Hello, this is my ongoing request to have sheaths for left hand weapons as well as staff sheath animations by allowing us to edit animations in the creation kit. It is clear to me that Bethesda will not update this, but by allowing us to create anew animations in 3ds max and other software and adding them to file paths, we can create new animations for different projects, such as sheaths as well as spear weapons or one handed crossbows. I get that there is a restriction on using the animation files in Skyrim due to licensing, but any licensing can be renegotiated in terms as long as it is used in the Skyrim game, just like assets from SKyrim cannot be used in other games. SO please update the creation kit, please.

Didn't know that was the case, but if it is I can assure you it will not be negotiated. Also, I'm sure there won't be any further updates for the CK.

Also, animations are never ever created, changed, or otherwise handled in any engines I know about, it's always just imported files, just like it is with textures, models, sounds, and any other assets.

Aside from that, there is obviously a way to import at least individual animations because there are animation mods out there. You could look up their authors and ask them how they did it. Now, I might be wrong, but doesn't 3DS have a legit, working exporter plugin for nifs? Might not have, but I'd be seriously surprised considering I heard people talking about new versions supporting nifs exported for Morrowind, which is an ancient game.

... I take it you've never heard of animation replacer mods?

Can you import animations from FO4 into Skyrim? Not the chars....just the moves?

Dunno, but I do know it wouldn't be allowed as Beth doesn't permit cross-game assets.

Adding new animations requires converting them to havok format (third-party technology, so Bethesda can't include it) and then merging them into the behaviour graphs for the actors. There's a free add-on for the latter in FNIS, but the .kf -> .hvk tool is part of the havok toolkit you have to get from them. It's free, but it's not Bethesda's to give away.

I haven't looked into it, but if it's anything like earlier Beth games there's a limited number of animation slots hard-coded into the engine. You can replace existing animations but you can't add new ones (and you wouldn't use the CK for that anyway).

I think it's allowed to import, only if it's custom made from scratch without changing the original animation.