Animation Load Priority

[Sunja44]

I have a question concerning load priority of the Skyrim Data folder structure.

 

Usually everybody knows the following folder path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Skyrim\Data\Meshes\actors\character\animations

 

All your animation.hkx files are stored there.

 

I am not sure if FNIS adds an additional ...\animation\female folder by checking the Specific Gender Animation box in the FNIS tool, or you are able to create such a folder by your own and the game recognizes and adapts this without any other tools like FNIS.

 

Question is...how is load priority between animations in those different folders ?

 

1) Will a female folder .hkx always loaded prior to a general animation folder .hkx ?

2) opposite to 1)?

3) Will the female folder .hkx only loaded prior when I run FNIS while having the Gender Animation Patch checked ?

 

It's just because I am curious and because I want to restucture my animations anew (and I have a few dozens) and wanted to do that with the most possible ease....and if there is a folder that always has priority, this is a great thing to restructure stuff in general and specific.

 

[fore]

There is no such thing like an animation load order. The path of an animation is always burned into the default(fe)male.hkx files.

 

In standard most animations are unisex. Just about 8% are gender specific. Mostly unarmed walk/run/turn, and a few idles. All that FNIS will do with the Gender patch is look what you actually have in your female and male folders, and adjust the default(fe)male.hkx files accordingly.

 

Also keep in mind that it is not possible to have 2 files with the same name. Except for this female/male distinction. When 2 FNIS dependent mods use the same filename, and consequently put them into their own seperate animation subfolder, the game will automatically use the 1st one that appears in the default(fe)male.hkx.

 

ANd you have to create your own female/male subfolder. Because if you don't do it yourself, how can you put the animation files into them which you want FNIS to find.

[Sunja44]

Ok, I got that if you use - as example - 1hm_hkx animation in your male folder and a different one in your female folder and you run FNIS, both are executed dependant on gender in game.

 

...but how behaves Skyrim when I have a 1hm_hkx in my general animation folder and a different 1hm_hkx in my female subfolder and I

 

1) either run FNIS Gender Patch or

 

2) do not run FNIS Gender Patch ?

 

which one will be actually executed ?

[fore]

If you don't run FNIS Gender, then you have the standard: unisex.

 

If you run FNIS Gender, then you get what you have. If you have that file in female, it will be taken. Otherwise the one in "animations" will be taken. Whether it's standard or custom.

[Sunja44]

If you don't run FNIS Gender, then you have the standard: unisex.

 

If you run FNIS Gender, then you get what you have. If you have that file in female, it will be taken. Otherwise the one in "animations" will be taken. Whether it's standard or custom.

 

Thx, that I wanted to know.

 

So Skyrim will detect the "female" or "male" animation folder only for the case you install FNIS and run the Gender Patch, otherwise it will always use the hkx file from the more general standard animation folder.

 

This helps for sorting my dozens of animation files.

[fore]

No. Those 8% I mentioned before are already gender specific in standard. FNIS Gender will only change those which belong to the other 92%.

[Sunja44]

Ah now I got it. It's becoming clear what you mean when I actually unpack/browse the Skyrim.animation.bsa. 8% seems pretty correct...and if I would have done that previously there would have been no need to actually ask the above question at all, because from there on it's logical :-)

 

...and browsing the .bsa reveals that Skyrim already has a male and female folder, but hidden in the .bsa (and the typical suspects are among them, walk and mt_idle.hkx animations of course). The 8% animations that are divided into them by default you just need to replace by your custom ones (Dragonfly, Sexy Idles etc.), no FNIS Gender Patch needed. For other animations you want to apply to a specific gender (I guess mostly combat animations and maybe sneak animations) you need the FNIS Gender Patch to "learn" Skyrim to sort them by gender.

 

I have still not solved the riddle why Skyrim bakes opposite gender anims into your save game and you aren't able to revert that even by creating an .esp fix if you have already met the specific NPC/follower/housecarl in your game, but that's maybe just a Skyrim anomaly. Usually such things should be revertable as installing a mesh and/or texture and uninstalling it again.

 

Thx Fore.