Real-time health bar

Game version 1.8.7 or higher requires F4SE

What does it do?

Adds a floating health bar to any actor involved in combat (not real, just an illusion).

How does it work?

The F4SE plugin injects an extra layer into the HUD and internally registers a special HUD component for that layer. This layer is updated on a per-frame basis and converts the Actor's head position to screen position and scales accordingly based on depth (Quest markers follow the same concept). The bar chart also does a line of sight (also invisible) check to make sure you can actually see the Actor to see the health bar.

How to change bar color?

This can be done in the text file "Data\F4SE\Plugins\F4EE\hudextension.ini". Leaving the color at "-1" will use the default color (your HUD color or the enemy's red)

What bars can I change?

Yes, you can choose whether you can only see teammates, enemies, non-enemies, or lovers in any combination. See Data\F4SE\Plugins\F4EE\hudextension.ini for more default values.

Modder notes

If you are a modder, there is an internal API that allows you to color the bar based on the ActorValue. You can set which specific ActorValue the plugin should check for in the ini file. This means that you can write the bar color that an Actor should use when engaged in combat, rather than using the fixed color provided by the ini.

How do I uninstall it?

Delete files contained in the archive:

Data\Interfaces\HUDExtension.swf

data\f4se\plugins\hudextension.ini

data\f4se\plugins\hudextension.dll

Known issues

If you load a save game that is currently involved in a battle, the nameplates of the actors in the battle will disappear

You may occasionally see the health bar cut off below certain components, for example if you enter a Power Armor and an NPC says show subtitles, and one of the nameplates happens to be close enough below the subtitles, you may see part of the bar cut off

Nameplate does not appear in all HUD scenes (e.g. zoom range)