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Skele: Character Animation Tools, Cutscenes and Animations authoring tools

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by TMPxyz, Apr 16, 2014.

  1. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
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    Posts:
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    Hi, there!

    Skele is the editor extension to help developers to make skeleton & vertex animation and cutscene right inside UnityEditor;

    [ Online Manual ]
    [ Compatibility ]


    Skele: Character Animation Tools speeds up animator/indie's animation workflow:
    1. Enable developers to make / modify character animations in UnityEditor, reduce software switching and tedious import/export/split work;
    2. Runtime & EditTime IK + Constraints;
    3. Export mesh & animations for external 3D-softwares.
    4. Edit vertices of the mesh and make blendshape-like animation in UnityEditor
    5. Convert animations between Legacy/Generic/Humanoid rig types.
    6. Blender-style constraints system which can work at edit-time & runtime;
    7. Utilize the clips you bought from store, modify them to your needs, convert clip type, export to external software, etc.
    8. Spline Editor to design path in 3D space;
    9. [BETA] Integrate Timeline Editor. Greatly accelerate authoring productivity for complex multi-character scenes (cutscenes / finishing moves / etc);


    Main Feature list:
    • Make animation for your rigged characters with FK/IK support -- not just biped, you could manipulate any rigged models.
    • Modify animations from prefabs. Take out the animations from fbx/dae archives or convert from muscle clips, modify and get the result immediately.
    • Create complex multi-character actions. Edit the animations right inplace, and easily integrate with code/fx/audio/gui/etc.
    • Visualize the bone link, the vertices, and bone weights, etc.
    • Make/Save/Load pose on disk
    • Convert MuscleClip to Legacy/Generic Clip
    • Convert Root Bone curves into RootMotion for Animator component
    • Export skinned / non-skinned mesh and animation for external 3D softwares
    • Edit multi-part meshes
    • Modify Animation curve's property, path, type.
    • Fix Pivot of non-skinned meshes
    • Reduce keyframes of animation clips
    • Work with Unity Pro & Free, (some demo scene's unity-pro effect will not work on unity free)
    • Make Blendshape-like animations in UnityEditor
    • [BETA] Blender-style constraint system
    • Automatically add constraints for biped model

    See Also:
    Current Ver: 1.9.6 p7 (2016/10/02)

    ***************************************************
    Humanoid rig model needs special treatment, please read the two FAQ posts:
    (1) How to edit Humanoid clips?
    (2) Best workflow to work with Humanoid models?
    ***************************************************


    Unity Scene Camera Tips:
    Although most of you might have already been familiar with this, I just put it here in case.
    In Unity you could control the SceneView camera like in Blender.
    • rotate the view: Alt-LMB drag.
    • rotate the view around the selected object: click F to focus on selected object, use Alt-LMB to rotate around it.
    • pan the view: MMB or Alt-Ctrl-LMB
    • zoom the view: mouse wheel or Alt-RMB
    • rotate the view around a bone: with Skele enabled, select a bone, then click 'C', use Alt-LMB to rotate around it.
    • switch to another model: Alt+LMB

    Contact:
    • Mail : TMPxyz at gmail dot com
    • Twitter: @TMPxyz

    Please post bug reports feature requests in this thread or in our UserEcho IssueTracker;

    More details on Online Manual

    Overview

    1.0 Quick View of Basic Control
    $3.gif

    1.1 FK/IK and Quick overview of Basic Controls


    1.2 Animation Authoring Basic Tutorials
    1.2.2 Tutorial 101


    1.3 Mesh-Morpher and Shape Animation




    1.4 [BETA] Timeline Editor


    2. A Simple Animation
    $1.gif

    3. Make simple facial animation



    4. Modify Animations from FBX Files



    5. Export Mesh and Animations



    6.1 Walk with Constraints + helper Objects

    6.2 Spline editor + Follow path

    6.3 Maintain Volume

    6.4 Make Spline


    7. A Standard Cutscene



    7.1 A QTE cutscene



    7.2 MMD-style Dance Demo


    7.3 3rd-person Action Play Demo


    New Video/Demo

    1. Animate character and prop together



    1.1 Examples of Clips Conversion


    1.2 Compress the animation clips


    2. Multi-Bone Select/Edit


    3. Merge animation clips and AnimationCurveProp Editor


    4. Change Transform Path


    5. FPS Hand animation example
    Check this post for further explanation



    More in our Online Manual
     

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    Last edited: Oct 8, 2016
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  2. hopeful

    hopeful

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    This looks interesting! I look forward to finding out more about it.
     
  3. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, hopeful,

    Thanks for your reply.
    If you're interested in more details, please check out my website, you could download the user manual in the page :)
     
  4. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    v0.94 is just submitted and should be online in store around 4/30,
    mainly new functions for IK system;
     
  5. ZJP

    ZJP

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    Nice tool. What can be done in runtime?
     
  6. Darkling420

    Darkling420

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    I love this tool, and I rarely, if ever, praise another dev.
    I've already used it for a facial animation and kickboxing fight between two politicians.

    I have a question possibly related. You have a rotate GUI in your image above. Is that part of your custom editor, or is it an older version of Unity?

    Again, great work.. ah crap, two praises, now I'll have to be extra mean to my neighbors.
     
  7. LaneFox

    LaneFox

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    Can you declare IK targets and reposition them at runtime?
     
  8. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, Darkling420.
    Thank you for liking Skele.

    As your question about the GUI... Oh, you mean the "Rotate IK Link" part there...
    My apology that "Rotate IK Link" "IK Plane Lock" are the new functions just submitted to assetstore, it's supposed to go online around 4/30 if Unity guys gives green light.

