Mods interfering with animations?

[Gudulba]

I have given Pama´s Interactive Beatup Module another try after quite some time. As I remember it from the past, the hireling would whip the victim hanging on the pole, and the victim would swing back and forth a bit on hit, nothing else.

 

Now as I have added lots and lots of mods in the meantime (also animation or physics related mods), I see this new behaviour: when the hireling hits the victim hanging below the pole, the victim reacts by twitching, pulling down the arms and sometimes completely distorting the body, leaving even a gap between the hands and the rope (see screnshots in spoiler section). According to Pama, this seems to be caused not by his mod, but by interference from another mod. Which I think is probable, as I remember the behvaviour to be different in the past.

 

The big question is now: is there a way to find out which mod could be interfering with this beating/hanging animation?
 

Spoiler

 

[traison]

Precision probably.

[Gudulba]

Thank you for your reply. I indeed use Precision. Will look into it.

[Gudulba]

Disabling Precision got rid of the twitching body. Now to find out how to exclude this specific weapon from Precision features...

 

However, the "pulling down arms" issue is still there. Ideas for potential culprits are welcome 🙂

Edited July 7 by Gudulba

[traison]

34 minutes ago, Gudulba said:

Ideas for potential culprits are welcome 🙂

 

For that I would start by building behaviour files in FNIS (assuming this specific hanging animation supports it). If it's still not working then I would assume you missed this detail on your first run, and that the problem always was in the animation itself. The animation may need its root moved upwards at the same rate the hands move down; hkxPoser may be able to do that, if you don't want to get into Blender/3DSM.

[Gudulba]

On 7/7/2026 at 11:25 AM, traison said:

 

For that I would start by building behaviour files in FNIS (assuming this specific hanging animation supports it). If it's still not working then I would assume you missed this detail on your first run, and that the problem always was in the animation itself. The animation may need its root moved upwards at the same rate the hands move down; hkxPoser may be able to do that, if you don't want to get into Blender/3DSM.

I very well may have missed this animation issue on the first run. I have tried to load the animation files into Blender 5 LTS, but have run into problems:

- I have successfully converted the animation files from SE to LE format with Composite HKX Conversion GUI (as no Blender plugin seems to support importing SE animation files, at least none that I have found)
- I have installed Blender Animation Rigs into Blender 5 LTS. The plugin shows up in Blender and I have configured the necessary directory paths in the plugin.

 

However, I cannot import the converted animation files. I always get the error: No skeleton detected in animation file

 

Is there something I am missing or doing wrong?

[traison]

8 minutes ago, Gudulba said:

However, I cannot import the converted animation files. I always get the error: No skeleton detected in animation file

 

Is there something I am missing or doing wrong?

 

I have not managed to get animations into Blender either. Always run into errors like node count mismatches and such. When importing meshes there's a separate box where you need to put the path to the xpmse (or another compatible) skeleton. Make sure there isn't something similar in these plugins you're using. You may also want to check for plugin settings in Blender and in external files.

[Gudulba]

I have managed to import the animation files into Blender 5.2 using these instructions (ChatGPT assisted):

Spoiler

SKYRIM SE HKX ANIMATION IMPORT INTO BLENDER 5.x
Using PyNifly

PY NIFLY DOWNLOAD
Official PyNifly GitHub repository:
https://github.com/BadDogSkyrim/PyNifly

Use a recent PyNifly release compatible with your Blender 5.x version.

PURPOSE
Import a Skyrim Special Edition (.hkx) animation into Blender 5.x, preview it, and edit it.

REQUIREMENTS

• Skyrim Special Edition
• Blender 5.x
• Recent version of PyNifly
• Appropriate Skyrim skeleton .hkx
• Animation .hkx file

IMPORTANT

• Skyrim SE uses 64-bit HKX animation files.
• PyNifly supports native Skyrim SE HKX animation import/export.
• Do NOT convert SE HKX to LE HKX for this PyNifly workflow.
• Do NOT use skeleton.nif as the skeleton for this workflow.
• Import the appropriate skeleton.hkx FIRST, then import the animation HKX.

1. FIND THE SKELETON

For the standard Skyrim human skeleton:

Skyrim Special Edition\Data\meshes\actors\character\character assets\skeleton.hkx

For a female-specific human skeleton:

Skyrim Special Edition\Data\meshes\actors\character\character assets\skeleton_female.hkx

For a female-specific animation, normally start with:

skeleton_female.hkx

unless the animation/mod specifically requires a different skeleton.

Other skeletons exist for creatures and first-person animations, so use the skeleton corresponding to the animation/actor type.

2. INSTALL PY NIFLY

Download PyNifly from the official repository:

https://github.com/BadDogSkyrim/PyNifly

Install the version appropriate for Blender 5.x.

In Blender, install the downloaded PyNifly ZIP using the Blender extension/add-on installation mechanism appropriate to that release.

