suggest a workaround?

The BOOM part. So having it be delayed has been an issue as well. At this stage I want to trigger an explosion effect but have not been able to find a way. If I set to a fireball .PRO for example it detonated as that seems built in, but it does so immediately instead of after a delay, and the the delayed damage triggers after delay.

Also, I tried editing a PRO to test some of the delay flags I noticed but I can't select it despite it being in my override folder. Is this some quirk of .PRO files?

So...How should I be doing this? I am new to modding but am a developer as a day job and think I can make it but need some guidance please.

Thanks

jmerry

Visual effects are one-time things; the game just plays an animation once. The only relevant timing distinction in the opcode to activate it is whether you play it immediately or later; if you use one of the "delay" modes, the duration field tells you when to play it.
If you want a visual effect that lasts longer, you need either a new animation that's intrinsically longer or to play the animation multiple times.

If you want to hit multiple targets in an area, you need a projectile. And a fireball is a natural choice, but the fireball is immediate and you want a delay. What to do? Use one of the "cast a spell" opcodes in a delay timing mode. You do your thing, and after some time it casts the explosion subspell.

fujisan

Thank you jmerry for the reply. It has helped a lot, the animation and effects are all working now. The final hurdle I am facing is that the projectile fires from the caster to the spot instead of emanating directly from the spot itself. Is there a projectile the just explodes without the fireball part you know of or am I missing something? I am using the "cast spell at point" if it is relevant.

UPDATE: I have found that dragon's breath seems to do the job but now the other effects such as damage don't seem to trigger. Also, is whether or not it damages everyone or just enemies linked to the projectile or is there some option I have not found?

UPDATE2: Okay, I think it is linked to the projectile now. The problem is I can't just seem to plop it in the override and have it get picked up by the spl for some reason... NM I just found out it needs to be added to the MISSILE.IDS and PROJECTILE.IDS.

jmerry

An existing explosion projectile that starts from some point on the ground? Well, there is that HLA exploding trap ... TRAPBOOM.PRO. No idea if the other properties line up for you, but it might be useful if you're not satisfied with what you've already got.

fujisan

I have it working now just have to do some cleanup and fiddle with damage etc. I tried TRAPBOOM but I couldn't get something about it to work I remember although it is probably because I am new to this. Thanks for all your help, it really what I needed. This has been a learning experience and I am starting to get a grip on how the files all work together now. I was able to create a few other cool abilities comparatively very quickly. I have also started looking at Weidu which looks more familiar to me than NI, has some docs, and allows use of an IDE, yaaay! The aim is to make a full kit when I have the time then who knows what else.