So there seems to be no common detectable trait with ghosts. What I tired already:

Get voice type (only a few use ghost voice type)

Get EffectHasKeyword (no keyword for ghosts spells)

Get faction (no faction for the ghosts)

Get Actor Value Resist Normal Damage (not used in this game)

GetGhost will not work see here: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1392196-new-function-discovery-ifpghostdeathfxshader-none/page__view__findpost__p__21131959

Is there any way to detect the ghost shader being played?

I need this to work in the script for a magic ability. But I will even use a Condition if there is one that will work.

Since you started a new thread, you might want to quickly state your definition of "ghost" for those who haven't read the old thread. Otherwise, everyone is going to tell you to use the IsGhost()

Yeah ... I tried too (to see if it was easy to make a ghost, which it isn't because a blue-shiney-NPC requires a blue-shiney model )

So, a blue-shiny-NPC is just the same as any other NPC ... and not the same thing as a ghost (of which there appear to be none in the vanilla game)

(you could add a keyword to all vanilla ghosts, then test for that keyword ... but if you want the functionality to extend to newly created blue-shiney-NPCs - from other modders, or dawnguard or future DLC - then that's stuffed too ... you probably know that )

I gave up with what I wanted to do ... and so my mod is basically "on hold" unless I go hunting for a very, very proficient modeller(s) ... but I will have a look through all of the stuff/notes I did, to see if I found anything applicable (but I don't think I did)

(and vanilla blue-shiny-NPCs aren't set as ghosts, in vanilla, because if they were they'd be walking through walls - and falling through floors - every 10-secs!)

Holgeir and Fjori are "blue-shiny-NPCs". Their "Is Ghost" flags are ticked and they use normal models like you say, but are playing GhostFXShader and have thier alpha dropped via http://www.creationkit.com/SetAlpha_-_Actor. Incidentally, their "Is Ghost" flag being ticked does not make them fall through floors. That flag will let you walk through the actor, but they can still be grabbed and will not float through a wall/floor.

Thought: Try checking for the GhostAbility spell? It seems to be referenced by quite a few NPCs.

As far as I know all you have to do to make a "blue shiny" is give them the "ghost ability" spell. Could you look for that with a script?

I was thinking of putting all the vanilla ghosts in a formlist, then checking that formlist for the actor. I know that will not work for custom mod ghosts, in that case the moder will need to add a keyword "Ghost" or what ever to be compatible if they want to be. But can this will not work for spawned actors right?

I've packed in my mod yonks ago, because I figured blue-shineys were a model thing, not a lighting/shader/spell thing ...

Oh noes ... And I was just about over it




(assuming this spell thing does work ... does it work with animals as well as normal NPCs ... anyone know? Actually, it probably does ... is it how familiars work?)

I do not think they all have that, There are a few different shaders for ghosts. Hey but I am desperate I will see if that works. Thanks.

This works! There are several "ghost abilities" spells but I will just put them in a formlist...THANK YOU!!!

It looks like there are several ghost ability spells, all using the same script (magicSetActorAlphaScript) with its properties set up differently, applying SetAlpha according to a property value and applying the shader via the SPELs' MGEFs' "Visual Effects" data. You could probably bundle all of the spells into a FormList and...

Bool bIsGhost = SomeActor.HasSpell(GhostSpellFLST)

YourActor.SetAlpha() will work for any actor, as will EffectShader.Play(rActor). You should just be able to give rActor one of the aforementioned spells and it'll do all the visual stuff.

Blue and shiny is: GhostAbility [SPEL:0005030B]

wow...I fell into a trap that I sometimes accuse my engineers of...that is trying to find a complicated answer and missing the simple one because they are looking for a complicated answer.

Ghosts themselves have the actor type keyword ActorTypeGhost.

Well... turns out there are some ghosts that do not have the needed keyword.

Example:

form id encGhost03Magic (actor named Ghost and marked as "Doesn't Bleed" so I know it is not just a cool name for a bandit) is based on the template EncBandit03TemplateMagic and neither have the keyword ActorTypeGhost in them.

But I will still use ActorTypeGhost to detect "most of" the ghosts as this game has already forced me to make compromises like this anyway.

And maybe I will add the keyword to them myself, there are only about 12 base actor forms like that.

Actually, there is a faction for ghost. Don't know if you tried it and found the ghosts aren't added or if you missed it?

ID: ghostFaction
Name: The Faction For Ghosts
Form ID: 000D33A2

Not all the "ghosts" in the game belong to the faction.

Not all the "ghosts" in the game had the Keyword ActortypeGhost either, that was my OP, that there is nothing that detects them as a "group".

So I "forced" all the ghosts in the CK to have the keyword, and I am just "hoping" moders will do the same with their mod added ghosts.

Why force keywords? Didn't checking for ghost abilities solve it?

I was afraid that might be the case, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. I was looking through the factions and saw it and remembered your post...

Unfortunately no. They did not all have them and I have a better chance that a moder will use the vanilla key word on their "new ghost" rather than the vanilla abilities.

The other 12 vanilla ghosts should have had the actortypeghost keyword anyway, it was an oversight.