A new addition to addon-nodes that we got in Fallout 4's engine was the new LNAM records, which let you add lights to the addon-nodes. In Skyrim for example, Addon-nodes was used to spawn flames on candles etc.
Level of Experience:
I assume you already are FO4edit and Nifskope Savvy.
What tools do I need?
FO4Edit ( newest version, always have the new version.)
NIFskope 2.0 Alpha 4 or higher
The G.E.C.K ( when it's released, probably will kinda replace FO4Edit for this )
What is an Addon-Node?
An Addon-node is simply a node that summons an addon of your choice. For example, for Fallout 4, the addon-node number for the Glow on My campfires are the number 4 which is also used in most other light settings using addon-nodes as well. The effect itself is not included in the mesh, but summoned from another nif, the addon is defined in Fallout4.esm or your custommod.esp.
These addons are defined by addon numbers as explained above, the addon node looks like this in nifskope:
You can find the nodes in the list as a child under a NiNode( usually the main Ninode )
Here you see the nodes that are needed to summon, it does not matter what name you give it, but to make it easier for yourself later and others, you should have the name for the BSValueNode like AddOnNodexxx where x is the number of the node you want to use.
There are about 250-ish addons you can use from Vanilla Fallout 4, these include a wide-range of effects. but for now we will use my custom one. I decided to add my own addon-number 300 to my nif.
You see here that I added 300 to the value, this is the value that identifies what effect to add to the node. therefor it is important that your node is place correctly.
But why summon the effect rather than adding it?
Well first off, I dare you to have all those effects working on a nif and do that to a million nifs you want ingame...yeah, thought so. Addon-nodes are not only smart, but also really practical because you can decide where on the mesh these things are to be summoned since you can move the node around in nifskope, try moving around effects in nifskope and tell me who you think is easier...yeah thought so.Not sure if I explained it well enough, if not, maybe you will understand during the tutorial.
STEP 1.
Determine what number you want to use for your addon-node, in this example I will use 300.
Open the NIF you want to addon-nodes on.
Right Click the NiNode you want to add the node to
Block>Insert>Bethesda>BSValueNode.
For the sake of order, we call it the same as Vanilla Nodes but with our custom nr: AddOnNode300.
Since I used 300, we will use 300 now as well, you will understand what the number 300 means very soon!
Nice! Now move the node you added to a place you want using"Right-click>Transform" on the BSValueNode.
The node is most often either the middle of the effect or the bottom of it. Sometimes you just need to check it out ingame to see if it looks right. But for now, just position it where you think it should be and proceed to the next step.
STEP 2
Now open FO4EDIT and open your mod, if you do not have any mod yet, just select Fallout4.esm.
I ALWAYS copy my stuff from vanilla assets when it comes to FO4EDIT, simply because they got things already filled inn and most often easier to remove things than adding, so making sure we got all we need for this example we are going to use MPSFireMed01 [ADDN:0001F23F].
"Right-Click>Copy As New Record Into..." and choose your mod or inject it into a new file.
You can see my copy here:
Mine is calledFireFlameNode01. As you see on the Data - Node index the number is 300. HERE you decide what is applied to the number you set on the NIF in step 1.
Here is a short summary of what you put where.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model:
Here you can put for example all kinds of models really, these will be injected onto the nif file, usually only effects are used here, I have not tried using anything else than effects. Doubt that works well.
SNAM - Sound:
As the name implies, you can add sound effects here, recommend adding sounds that loop well or you might experience some weird shit.
LNAM - Light: This record is new in Fallout 4, was not in Skyrim or I would haved used it ALWAYS. I love this one. It simply adds light as the name says. There will be an example at the end of the article with lights used.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now fill in what you need, Right now I recommend using vanilla LIGH records, because there is a bug with custom or modified ones and that is that they do not flicker or pulse like they should no matter what you do, this is probably because FO4EDIT is still missing information we need to make it work. I used custom ones because I thought the radius was to small on most lights.
and you are done. Making it constructible and all that shit is not part of this tutorial. Enjoi!
Example:
What makes it superior to using LIGH with models you say? Well when you use LIGH, you can only use 1 light and it will always place in the center of the object, this is'nt always good. If you use shadow casters for example they will always be the same direction as the object, which means YOU LOOSE control of where the light should emitt from, thats where addon-nodes come in.
using addon nodes instead.
You can have a mix of lights, you see my list? There is one FXFireLightAddon100 and a FireFlameNode01Spot. I use both on ONE mesh, this means that I use the spotlight to emitt the nice directional light coming from the fireplace and the normal Hemisphere to fill the insides of the fireplace with light, the spotlight alone only cast light on the ground and some of the wood, It does not fill the fireplace like in the picture:
The range of the FXFireLightAddon100 can probably be reduced from 100 to 80-90 to remove the lights that are shining through about on the edges around the fireplace.
29 comments
I'm using them in my ceiling fans as we speak. I've never heard of them being lights themselves.
Also, I've noticed that when I run an ESP in FO4Edit, and then go back to CK, CK crashes.
......Ooops.
*derp*
and thanks Lythael your comment save my sanity
Necrocytosis thanks for the tutorial!!!
The BSValuenode is not recognised as "child" node by the related ninode.
Help please ?
Alternatively I found that loading up another nif that has a BSValuenode with an AddOnNode and copying it, then pasting it under the ninode you're working with puts it where it's supposed to be. Then just edit it how you want, but yes I'd love to know how to insert a fresh one under an existing one, because it always goes under a new one.
Still, thanks again for this tut, without which I'd have been suffering a lot more!
A question:
Trying to add a light source to a Gauss Rifle. When I call up effects they work just fine (at least in 3rd person they do), but sound and lights don't seem to work, however. Do you need specific flags for that on the value node or maybe on the material files?
p.s. Using the Creation Kit to create the custom AddonNodes
EDIT:
I found out the issue. So in nifskope if you create from scratch (like I did) a new NiNode for the AddOnNode you need to remove one of the flags it added by default. I believe by default it is set to 15 but I noticed other AddOnHelper nodes for other mods I referenced it was set to 14.
Basically you just need to turn off the Bit 0: Hidden (1) Flag (its the very top one). The other flags I kept on were 1, 2, and 3. I don't know if it helped but my BSXFlag for my entire nif I also set the Addon Flag (#4). Once I turned off the hidden value all worked fine in the game, makes sense since it was flagged as hidden it was hiding my lighting effects. Its always the simple stuff that takes me forever to figure out lol
I now see my teal light color shining off my gun in 3rd person and its a bit more faint in 1st but it is there. With a little tweaking it looks like its very possible to attach custom lights to weapons and other stuff.
I was finally able to finish converting my Skyrim static torches (default mesh) to blue flame using the information you provided.