Does anyone have a guide to editing HKX animations in Blender?

[MentallyUmStable]

I found a blender addon for Blender 2.78 but when importing any HKX animation, I get a traceback error saying unpack requires a bytes object length of 4. I tried editing the addon in Python but my changes won't save so now I'm lost. Any guides (or just a downloadable file ready to go) would be appreciated. I don't know what I'm doing so I'm lost.

 

Here's the HKX addon in question if that matters any. https://github.com/opparco/io_anim_hkx/releases/tag/v0.0.1

[krzp]

On 9/28/2023 at 12:47 PM, MentallyUmStable said:

Any guides (or just a downloadable file ready to go) would be appreciated.

Got you. ?

 

I'm using the latest Blender 3.6.something. Install Havok Content Tools (you'll need HavokPcXsContentTools_X64_2010-2-0_20101115, google the download link, as I'm not sure if one can post it here due to unclear legal status) & grab the archive i've attached.

In Blender, Edit -> Preferences -> Add-Ons -> Install button, install blender_niftools_addon, and tick the box so it's active.

 

If you've installed Havok Content tools in a non-default folder, edit the _convertSEtoLEtoKF.bat and set the correct path there

 

Put the .hkx animation into the _SEtoLE_KF folder, click the convert bat file, this will get you a .kf file

 

Open the SAE.blend with Blender, after opening File -> Import -> NetImmerse/Gamebryo (.kf) and pick the kf file that you've got earlier.

 

Apply the scripts (select each one and click the play button next to them) at the bottom of the window, in this order:

2 DeleteScaleKeys, 01 EditingViaScript, 02 Framerange.

Spoiler

 

If your animation has an animation object and you wish to see it for reference or something, import it from the Import menu -> NetImmerse/Gamebryo (nif)

 

<the animating part goes here>

 

When finished, File -> Export -> FBX, save it in the FBXImporter folder

 

Run Export.bat in that folder, collect your animation from the HKX sub-folder.

 

There's even a video on YouTube utilizing this workflow, although I usually skip the notepad+ python part.

 

Credits for the tools - *.bat's, FBXImporter, hkxcmd, Skyrim Animators Guild discord for the rig.

 

Blender_to_skyrim_in_39_easy_steps.7z

Edited September 30, 2023 by krzp

[MentallyUmStable]

On 9/30/2023 at 2:26 PM, krzp said:

Got you. ?

 

I'm using the latest Blender 3.6.something. Install Havok Content Tools (you'll need HavokPcXsContentTools_X64_2010-2-0_20101115, google the download link, as I'm not sure if one can post it here due to unclear legal status) & grab the archive i've attached.

In Blender, Edit -> Preferences -> Add-Ons -> Install button, install blender_niftools_addon, and tick the box so it's active.

 

If you've installed Havok Content tools in a non-default folder, edit the _convertSEtoLEtoKF.bat and set the correct path there

 

Put the .hkx animation into the _SEtoLE_KF folder, click the convert bat file, this will get you a .kf file

 

Open the SAE.blend with Blender, after opening File -> Import -> NetImmerse/Gamebryo (.kf) and pick the kf file that you've got earlier.

 

Apply the scripts (select each one and click the play button next to them) at the bottom of the window, in this order:

2 DeleteScaleKeys, 01 EditingViaScript, 02 Framerange.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

If your animation has an animation object and you wish to see it for reference or something, import it from the Import menu -> NetImmerse/Gamebryo (nif)

 

<the animating part goes here>

 

When finished, File -> Export -> FBX, save it in the FBXImporter folder

 

Run Export.bat in that folder, collect your animation from the HKX sub-folder.

 

There's even a video on YouTube utilizing this workflow, although I usually skip the notepad+ python part.

 

Credits for the tools - *.bat's, FBXImporter, hkxcmd, Skyrim Animators Guild discord for the rig.

 

Blender_to_skyrim_in_39_easy_steps.7z 7.5 MB · 6 downloads

 

So far the only guide that actually got me where I needed to be lmao. I appreciate it.

BUT... I'm still missing something. How do I change the skeleton being used? Right now SAE only has the default skeletons.

Also how can I see multiple actors at the same time? 

[krzp]

10 hours ago, MentallyUmStable said:

BUT... I'm still missing something. How do I change the skeleton being used? Right now SAE only has the default skeletons.

If I understood you correctly, this is a human-type rig, it will use skyrim's skeleton with all the necessary bones - if you wish to edit something with non-human skeleton, I'm not aware of any creature type rigs that one can easily find, you'd need to create your own - import the mesh, get all the bones correct, rig it, that sort of thing ?  There are some tutorials on general rigging on blender, but I haven't dabbled with it to be of much assistance here.

 

10 hours ago, MentallyUmStable said:

Also how can I see multiple actors at the same time? 

That depends on the type of animation you're trying to edit - if that's a paired animation a-la killmoves, I don't know much about those.

 

If you're thinking about SL animations, those are two separate animations, one per actor. Blender has the functionality to "Append" to the existing scene, so you could just append SAE the second time to the already opened one, this will bring you two rigs on a screen (although the scripts might not work correctly on the second one). Though you'd still need to export them separately.