Animator - The Ultimate Timeline Cutscene Editor for Unity

Thank you for purchasing Animator. The timeline will automatically preview all of the tracks at once. It's just a matter of clicking on different frames to find the shot you're looking for.

 

Ah I said track when I meant to say "take". It's been a long day, I get the workflow now. Everything in a single cutscene should be a track.

 

That's right, the workflow involves adding a number of tracks to a take. You can keep your tracks organized by renaming, expanding and collapsing them.

Edit: As of v1.20, we've added the ability to arrange tracks and place them into groups for an organized workspace.

 

Update - v1.18

• New Feature: Context Selection. Select and manipulate keyframes:
  • Drag your cursor in the timeline to select and move frames.
  • Right-click to Insert, Cut, Copy, Paste, Clear and Select All Frames.
  • Please have a look at the documentation for more information.
• New Feature: Time Control. More ways to navigate the timeline:
  • Drag across the time to scrub through the timeline.
  • Click on the time to type in a new value.
• The timeline indicator now updates when playing in the scene-view
• Misc. style improvements

 

I ran into a bug this past weekend. It was during an intense crunch so I didn't write down all the details but I will convey what specifics I do remember.

I had a cutscene with about 28 layers and was attempting to set a key for translation on one of them. I noticed that it did not draw a path line in the editor after the key had been set, so I proceeded to ctrl+Z (undo) the key frame and try again. After I hit undo I immediately got a NullRef error on line 7005 of the AMTween script. I was still able to preview the animation but was unable to play the game. The scene had to be reloaded.

I hope this helps make a good product even better. I find the unity animation editor unusable for any sizable cutscene, it seems to bog down VERY quickly; this extension is filling a real need out there for many Unity users.

Keep up the good work.

 

We will investigate this bug immediately. Thank you for reporting it.

 

Wonderful, I was planning in doing a timeline-like animator for HOTween's Visual Editor, but since you already did it I'm happy to stick with it

I just started playing with Animator, and I have to say that Unity seriously needed something like that. I found a bug though (with the latest v1.18): the punch easing doesn't work, and starts crying for NullReferenceExceptions (AMTween line 4522):

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
3. AMTween.ApplyMoveToTargets () (at Assets/Animator/Plugins/AMTween.cs:4522)
4. AMTween.TweenUpdate () (at Assets/Animator/Plugins/AMTween.cs:5028)
5. AMTween.Update () (at Assets/Animator/Plugins/AMTween.cs:6970)
6.  

 

Edit: As of v1.19, this bug has been fixed and the faulty "punch" easing has been removed.

Thanks for reporting the bug. If you have any more feedback or suggestions, we would love to hear from you.

 

Update - v1.19

• Fix: Removed faulty "punch" easing
• Fix: Keyframes in context selection no longer overwrite each other when moved
• Misc. style improvements
• Misc. documentation improvements

 

Just for the record absameen, we've just replaced iTween by Izitmee's HOTween in our under-production game and the performance - and especially load time - gains were off the charts! Loading time on Android went down from 40s to something like 5s or so, and the memory gains were immense.

I'm not sure what Izitmee did in there, but I'm sure it was something VERY right You might want to consider using some of his stuff in your nice system.

 

We will look into optimizing our tweening engine for an increase in performance. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Probably a stupit question, but how can you loop a 'property track'?

 

Edit: As of v1.20, Animator supports looping. This can be done by passing 'true' when playing a take.
For example, Animator.Play("Take1", true);

 

Heyho,
a simple BUT very important (and for me much needed) request: Animator.Resume();
We need a Resume function so a stopped animation will start playing again.
My goal is to make every cutscene with animator, but it's a text based game so the user have to press a button when he's done reading. So I stop the animation, no problem with "Stop()" but I can't resume the animation where it stopped. So yes.. Resume() is needed!

 

Edit: As of v1.20, Animator supports pausing and resume takes.
This can be done with Animator.Pause() and Animator.Resume()

 

Update - v1.20

• New Feature: Groups. Organize your workspace with these new features:
  • Drag tracks and groups to arrange them.
  • Place tracks inside groups with virtually unlimited subgroups.
• Added ability to loop, pause and resume takes with the Animator Class
• Major design improvements: New look and feel.
• Misc. fixes and stability improvements

Important: This version is not compatible with data from v1.19 and lower.

 

Great news!! I will try the new update and especially the loop function

 

Update - v1.21

• New Feature: Quick Add. A faster way to add tracks:
  • Drag a GameObject onto the timeline.
  • Select a track type.
  • A track will be created and the GameObject will automatically be added to the track slot.
  • Add track combinations at the same time, such and Translation + Rotation or Translation + Rotation + Animation
• New Feature: Resize Timeline Action. A new way to manipulate keyframes:
  • Drag across a Timeline Action's edges to resize it
  • This is especially useful for stretching and compressing a Translation Track's interpolation curve.
• New Feature: Frame Control. More ways to navigate the timeline:
  • Drag across the Frame Control to scrub the timeline.
  • Click to enter a new value.
• New Feature: Timeline Scrubbing. More ways to navigate the timeline:
  • Drag across the frame numbers to quickly scrub through the timeline.
• The timeline can now show time instead of frame numbers. This can be changed from the Options.
• Misc. improvements and fixes

Important: This version is not compatible with data from v1.19 and lower.

