Added 'AAF.esm' to the masterlist #147 ghost wants to merge 3 commits into loot: v0.15 from unknown repository Conversation 6 Commits 3 Checks 0 Files changed. The Advanced Animation Framework (AAF) provides a variety of tools for modders to play animations/poses from a scalable number of animation/pose packs. Additional behavior controls, relationship featu.
The following guide will cover the steps needed to make a multi-staged furniture animation with enter and exit transitions. The focus will be on setting up the XML files properly. This guide assumes that the animation files (.hkx) have been made and entered into an .esp.
Also, most of the XML files described below have additional settings and capabilities than what are covered here. Check out the individual pages about those XML files to learn more. This guide is meant more to give the basic workflow for creating multi-staged furniture animations with enter and exit transitions.
STEP 1: Make a furniture XML
You will first need to make a furniture XML so that AAF can identify when an instance of that furniture is nearby and can thus be used by Actors for a position animation. Below is an example furniture XML. The group id is how you will reference the furniture later. The furniture nodes inside of the group node should all be instances of that furniture that the same animations will right playing over. Otherwise, if they are different sizes, there will be clipping.
In the furniture node(s), fill in the form ID. If all of the furniture nodes in your XML will reference furnitures from the same .esp or .esm, you can enter the source in the defaults node. Otherwise, you need to enter a source for each furniture.
When finished, save this file in the Data/AAF/ folder.
STEP 2: Make an animation XML
Now, make an animation XML following the example below. Give the animation a unique id in the animation node and enter the length of the animation (in frames). Within that node, add your Actor nodes and give each one a gender if required. You can leave the gender out of any Actor node and AAF will then allow either gender to play in that role.
Within each Actor node, enter an idle node. This points to the idle animations in your .esp file. An easy way to get form IDs for your idles is by loading your .esp with FO4Edit. If every idle in your XML is in the same .esp file, you can enter that source .esp in the defaults node like the example below. Otherwise, you will need to enter a source for each idle in the idle nodes.
Once complete, save this file in the Data/AAF/ folder.
STEP 3: Make an animationGroup XML
Next, make an animationGroup XML, following the template below. This is simply creating an id for the group to reference later and then a stage node referencing each stage animation that you created above.
When finished, place in the same folder as the other XML files above.
STEP 4: Make a position XML
Now, you will need to make a position XML. This defines what will actually appear in the AAF wizard as an option when the right combination of actors is selected and the needed furniture is found nearby.
The walkOffset attribute in the defaults node is important for furniture animations because this is where the Actors will walk to, relative to the location of the furniture before locking into it. So, if you have transition animations, you should try to make those start from this offset location. In the example below, the location relative to the furniture is 0x (centered on the x axis), 50y (50 game units in front of the furniture) and 180angle (turned around and facing the furniture).
For the sake of testing, do include the other attributres in the defaults node. You can learn more about adjusting those on the position XML page.
Point the animationGroup attribute to your animationGroup id. And importantly, point the location attribute toward the furniture group id that you defined in the furniture XML.
Once complete, save your position XML and place in the folder with the other XML files.
STEP 5: Make a transition XML
Finally, make a transition XML based on the example below. This defines which animations play in between or before and after your stage animations. The from and to attributes define which positions to play the transition animation between. You can use the special word 'none' to indicate either beginning or ending the animation. If the transition starts with a from of 'none' then it is an entrance transition. If the to is 'none' it is an exit transition.
The animation attribute here is pointing to the id of the animation to play as a transition as defined in your animation XML above.
Save the file and put in the same folder as the other XML files.
Fo4 Rse 2
STEP 6: Test!
With all of these XML files in place, your animation .esp and hkx files installed, you should not have a working multi-stage furniture animation. You will need to find an instance of the furniture in the game to test on and also select the correct combination of actors in order for the option to play this to appear in the wizard.