After installation, restart Blender if necessary.

3. START BLENDER

Open Blender 5.x.

Optionally delete the default Cube, Camera and Light.

4. SET FRAME RATE

Set:

Output Properties -> Frame Rate -> 30 fps

Skyrim animations normally use 30 FPS.

5. IMPORT THE SKELETON

Use the PyNifly HKX import command:

File -> Import -> HKX Animation File (.hkx)

(or the equivalent HKX/PyNifly import entry shown by your installed version)

For a female human animation, select:

Data\meshes\actors\character\character assets\skeleton_female.hkx

Import it.

PyNifly creates a Blender ARMATURE from the skeleton.

6. UNDERSTAND "ARMATURE"

An armature is Blender's skeleton object.

It consists of bones such as:

• pelvis
• spine
• head
• upper arms
• forearms
• hands
• thighs
• calves
• feet

The armature is NOT the visible character mesh.

After importing the skeleton, you should see the Skyrim bones in the Blender viewport and an armature object in the Outliner.

7. SELECT THE ARMATURE

In the Outliner or 3D viewport, select the imported skeleton/armature OBJECT.

Do not select the Camera, Light, a mesh, or merely work with an individual bone.

The skeleton/armature should be the active selected object.

8. IMPORT THE ANIMATION

With the imported armature selected:

File -> Import -> HKX Animation File (.hkx)

Select the desired Skyrim SE animation, for example:

idle.hkx

or an animation supplied by a mod.

Import it.

PyNifly associates the animation's bone tracks with the selected skeleton and creates a Blender Action.

9. CHECK THE ANIMATION

Switch an editor to:

Dope Sheet -> Action Editor

Look for the imported Action and its keyframes.

Move the timeline to frame 1 and press Spacebar to play.

The skeleton should move according to the imported animation.

If necessary, press Home while the mouse is over the Dope Sheet/timeline to frame the animation's keyframes.

10. CHARACTER MESH IS OPTIONAL

You do NOT need a Skyrim character mesh just to import and inspect an animation.

The minimum setup is:

skeleton_female.hkx
|
v
PyNifly
|
v
Blender Armature
|
v
animation.hkx
|
v
Blender Action
|
v
Preview/edit animation

A Skyrim NIF character mesh can be added later if you want to see the animation on a visible character.

11. FEMALE ANIMATIONS

For a female-specific animation, the starting point should normally be:

skeleton_female.hkx

rather than:

skeleton.hkx

However, vanilla male and female human skeletons have the same basic 99-bone structure, so many humanoid animations can technically work with either.

If the animation comes from a mod using a modified skeleton, such as an XPMSSE-based setup, the appropriate skeleton may be different from the vanilla Skyrim skeleton.

12. IF THE ANIMATION DOES NOT MOVE

Check these things:

A. Skeleton imported first:

skeleton_female.hkx
->
animation.hkx

B. Correct armature selected when importing the animation.

C. An Action appears in:

Dope Sheet -> Action Editor

D. The timeline contains animation keyframes.

E. Blender is set to 30 FPS.

F. You are using a recent PyNifly version compatible with Blender 5.x.

13. DO NOT FOLLOW OLD SE->LE CONVERSION TUTORIALS UNLESS REQUIRED

Older Skyrim Blender workflows often used tools such as hkxcmd or Blender HKX converters and converted Skyrim SE 64-bit HKX files to/from Skyrim LE 32-bit HKX.

That is not necessary for PyNifly's native SE HKX workflow.

The basic PyNifly workflow is:

Skyrim SE skeleton HKX
->
PyNifly
->
Blender Armature
->
Skyrim SE animation HKX
->
Blender Action

14. AFTER SUCCESSFUL IMPORT

Once the animation is correctly playing in Blender, the next stages can be:

• Import a Skyrim character NIF mesh.
• Bind/display the mesh with the armature.
• Edit the animation in Blender.
• Preserve/adjust animation timing and keyframes.
• Export the edited animation back to Skyrim SE HKX using PyNifly.
• Test the resulting animation in Skyrim.

KEY POINTS

1. Install PyNifly from:
   https://github.com/BadDogSkyrim/PyNifly
2. Use Blender 5.x + a recent PyNifly.
3. Use native SE HKX; don't convert to LE HKX for this workflow.
4. Import the appropriate skeleton HKX FIRST.
5. The imported skeleton becomes Blender's ARMATURE.
6. Select that armature.
7. Import the animation HKX.
8. The animation becomes a Blender ACTION.
9. Use the Action Editor to inspect/edit it.
10. A character mesh is optional.
11. For female-specific animations, start with skeleton_female.hkx unless the animation/mod specifies another skeleton.

 

When I play the animation in Blender, I cannot see this "pulling up arms" movement  whichI see in-game... Me confused...