How to update .kf animation

[Warburg]

Hello

I am new to these forums and I have a question regarding importing a .kf animation file to the oblivion data/meshes folder for in game use.


I already created the animation with 3D Studio Max, and than exported it in the form of a kf file.


I cannot find the kf updater tool or the NifCMD tool that used to be around to update the .kf files.


How would I go about making the kf file usable to import into the oblivion meshes directory?

[Koniption]

Kf Updater v2.2 :

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=496

It was moved to the Fallout 3 section, and is a new version of the program than when you last checked it out, probably.

Yes, it still works for Oblivion kfs, too (and Fallout 3 animations, too).

Koniption

[Warburg]

Thanks for the reply that's exactly what I was looking for, only in the Oblivion Nexus area.

This may be ignorant of me to ask, but what determines the priority of the .kf file?


Edit:

I have another question about animating a biped.

I have the animation set up the way I want it to look, but, it's more like an idle animation in game, while what I'm trying to do is make a forward walk animation.

Basically, I replaced "walkforward.kf" (in the character meshes) with my walk forward animation, to get the kf into the game. But when I use the walk action in game it does the animation of walk three feet and than get sent back to original position, this is on loop so it keeps walking forward and reseting. The camera in game always stays at the original starting position as well.

I think what I would have to do is make the animation in 3D Studio walk using the animation, but stay in place, and than Oblivion would move the character around with whatever speed it uses.


If anyone could help it is greatly appreciated, and if you don't understand what problem I'm having exactly, I could make a movie and than upload it or something.

[Koniption]

Originally posted by Warburg
Thanks for the reply that's exactly what I was looking for, only in the Oblivion Nexus area.

This may be ignorant of me to ask, but what determines the priority of the .kf file?

I kind of know what determines which animations get which priority values, but to be honest, I still feel like there's a good deal I don't know.

Priorities determine which animations can supercede, or overtake, other animations, when those animations are called.

Animations with a higher priority, can overtake lower priority animations, or something like that:

Idles are the least important animation - they are mostly there for the engine to choose from when the actor has nothing else more important to do. So a lot of Idle.kf's have a real low priority, like from 0 to 20, from what I've seen.

Next up on the priority, are also idles, but are some of the idles in the "idleanims" folder of the actor. Some of these are higher than the regular Idle.kf's priority, by a few number values, but not too much higher.

Next up are the "regular" movement kfs: forward.kf, backward.kf, left/right.kf, turnleft/turnright.kf, etc.

Next up seem to be the Equip and UnEquip.kfs, with attack anims somewhere in between, I think.

Next up seem to be the stagger, then the recoil....
-----------------------------
What'd I'd do, in your case, is look at the priorities of the kfs in the "Goblin" folder of vanilla Oblivion.

Make a list of all the various kfs on a spreadsheet or piece of paper, then write down the priority value next to each one, after looking at their priorties in Nifskope. You can then use this list as a cheatsheet for your own actor animations, for the most part. (I lost my own personal cheatsheet, and I need to make a new one *sigh*)

Some actors might have kfs, that the overall priority seems to be one number, but sometimes a few bones in same kf have different priority. These bones seem to usually be the Bip01 and Bip01 NonAccum bones, when that happens. So be on lookout for that, too.

Koniption

[Warburg]

That makes sense. When converting using kfupdater I just used 30 because that seemed average, and it was in the example.


Also, if you could go back to my 2nd post I edited it with another question.


Thanks for the help. Really, I love doing this sort of stuff, so damn interesting.

[Koniption]

Originally posted by Warburg
[...snip...]
Edit:

I have another question about animating a biped.

I have the animation set up the way I want it to look, but, it's more like an idle animation in game, while what I'm trying to do is make a forward walk animation.

Basically, I replaced "walkforward.kf" (in the character meshes) with my walk forward animation, to get the kf into the game. But when I use the walk action in game it does the animation of walk three feet and than get sent back to original position, this is on loop so it keeps walking forward and reseting. The camera in game always stays at the original starting position as well.