 

The new update looks very nice

A couple of pre-emptive questions, since stuff done with v1.19 is not compatible with later releases... In case one should erroneously update to v1.21 in a project made with v1.19:
- where/how can we re-download an older release?
- will v1.21 warn you that you're using incompatible data from v1.19 (so that we don't accidentally mess up our projects)?
- are there some project-breaking issues? I mean, can we just re-download and install v1.19 and everything will be alright? Or some data will become corrupted?

Sorry for being annoying, but I just want to be safe. You know how it is with the summer heat: one can easily get distracted

 

Unfortunately due to the scope of the changes made, data from v1.19 is not compatible with v1.20+. Data will disappear without warning if you import v1.20+ into an older project. Please do not update Animator on any project with data from v1.19 and lower.

If you have v1.19 installed, you can copy the contents of the Animator folder onto your hard-drive for safe-keeping. If you've already updated and need access to an older version of Animator, please PM me the version of Animator you'd like to download (v1.19 or earlier) and your invoice number. I will send you a download link after your invoice is verified.

We're sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused. v1.20 is most likely the last project-breaking update as we are getting ready to drop Beta status.

 

First of all, great update!! I tried to animate my first person camera (standard unity camera) using Translation (position) and Local Euler angles using property track (rotations, two mouse look scripts).
But I've got a problem here. When animating my framerate drops from 60fps to 2fps. When deleting the two rotations, there is no dropdown. Am I doing something wrong or is it a bug?

 

Could you post or pm the code from the script you're using with the property track? We'd like to help you solve this problem but we need a little more information.

 

Thank you, I tried to search for the problem and I probably found it. The animation was fine, I changed the calling methode and changed the camera a bit. Now there is nog framerate dropdown.

But I've got an other problem now. I made a button to start and stop the animation. After playing the animation for the second time, the animation doesn't play till the last frame anymore. The length of the animation depends on when you stopped the animation. How can I fix this?

 

I've just tested stopping a take and then playing it again and it works fine. What methods are you using in your button? Animator.Play(), Animator.Stop(), Animator.Pause(), or Animator.Resume()?

 

I use Animator.Play() and Animator.Stop(), but I got the same with Animator.Pause().
I made the button with Antaris Universe, maybe the method I use is causing this problem? When button is true (triggered), it calls Animator.Play(), when false it calls Animator.Stop()

 

What I used to test this is a standard Unity GUI button. Please try using the following code so we can identify the problem:

Code (csharp):

1. bool isPlaying = false;
2. void OnGUI() {
3.     if(GUI.Button(new Rect(0f,0f,100f,100f),(isPlaying ? "Stop" : "Play"))) {
4.         if(!isPlaying) Animator.Play ("Take1");
5.         else Animator.Stop();
6.         isPlaying = !isPlaying;
7.     }
8. }

Paste the code into a C# script and attach it to a GameObject in your scene.

Edit: As of v1.22, this problem has been fixed.

 

Yes I forgot to mention that the animation loops. I tried the code, and works perfect, but when I set loop to true --> Animator.Play ("Take1", true) I have my problem again (not when I wait a while before clicking again). So I guess this is the bug you mentioned.

 

Edit: As of v1.22, this problem has been fixed.

Thanks for helping us find the bug. A new update with a fix for this problem will be released soon along with some new features; your patience is greatly appreciated.

 

Update - v1.22

• New Feature: Unlimited Zoom.
  • No limit to your zoom; zoom out as far as the whole take.
  • When zoomed out far enough, a more compact "bird's eye view" timeline will be shown.
• New Feature: Zoom Tool. Zoom right from your fingertips:
  • Hold alt and click on a frame to zoom to its location.
  • Hold alt and control and click on a frame to zoom out from its location.
  • Hold alt and drag to zoom in and out.
• New Feature: Hand Tool. A new way to navigate the timeline:
  • Hold space and drag to grab and move the timeline.
• New Feature: Scrubby Zoom. More zoom options:
  • Scrubby Zoom Cursor allows you to zoom in relative to the frame you are dragging across with the Zoom Tool.
  • Scrubby Zoom Slider allows you to zoom in relative to the timeline indicator with the Zoom Slider.
• New Feature: Resize View. More ways to zoom:
  • Set the first and last frame of your view by dragging across the edges of the thumb in the timeline scrollbar.
• Misc. improvements and fixes

Important: This version is not compaitable with data from v1.19 and lower.

