I've been trying to create a custom magelight spell that would allow me to cast multiple magelights, each with 1/2 the duration of normal.

I cannot find where to set it to allow that. It appears that on impact, it dispells the previous magelight but I cannot find out where that setting or effect trigger is.

I suspect it is a global script trigger, but I cannot find what it triggering it. I made a custom copy of the LightFFAimed effect and removed the keyword. Then just as a test, took off the script (SayOnHitMagicEffectScript).

I suppose I could just go on down the line for all linked properties and objects of the base magelight and create custom copies of each with unique IDs and see what happens.

On a related note, it there any way for me to check out a already compiled base script (like the one mentioned above) so I can see how it is composed?

Thanks,
Bats

SayOnHitMagicEffectScript doesn't have anything to do with dispelling the existing magelight. Its just a script that makes NPCs react when you hit them with the light. The heal spells all have that script as well.

They keyword has nothing to do with it either. That keyword is also one used to make NPCs comment about spells, used by the WIMagicCommentColorful quest. Its attached to spells like heal spells, conjured weapons, ect.

I'd leave both of those alone.

You were on the right track when you mentioned impact. What you need to look at is the ImpactData for the effect. You'll see that impact with most surfaces (as listed in the effects ImpactDataSet) uses the "MagLightSpellImpact" impact. That impact in turn spawns a hazard, which is the floating light at the point of impact.

I believe what you need to alter is a value for the Hazard "TestLightHazard" (its in SpecialEffect > Hazard). If you look at said entry you'll see a field for Limit. Set that to whatever number you want the limit to be. By default its 1, which is why it removes the light when another spawns, because only 1 can exist at any given time and the existing one is removed when a new one is spawned.

That won't do anything for the duration, though. There might be some way to do a different duration if you were to add a second Magelight effect to the spell with 30 seconds duration instead of 60, then give conditional statements to both effects, with the conditional for the first effect returning a negative if a hazard is detected in existance in the world, but the second effect returning positive if a hazard of that type already exists (so in essence the first effect that lasts 60 seconds would happen if no hazard exists AKA on first cast, but the first effect would fail if a hazard already exists, so the second effect with half duration would succeed and apply a light in that situation).

But... thats beyond my knowledge. I took a quick look at the conditionals and couldn't find anything that might work to search for an existing hazard. Might require an actual script to detect a value given to the hazard or something, but scripting is WAY beyond me, that stuff goes way over my head.

Also, I don't know if changing the hazard limit will at all effect Magelight casted at an actual actor (if you didn't know already, casting Magelight at an NPC will basically give them a Candlelight effect on themselves, but thats also limited to only 1 actor at a time, if you cast it on a second character the first disappears). I can't figure out how the spell casted on an actor works, whether it spawns a hazard which floats around the actor (in which case the change above would effect that as well) or whether its some kind of actual magic effect which is somehow limited to 1 at a time.

Thanks ElecMan, gonna give it a shot this evening.

Well, first thing. Your advice was spot on!

Modifying the *actual* TestLightHazard effect setting to whatever Limt you desire works. I can infinite or a limit. Nice.

However, I cannot get a custom Impact Data object to do anything. If I create duplicate of the standard MAGLightSpellImpact and use it in a new Impact Data Set, then in game the object just dissapears when hitting something.

It is the Impact Data object that is giving me problems because I can change my custom Impact Data Set to point the standard MAGLightSpellImpact instead of my custom one and it will work in the game just fine.

I am guessing I cannot have custom impact data in the game.

Bahh, I guess I'll just shoehorn all magelights into a custom limit of 3 or so.

Bats

the vanilla magelight actually CAN have two lights going, so long as one of them is on an actor and the other isn't...Found that out while fiddling with my teleport node firing spell...

Woah, you're right. I actually modded a "custom" impact data set into my first mod (basically just copied the existing one and changed one single value) and I just took it for granted that it would work. Its pretty much an exact copy with the only difference being that it places a different hazard, why wouldn't it work? But I just now actually tested it and like you said, it does absolutely nothing, the spell just disappears into the void when it hits something, no impact graphic or hazard placed (I was doing it for the Wall staffs).

I'm gonna have to test that more thoroughly, maybe make a new thread here on the forum about it. Thats a rather big problem for actual custom spells. Maybe thats yet another bug to add to the list of things that don't work in the CK.

Maybe I'll have to download Midas Magic and look into his ESP. I'm sure at least one of the numerous spells in that mod has custom impacts. Perhaps there's something we're overlooking.

The Magelight spell actually uses a projectile for collision...if you want to modify what it drops, make a new projectile type, and if you want it to drop a physical object, have it spawn a custom explosion (which can drop the object)