I'm working on a spell that involves a lot of NPCs being flung around the area. I need them to scream while they're flying around. Unfortunately, it appears that actors can't speak while in ragdoll state, as no combination of Say or the SayOnMagicHit script is making them utter so much as a single grunt. My plan right now is to extract a couple of "AUGH"s and "WEEAH"s from the combat dialog FUZ files and then forcibly play the WAV files through the NPCs as they fly around.

So my questions are
1) Is there an easier way to do this that DOESN'T involve checking the target's VoiceType and playing the appropriate WAV file?

If not, then
2) Am I allowed to repackage game assets (in this case, some of the extracted dialog) in my mod and redistribute them? Or must my NPCs suffer silently?

If you're wondering what I'm doing that requires so much screaming, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YNlbRelbNok

....please forgive this unhelpful response....

Dude, I want to kill towns with tornadoes! That is the most amazing thing I have ever seen!

A third option may be to get some friends together and record yourselves screaming things like "Its a twistah! Its a twistah!"

Yeah, someone on Nexus suggested that as well. It's an amusing idea, but I'd sooner use in-game assets if possible. They're already there, they're professionally done, and they match the NPCs.

Hmm. Is there a way to check the NPCs voice type through scripting?

If so, wouldn't it be easy (but time consuming) to use if statements to conditionalize the playing of existing screaming sounds in the game to match the voice of the character being flung?

You could always just check the six of the NPC, and check if it is actually an NPC and not an animal/undead/ect and play a random scream that is gender appropriate. I would bet it would be pretty convincing even if a deep voiced woman let out a higher pitched scream when svcked into the twister. As long as the player doesn't use the spell on a single male or cow NPC and get female screaming or something, I don't forsee it being a problem.

Just some thoughts.

I can't answer the question's other than to say the generic male/female voices would work for so many people flying around.

And also to say, hope you get it worked out cause it looks likes the best spell created for this series of games. Outstanding.

Thanks, cooperles. This spell is going to be part of a new pack I'm working on that will incorporate most of my existing spell mods. If you like the look of this one you might check out the others (though this one is probably the most complex so far).

You can check the voicetypes without too much trouble, it's a function called GetVoiceType, I believe. Looks like I'll be proceeding with repackaging existing screams unless someone comes along and tells me it's horrendously illegal. Wish there was an easier way to do this.

I don't know if it would be easier, but I suppose you could spawn in invisible talking activators matching the voicetypes of the actors, and have those activators do the screaming.


Yes, other mods have done this and Bethesda have never complained.

And agreed with others, what you're working on looks truly awesome!

Nice. If I can make a suggestion, the spell should be much louder. I think this sound is from the movie Twister but if you've ever been near a tornado, which I have, you'll know this is what they sound like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUCzdA_WdW4

Again well done. This might also solve your problem by eliminating the need for screaming NPCs.

Oh, absolutely. This mod has a long way to go and sound effects are definitely on the list. Thanks for the sound reference!

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I think you have it in one. If I recall rightly, twisters have high noise levels and it is unlikely you'd hear the people scream over the scream of the wind. But that's just my 2c.