Need help with replacing animations in Creation Kit

[AmberFletcher]

Recently started tinkering with Creation Kit (finally moving beyond just texture replacer mods, yay :P) and I wanted to change out the default animations played while using an Alchemy Lab, but have no idea where to alter that in the Creation Kit, and if possible also remove the pestle and mortar thing from player's/npc's hand while using the Alchemy Lab (can live with it, if it can't be done ;) )

[fore]

You can't do these things in the CK. The CK only provides an interface between behaviors and packages, and some forms of script functions, and allows CK level conditions. The whole implementation of Skyrim animation is in the behaviors. And the problem here is, that we neither have the proprietary tool, nor Beth's project files to make any changes. Every change to behaviors is a hack into the internal data structure. There are only few mods doing that, and even less modders who can.

 

Although your ideas are relatively simple (for someone with behavior experience), there is another problem. Every change you would make is incompatible with other mods changing behaviors. And adding an animation is generally incompatible.

 

If you want learn more about the behavior background, you can start with the FNIS Modders' documentation. In the FNIS files section.

[AmberFletcher]

You can't do these things in the CK. The CK only provides an interface between behaviors and packages, and some forms of script functions, and allows CK level conditions. The whole implementation of Skyrim animation is in the behaviors. And the problem here is, that we neither have the proprietary tool, nor Beth's project files to make any changes. Every change to behaviors is a hack into the internal data structure. There are only few mods doing that, and even less modders who can.

 

Although your ideas are relatively simple (for someone with behavior experience), there is another problem. Every change you would make is incompatible with other mods changing behaviors. And adding an animation is generally incompatible.

 

If you want learn more about the behavior background, you can start with the FNIS Modders' documentation. In the FNIS files section.

 

Having a hard time understanding most of it (but get a general gist for it at same time (weird right?)) but it should be possible to handle what I'm trying to via FNIS, right? Like there isn't any limitations that would prevent adding in a new behavior to the list for the Alchemy Lab?

[fore]

Of course there are limitations. And you can't realize your ideas with FNIS.

 

FNIS allows you to add certain types of new custom animations by adding the necessary data at appropriate places into the behavior files.

 

What you want to do is modify existing behaviors in a specific way. FNIS cannot foresee which kind of modifications users want to make at which places. Nor is FNIS a behavior editor which allows you to make arbitrary changes yourself. This is what the proprietary behavior tool, HBT, which we don't have, is doing.

 

With FNIS you actually could define a NEW alchemy animation (as a "furniture animation", see the Modders' Doc). The problem with the alchemy table is that it's not only the animation which plays a role, it's the whole interaction with the game which has to be taken into consideration. Activating the sequence, selecting the ingredients, and so on. And I can't tell what it takes to make this whole sequence work in a way that everything is like today, where only the new animation is called, instead of vanilla.

[jucoking]

Of course there are limitations. And you can't realize your ideas with FNIS.

 

FNIS allows you to add certain types of new custom animations by adding the necessary data at appropriate places into the behavior files.

 

What you want to do is modify existing behaviors in a specific way. FNIS cannot foresee which kind of modifications users want to make at which places. Nor is FNIS a behavior editor which allows you to make arbitrary changes yourself. This is what the proprietary behavior tool, HBT, which we don't have, is doing.

 

With FNIS you actually could define a NEW alchemy animation (as a "furniture animation", see the Modders' Doc). The problem with the alchemy table is that it's not only the animation which plays a role, it's the whole interaction with the game which has to be taken into consideration. Activating the sequence, selecting the ingredients, and so on. And I can't tell what it takes to make this whole sequence work in a way that everything is like today, where only the new animation is called, instead of vanilla.

Necro. Oh well, I have an important question.

 

This should not be true if I were interested in changing the animation of one Skyrim enemy to the animation of another Skyrim enemy, correct?

 

For instance, I'm trying to give a skeleton mage the behaviours and animations of a dragon priest. This should be possible if I'm not mistaken.

[fore]

It is still true. Because you can't exchange animations between races. They are based on different skeletons.

[jucoking]

It is still true. Because you can't exchange animations between races. They are based on different skeletons.

Well, I definitely can't argue with the master, lol. How in the world are we, as modders, supposed to give new animations to our mods?

[fore]

We aren't supposed to do so. At least not from Bethesda's view. They didn't do a bit to support that.

 

We can change the behavior files if we want. But that's totally undocumented internal data. And we come pretty quick to our limits when it comes to more complex tasks, and compatibility between different mods trying to do this.

[HighlordVaakko]

How about human to dragon priest