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MOD MANAGER
Aafes Mcp
While there are many users who successfully run AAF on NMM, we have seen several difficult-to-troubleshoot problems stemming from using NMM. I'm not sure if it's because users aren't using the latest build or if there is some NMM usage missteps taking place. But, switching to MO2, Vortex or doing a complete re-install of NMM (manually removing all loose files that may not be removed by the uninstaller) has fixed several cases of AAF not working.
DEBUG MODE
I try to include helpful information in error messages when possible. If something isn't working right, the first thing to try is turning on the built-in debug window. How to do that:
- Open
Data/AAF/AAF_settings.iniwith a text editor like Sublime Text, Notepad++ or if you must, Notepad. Change the value attribute next to debug_on from false to true like this:
Save
Now, when the mod is running, you should see debug output on the left side of the screen.
If you do not see the debug text on the left side of the screen at this point it suggests that the mod is not being loaded. Check that all files are installed and that the plugin is enabled through your mod manager or via the Mods section of the main Fallout 4 game menu.
NEW UN-MODDED GAME
If AAF isn't working correctly, the first thing to do is to rule out the possibility of an install issue.
Do this by starting a new game with no mods installed except for the minimum requirements for AAF. If it works with that setup, you can at least conclude that AAF is installed correctly and that the issue is either: a mod conflict, a save game problem or a bug.
TEXT STAYS ON SCREEN (when not in DEBUG MODE)
This usually happens when an XML file can't be parsed. AAF is letting you know that it couldn't complete the boot process by leaving the debug text on screen at the point where it became stuck. So, the top-most line of the text output should indicate the problem area.
Check any edits you have made to XML files for typos (missing quote marks, brackets, etc.). Also, for empty nodes, there must be at least one space between the node name and the close bracket. For example, this breaks the parser: <defaults/>. But, this does not: <defaults />. Again, that quirk only applies to empty nodes. Spaces don't need to be added in front of every close bracket.
PIP-BOY STOPS WORKING
This is reported to happen when the user uses 'tfc' in the console during an animation. AAF handles tfc on its own and first-person mode doesn't look right during animations. So, there is no reason to do this. The fix is to stop using tfc in the console during AAF animations.
STUCK ON WHITE SCREEN AT BEGINNING OF A NEW GAME
This happens because the game is paused while an AAF-caused message-box is on the screen but is not visible. You can move past this state by pressing enter a couple of times.
You can also adjust the initialization_delay setting in AAF_settings.ini to be a larger value so that AAF tries to show that message-box after a longer wait.
MODS THAT PACKAGE PARTS OF F4SE
Some mods have packaged parts of F4SE into their own files! This is usually various scripts like Form.pex or ObjectReference.pex.
If you are using mods that do this, they could be over-writing your F4SE scripts with old versions (and probably breaking things). Either disable the mods that do this or modify your setup so that the newest F4SE scripts are used.
HOME BUTTON DOESN'T WORK
I have seen this problem occur when a new version of AAF is installed over an old version. Please try running AAF from a new game.
If this still happens on a new game it suggests that either another mod has affected the UI layer that AAF relies on (HUD/UI related mods can do this) -OR- AAF is not installed properly and is not being loaded.
Try turning on debug mode to verify that the mod is being loaded. If the white debug text appears on the screen or you get a message box notification from AAF, it is loaded.
If you do not get this, there is some kind of install error. Maybe the AAF.esm has not been activated in the plugins list of your mod manager or within the Mods section of the Fallout 4 menus. Also, double-check that you have the latest versions of F4SE and LooksMenu AND that the F4SE scripts have been properly installed and have not been over-written.
'AAF ERROR: [037] Referencing a plugin that is not installed: DLCWorkshop02.esm'
The exact reason for this error is not known. It appears that the file is named differently on some peoples machines or their operating system enforces case sensitivity when other machines do not. To fix, you must look in the AAF folder and change any XML file that references that DLC so that the W is not capitalized (ie. change 'DLCWorkshop02.esm' to 'DLCworkshop02.esm').
IF ALL ELSE FAILS
You can report bugs here!
OR, ask for live help here
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