 

I'm not using Animator lately, but I'm glad to know I'll find a lot of new improvements when I get back to it. The new zoom functions look awesome

 

I think I found a bug 1.22. In the translation, I'm unable to set different curves type for different keyframes but it works for rotation.

Also, can you please make it able to put the package in a subfolder. I like to group external packages into an External folder.

 

Edit: As of v1.25, this problem has been fixed.

Edit: As of v1.26, subfolder support has been added.

 

Update - v1.23

• New Feature: Orientation Track.
  • Set a transform's orientation target, or look target.
  • Useful for directing Cameras.
  • Transition between different targets and apply easing.
• New Feature: Ease Picker. A visual way to select easing algorithms:
  • Click the grid icon next to an ease popup to use the Ease Picker.
• New Feature: Custom Quick Add Combinations.
  • Create custom combinations from the Options menu, such as "Translation + Orientation + Property"
  • Drag a GameObject onto the timeline and select the newly created combinations to add multiple tracks at the same time.
• New Feature: Export Options to File. Transfer your options between projects.

Important: This version is not compaitable with data from v1.19 and lower.

 

New Video - Orientation Track (v1.23)
Set and transition between look targets with the Orientation Track.

​

 

The new visual ease picker is cool, but can I adjust the ease in curve like unity curve editor?

 

Please add somewhere a "Play On Start" checkbox so then we don't need to call Animator.Play("take"); when the take is supposed to run anyways.

 

Edit: As of v1.24, easing curves can be adjusted with the Ease Picker.

Edit: As of v1.24, a Play On Start feature has been added.

 

Update - v1.24

• New Feature: Custom Easing. Create and modify easing curves from the Ease Picker.
• New Feature: Play On Start. A quick way to play a take:
  • Click the Play On Start button to automatically play a take.
  • Play On Start can also be set from the Options.

Important: This version is not compatible with data from v1.19 and lower.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, your feedback is always appreciated.

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your hard work on this tool - it's fantastic!

Just wondering if you can add a Crossfade 'Time' input to the Animation Tracks - it would be nice to be able to adjust the duration of the crossfade between animations.

 

Edit: As of v1.25, a Time field has been added to Animation Crossfades.

 

This tool has been great for my project so far, thank you for your continual work on this project! It is one of the most useful asset purchases I have made so far in Unity.

 

Pleasant product. Lumion for all.
Can you add a function to capture a picture every frame?. I target to build a movie with these recorded pictures.

JP

 

Is it available in Flash build?I know the Unity built-in animation event and animation for custom script property is not available for Flash now.

 

Thank you for purchasing Animator. We're committed to shaping this product to meet the community's needs.
Please feel free to suggest any features that you'd like to see in the future.

That's certainly an interesting feature. However, I think you'd get a much better result by playing a take in play mode and then capturing it with video recording software such as FRAPS.

Hey there, Animator is powered by iTween, and I see no reason why it wouldn't work in the Flash build. However, I would recommend testing iTween first to make sure there won't be any complications. iTween is available for free in the Asset Store.

 

Update - v1.25

• New Feature: Import / Export Takes. Export one or all takes as a scene; Import takes into the current scene
• New Feature: Resolve Duplicates on Import. A quick way to update GameObject references when merging takes
• New Feature: Animation Crossfade Time. Set an animation crossfade's fade length
• Misc. improvements and fixes

Important: This version is not compatible with data from v1.19 and lower.

 

Hello,

I'm about to buy the Animator for Unity, but I still have some questions.
Would it be possible to keep animations done in Animator still working on other Unities that don't have this asset installed?
In the case we buy 3 licenses for 3 different machines, we have to buy it from 3 different accounts? Or would it be possible to buy 3 licenses for 3 computers using 1 single account?

Thanks in advance,
Laura

 

Hi Laura,

You would need Animator installed on each Unity installation. However, if you plan on hard-coding the animations by copying them from the Code View, all you would need is the AMTween plugin.

According to the default Asset Store license, the terms of the Unity license applies and "Unity grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable license: to install and execute the executable form of the Software, solely for internal use by a single person." This means you would need to purchase the asset for each team member who will be using it.

However, we can make an exception by allowing you to copy the AMTween plugin to different machines to be used by members of your team. To be clear, you would need to purchase the asset for each member who will be editting animations with the Animator asset, but no extra purchases are necessary if you choose to run hard-coded animations with the AMTween plugin.

If you have any more questions regarding the extension, please don't hesitate to ask.

Best regards,
Abdulla Ameen

 

Hi again!

I just purchased your editor and I'm having some problems to export and import animations.

When I import an animation into another project, it only works on the Animator preview, but when play the Unity Editor it bugs.
It asks me to Resolve Duplicates, if I overwrite the copies on the same GameObject, only the new animations work; and if I don't, the new animations don't work.

Thanks!
Laura

 

Edit: As of v1.26, this problem has been fixed.

 

Can you add these features please

1. I cannot rename AnimationData object

2. The Animator folder cannot be moved to a subfolder. It must reside in top folder only.