I think what I would have to do is make the animation in 3D Studio walk using the animation, but stay in place, and than Oblivion would move the character around with whatever speed it uses.

If anyone could help it is greatly appreciated, and if you don't understand what problem I'm having exactly, I could make a movie and than upload it or something.

I know what you are referring to.

Look at the section at this linky that is titled "Walking" :

http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/ind..._Creatures

KP

EDIT: if by "biped", you are talking about NPCs/Player, and not a biped creature, you need to use the priorities that are used in same vanilla animation of the NPC/Player .

[Warburg]

Thanks for the link, exactly what I was looking for.


I have a question, at this part:

"After using NifCmd to update the .kf, open it with nifskope expand NIControllerSequence, expand the first NiTransformInterpolator (this one controls Bip01) and delete its data, expand the last NiTransformInterpolator (this one controls Bip01 NonAccum) and copy its data then paste it back into the kf."


The first expandable NiTransformInterpolater is the 3 NiTransformInterpolator, not 1 NiTransformInterpolator, which data do I delete from, the first expandable?

For the last NiTransformInterpolater, I copy the data and than paste it where? It says back into the KF, I'm not sure exactly where it's suppose to go though.



Edit: Just saw your edit, so I change the priorities to that of the original walkforward.kf? Do I still have to follow the instructions in the creature tutorial?

[Koniption]

Originally posted by Warburg
Thanks for the link, exactly what I was looking for.


I have a question, at this part:

"After using NifCmd to update the .kf, open it with nifskope expand NIControllerSequence, expand the first NiTransformInterpolator (this one controls Bip01) and delete its data, expand the last NiTransformInterpolator (this one controls Bip01 NonAccum) and copy its data then paste it back into the kf."

The first expandable NiTransformInterpolater is the 3 NiTransformInterpolator, not 1 NiTransformInterpolator, which data do I delete from, the first expandable?

For the last NiTransformInterpolater, I copy the data and than paste it where? It says back into the KF, I'm not sure exactly where it's suppose to go though.

He means the first NiTranformInterpolator in order of sequence - it won't necessarily be the "#1 Nifksope block number". So, yes, to your question (the first expandable).

If you go into "Block Details" of the NiControllerSequence part, and expand the "Controlled Blocks" section (keep expanding until you see a list of the various bones in a right-hand column), expand the "Bip01" and the "Bip01 NonAccum" sections. It will then list more data, that shows which "NiTransformInterpolator" goes to those bones.

In that tutorial, he means to delete the Bip01's "NiTransformData", that is under the same bone's NiTransformInterpolator.

Then you copy the "NiTransformData" (under Bip01 NonAccum's NiTransformInterpolator) of the Bip01 NonAccum bone, and paste a copy of that NiTransformData back into the nif, and then attach that pasted copy to the Bip01 bone's NikTransformInterpolator.

Edit: Just saw your edit, so I change the priorities to that of the original walkforward.kf? Do I still have to follow the instructions in the creature tutorial?

Yes, to first question. Yes, to second question, if you mean how to get the actor to actually walk forward like it's supposed to.

KP

[Warburg]

Also, this animation is being made for the Player/NPC's walkforward, not a creatures, I'm not sure if that changes the process you mentioned at all.

[Koniption]

Originally posted by Warburg
Also, this animation is being made for the Player/NPC's walkforward, not a creatures, I'm not sure if that changes the process you mentioned at all.

The only things that changes, is that you use the priority values of the NPC vanilla "walkforward.kf" , in your custom "walkforward.kf"

In regards to the "Walking" section of the tutorial I linked you to:

Basically, to clarify.....

The Bip01's NiTransformData needs to have no "Rotation" data, and only the "Y axis" part of the "Translation" data...the X & Z axis data needs to be all zeroes under "Translation" part of the NiTransformData.

The NonAccum's NiTransformData needs to have any "Rotation" keys placed in it. Under "Translation", it has no Y axis data, but does have the X & Z axis data.

Koniption