Idle Hands – Female Idle Customization
Idle Hands – Female Idle Customization v0.1
Version Change Log
v0.1 – Release! 8 female idle flavor positions with 19 animation variations (8 vanilla, 11 new)
Background & Goal
I started playing with the idle animations to find a way to incorporate smoking as an idle. After finding out smoking is actually
(at least) 2 separate animations, a base idle pose and a flavor (see What is a Flavor? below) I moved on… (kinda…)
I looked into other singular animations, but, in some cases, it wasn’t overly clear which animations did what. So I started a
personal reference project. Mainly an excuse to take some cool screenshots… Well, why not share it?
So the goal became…
To release an idle animation (flavor) replacer that is fully customizable, and above all, very user friendly.
(see Questions, and Future Goals for more info)
P.S. I’m a long time modder, first time mod poster… Be kind 🙂
Description
A very simple mod that allows you to replace the 8 FEMALE idle flavors (see What is a Flavor? below) with those
of your choice (currently 19 animations, 8 vanilla, 11 new). It is quite simply a file swap with a rename.
However, by using NMM to install, it offers a huge amount of possible combinations. (currently 75,582 if I worked that out right!)
In relation to the reference images…
I have tried to take a screenshot at a moment in the animation that best represents it. Obviously being an animation, it is
best experienced in motion. This mod is safe to uninstall and reinstall, so feel free to play around to find the ones you want.
(see Installation for tips on viewing the one you want)
What is a Flavor?
** This is not required reading, but will (hopefully) give you a better idea how this mod works.**
This is purely hypothetical, but I think I’ve got it…
There is a difference between an Idle Animation (base animation pose, standing still, no weapon out) and an Idle Flavor
(“Flavor” taken from the animation’s file name). From what I’ve gathered, the Idle Flavor plays at random intervals during
the Idle Animation. (Think of it like ice cream… the Idle Animation is the base (the ice cream) and the Idle Flavors (ice
cream flavoring) add variation… that works right..? Maybe I’m hungry.)
More Info…
A good example uses the mod by CharacterCreator – Idles and Flavors. My mod is incompatible with the Flavor optional files,
but is compatible with the Idle Animation main files he offers. (see Compatibility for more info)
The Idle Animation, itself, also contains idle animations… Simply put, your character will still make subtle movements, like
shifting from one foot to the other, or the female vanilla Idle Animation, which contains a “right hand on hip” pose
(see image Vanilla06) that my mod does NOT override.
Installation (NMM) *Highly Recommended*
1. Download with NMM
2. Activate “Idle Hands – Female Idle Customization”
3. Choose which animation you want for each Idle Flavor position
4. Done! It’s time to stand around and do nothing!
Some tips for picking your 8 Idle Flavors…
At this moment, there are 8 Idle Flavor positions you can fill with one of 19 animations (8 vanilla, 11 new)… That’s a lot of potential combinations.
So what to do with them?
** You can install the SAME animation in EVERY Idle Flavor position**
– this is a great way to check out a particular animation for yourself, or have your favourite animation play every time.
** You can install ANY other possible combination… 🙂 **
– an example would be if you wanted a full Pipboy Idle.
Selecting Pipboy01 for Idle Flavor positions 01-03,
Selecting Pipboy02 for Idle Flavor positions 04-06,
Selecting Pipboy03 for Idle Flavor positions 07 & 08.
**Remember, “Flavors” are added to the base Idle Animation (see What is a Flavor?) so installing the same animation in
every Idle Flavor position will NOT just loop the same animation constantly. Your character will make the selected
movement quite often, but it doesn’t look as odd as you might think. **
** If you install a different animation for each Idle Flavor position, it may take a long time to actually see one particular
animation. They seem to cycle randomly and occur at random time intervals. **
Installation (MANUAL)
1. Unzip the “Idle Hands – Female Idle Customization vX.X” file into a temp folder.
2. You’ll notice a HEAP of folders. This lets NMM order everything nicely.
– there might have been a better way but I am very new to this
3. At the top of the list should be a folder named “000 IF Renamed”.
– this contains all the idle flavor animations, renamed to match my reference pics
– all other folders just contain renamed duplicates
– Copy “000 IF Renamed” folder somewhere safe and delete temp folder
4. Select the animation you want and copy it into:
…Fallout4/Data/Meshes/Actors/Characters/Animations/MT/Player/female
– create these folders if they don’t already exist
5. Rename the copied file to:
– PoseA_IdleFlavor1.hkx
6. Rinse and Repeat for each animation, naming the copied files sequentially:
– ie.
