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Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa)

by darknation·Workflow

Images © darknation. Used for product review; image policy.

Why we like it

Unreal PSK/PSA earns its place in the Blender Extensions library for covering both directions of the PSK and PSA pipeline, with a Collection Exporters workflow aimed at repeatable exports and fine-grained handling of PSA sequences.

What is Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa)?

Unreal PSK/PSA handles both import and export of the PSK and PSA file formats used in many versions of the Unreal Engine, so meshes and animations can move between Blender and the engine. It is built by darknation and licensed under the GPLv3.

On import, non-standard model data in .pskx files is read in, including vertex normals, extra UV channels, vertex colors and shape keys, and non-standard animation data such as scale keys is supported for import as well. PSA sequence metadata like frame rate is preserved on import so it can be reused when exporting. Large PSA files can be worked through with fine-grained sequence importing, and batch PSA import works via drag and drop from the file system.

For export, the Collection Exporters workflow supports reliable, repeatable exports, bone collections can be excluded (for instance IK controllers), and material slots can be re-ordered manually. PSA sequences can be exported directly from actions or delineated using timeline markers, pose markers or NLA track strips, and exported sequences can be compressed via resampling ratios or frame quotas.

Who is Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa) best for?

Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa) is best for blender users moving meshes and animations to and from the PSK and PSA formats used in many versions of the Unreal Engine.

How much does Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa) cost?

Unreal PSK/PSA (.psk/.psa) is completely free to download and use.

Key features

  • Full PSK and PSA import and export capabilities
  • Non-standard .pskx model data (vertex normals, extra UV channels, vertex colors, shape keys) and scale keys supported for import only
  • Fine-grained PSA sequence importing for large PSA files, plus batch import via drag and drop
  • PSA sequence metadata such as frame rate preserved on import and reusable on export
  • Collection Exporters workflow for reliable, repeatable exports; bone collections can be excluded (e.g. IK controllers)
  • PSA sequences exported from actions or delineated by timeline markers, pose markers or NLA track strips
  • Manual re-ordering of material slots on export and sequence compression via resampling ratios or frame quotas

Tags

#Unreal Engine#PSK#PSA#import-export#animation#mesh#Blender addon

Frequently asked questions

Does Unreal PSK/PSA work with Blender 5.0?

Unreal PSK/PSA is listed as compatible with Blender 5.0 and newer, and can be installed from the Blender Extensions platform. For Blender 4.1 and lower, the developer maintains a Legacy Compatibility table mapping older Blender releases to specific add-on versions, for example version 7.0.0 for Blender 4.1 and 6.2.1 for Blender 4.0. Those legacy versions are no longer maintained and may still contain bugs that have been fixed in newer releases, so using the latest version is recommended where possible.

Why can't I see animations imported from a PSA in Unreal PSK/PSA?

Unreal PSK/PSA creates an Action for each sequence you select during PSA import rather than applying them to your armature automatically. To see an animation, apply the relevant Action to your armature through the Action Editor or NLA Editor. This behaviour exists partly because a single PSA can contain multiple sequences, and partly because the importer avoids modifying the scene in ways you might not expect. To review imported actions, use the Dope Sheet or Nonlinear Animation editors.

How do I control shading when exporting a PSK with Unreal PSK/PSA?

Unreal PSK/PSA relies on smoothing groups for shading on export, because the PSK format does not support vertex normals. A mesh's Custom Split Normals Data is ignored when exporting to PSK, so the recommended approach is to control shading using sharp edges together with the Edge Split modifier. This is worth keeping in mind if the smoothing on your exported models does not match what you see in Blender.

Is Unreal PSK/PSA free to use?

Unreal PSK/PSA is listed as free here and is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. You can download it from the Blender Extensions platform for Blender 5.0 and newer, or use a legacy version for older Blender releases. For current licensing terms and source code, check the developer's page on GitHub. The add-on requests permission to read and write PSK and PSA files from and to disk.

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