second file copied – PoseA_IdleFlavor2.hkx
third file copied – PoseA_IdleFlavor3.hkx
ETC…
– this can be done 8 times (up to PoseA_IdleFlavor8.hkx)
** As a side note, male characters seem to have 9 Idle Flavor positions… I’ve been using PoseA_IdleFlavor9.hkx
for my female character, but have yet to see the specific idle play. This needs more testing, but I will release
a 9th IF position for females if I confirm it works. **
Compatibility
My mod alters these files
…Fallout4/Data/Meshes/Actors/Characters/Animations/MT/Player/female
– PoseA_IdleFlavor1.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor2.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor3.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor4.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor5.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor6.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor7.hkx
– PoseA_IdleFlavor8.hkx
It will be compatible with any animation mod that doesn’t use these. Just like textures, you will have to pick and choose
the ones that are best for you.
As of writing (15-Dec-2015)
Compatible with all current animation mods*
*Partial-Compatibility with CharacterCreator’s – Idles and Flavors
-My apologies for releasing a mod that partially conflicts with yours CharacterCreator.
-Very simply, my mod is (currently) compatible with all of this mods main files, but not with any of the optional ones.
-Here is where I recommend you read the “What is a Flavor?” section. Understanding my description will help you
replace your character’s Idle Animation (base animation pose, standing still, no weapon out) with one from the
above mod. Currently “Tough” and “Military”, male and female available.
-This is also where I suggest you look into a replacement sound for the “WhistleDog” Flavor. (I may include a fix
for this in the future, but for now it is low priority until male idles are done…)
Future Mod Plans
*** Add male version – High Priority – In Progress… Please Stand By…
** Add more interesting anim, male&female – Mid Priority – In Progress… … …
* Continue looking at smoking anim – Low Priority – … Progress… Stalled… …
** A Side Note: I only really have plans to support this mod up until the release of the G.E.C.K. (maybe…) It’ll be a real game
changer in what can be done with animations (and everything else! *tingle*), so I will leave the cooler stuff in the hands of
professionals. 🙂 At very least I hope this mod will provide a reference to some of the nicer animations (and some of the
really nice, but really buggy ones)**
Questions
Can you add “X” animation?
– Maybe… I’ll take requests, but no promises. Like the smoking animations I mentioned at the start, some are multi-part that
don’t work with a single file rename. Some, like the KnifePlay animation, Valentine’s SelfTuneUp, among others, are just too
buggy. If a fix is found I will definitely release them.
– If you really must smoke, try another of CharacterCreators mods – Smoking in Fallout 4. It comes with a few drawbacks, like no
unarmed combat for one, and I only recommend it to advanced users. But I personally still use it though. It is a very creative
way of adding active smoking to the game without the need for creation tools.
Can you change “X” animation?
– Nope. All my mod does is rename existing animations. I don’t know nearly enough to begin tinkering with the animations
themselves. (I will be leaving that to other, more talented, people on the Nexus)
Can you change how often they play?
– No again, sorry. I have played in FO4Edit, and have found some promising leads, but it’s way over my head at the moment. And
in all likelihood, with the release of the G.E.C.K. around the corner *fingers crossed*, its not worth the effort.
Why no Hancock knife play/Valentine tune up/other animation??
– I’m divided on whether I should release this in the main NMM installer or not… It is a really buggy animation when the player
character uses it. But it’s also really good! I had multiple camera locks trying to get a screenshot, and the knife will stick out
of your wrist if the animation doesn’t end properly (for example if you move!) If I get enough requests I will add it, with a big
fat “DO NOT USE” warning or perhaps in a separate folder (with other buggy, but good animations) for manual installation/reference only.
** EDIT: I have done just that… The bugged animations I hope to use are in the “000 IF Renamed/bugged” folder.
– These are 100% USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Manual installation ONLY and I will not support them in the Bugs tab or comments.
I release them in the hopes some talented person can help me fix the problem, or at least, release their own mod that I could
make compatible with mine.
– They include Hancock’s knife play, Valentine’s tune up, Psycho injecting and a map reading one. They all suffer from the same
camera lock and persistent item bugs. Again… I highly recommend NOT using these.
** And just to clarify… Although I’m calling them “bugged”, these animations are perfectly fine, they’re just glitchy when used as Idle Flavors **
Tools, Credits and Thanks
GIMP – For great free image manipulation program
Fraps – For great [mostly] free screen capture program
NMM tutorial by ShinraStrife – For an amazing, easy to follow, tutorial for the NMM installer
E.B.T – For unknowingly assisting in my NMM installer tweaking
B.A.E. – For giving me access to the animation files
Bethesda – For once again releasing a brilliant game
The Nexus Community – For making a brilliant game truly shine
and if you read this far, to you too!