    That reminds me to add a "NEW feature around 4/30" comment by the two gif.

    And, thanks again for your support. :)
     
  9. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, @ZJP @LaneFox:

    Thanks for reply. :)

    The IK solver can be used in runtime in theory, as it didn't use UnityEditor API.

    you just need to:
    1. give the IK end-effector(e.g.:Wrist or Ankle ) and the expected IK-link-length (def. 2)
    public void SetBones(Transform endJoint, int len)

    2. give the IK target, call Execute() every frame or whenever you see fit.
    public Vector3 Target

    BUT as it's designed as an Editor extension, and supposed to work under human supervision.
    So I didn't add the "limits" parts for now, which means you could get funny results like elbow rotating inward. :)

    In short, you COULD use it in RUNTIME but I DON'T recommend it for now,

    P.S.:
    I believe you already know the FINAL IK extension there, I don't have it, but remembered that they claimed to have "limits" parameters.
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2014
  10. LaneFox

    LaneFox

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    I see.

    I know Final IK is there but from what I can tell its not especially friendly for doing simple things. This is a cool looking tool here that appears much simpler, what I really am looking for is to 1) Tell it to use a target or not, 2) Specify an object/vector3 for the target 3) Control weights of the IK targetting.

    The hard thing is like you said, controlling joint orientation. Final IK is likely going to continue developing and get there, but I'm also keeping my eyes peeled for alternatives that have a simple front end that is runtime friendly.
     
  11. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Interesting, I see your needs here. :)
    I'm working on the constrain/limits parts now, and i'm considering to also make a runtime web demo for this simple IK solver.

    if things go smoothly, I would post the demo in this thread around 4/30.
    maybe you could drop a visit by then, and check if it could make you interested.
     
  12. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Well, as I said in prev post, I made a runtime web demo for the IK solver with:
    1. specify target position
    2. control weight

    I haven't added any constraints for it, the IK algorithm for editor seems not quite fit constraints in runtime, I think it might need some extra tweaking (like plane test maybe) if you want it to look perfect in all situations.

    Anyway, check it out if you have interest.
    http://tmpxyz.wix.com/alpha#!webdemo/cdd5
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2014
  13. ZJP

    ZJP

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    Fine for me. Just update the asset in the Store with this demo. :D
     
  14. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Well then, this demo will be included in the next update. :)
     
  15. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    New version(0.94b) has just passed the Unity review and online now.

    Main Change List:

    0.94b
    • NEW: IK Rotate mode, press `E' in IK mode will enter IK Rotate mode, you could then rotate the IK link around the axis of IK root joint and IK end-effector;
    • NEW: IK Plane Lock, when IK plane lock is on, the end-effector will only move along the specified IK plane;
    • NEW: IK Flip Joints;

    Take a look at:
     
  16. dibdab

    dibdab

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    would like ask, what is the process of making animations in unity w animation timeline?

    how (animator controller?) are they saved, and can they be started from code like Animator.Play?
     
  17. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, dibdab,

    1. About making animation
    In Animation window, You press the "record" button and manipulate the bones in the timeline, Unity Animation Window will record the changes and generate .anim files.
    ( If you're not still not sure, have a try with the Unity Animation window, and see how the keyframe are recorded )

    2. How are the data saved?
    Every animation clip you create with Unity Animation Window will be saved as .anim file in your project.

    Have a try with this webdemo, the animation is made with Skele and be used in Mecanim, you could click the "Toggle Animation" Button to start/stop the animation. ( NOTE: you could hold `Alt' key to show the mouse cursor to click buttons )
    http://tmpxyz.wix.com/alpha#!webdemo/cdd5

    This is the Animator I used in the webdemo, you could see the `walk' animation I made.
    $Mecanim1.jpg

    P.S.:
    The clips in your .fbx/.dae file are read-only and you need modelling software to modify them.
    The clips created in Unity Animation window could be modified in Unity Editor whenever you need, this could save you some export/import work cycles.
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2014
  18. ZJP

    ZJP

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    So, Is it possible to add an option that would:
    a) read a fbx/dae imported file.
    b) save it as .anim
     
  19. dibdab

    dibdab

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    TMPxyz, thanks. it sounds great, never did it before and wanted to be sure there are no unexpected differences from the usual workflow.

    ok, one more question popped up in my head. you say it is used in mecanim, so the .anim made with skele is mecanim compatible out-of-the-box, I dont need to configure humanoid skeleton or anything, just drop it into animator controller and good to go?
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2014
  20. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Oh, I get what you meant to do:

    1. create the animation in your max/maya/blender and export to Unity;
    2. edit the animation data with Skele;

    The answer is YES, I have done that before.

    Just expand your .fbx file with animation data, you could duplicate the containing anim_data with Ctrl+D and save it to your project, then it's all yours.
     
  21. ZJP

    ZJP

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    Thanks for the tip. :D
     
  22. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, dibdab,

    I just created several animations and tried combinations with Legacy/Generic/Humanoid rigging types, and here is what I got:

    1. Legacy rig: OK. Skele can make animations for Legacy rigs; but be noted that Legacy animation is not applicable to generics/humanoid, an export_as_dae_and_reimport process should help.

    2. Generics rig: OK, this is the rig type I usually use.

    3. Humanoid rig:
    You need to duplicate another prefab and make it generics for making animation, as Unity forbids keyframing on Humanoid rigs;
    The animation made with Generics rig can be used on Humanoid rig, Just be noted the default pose of humanoid rig is a curling pose, so you should make a keyframe barrier at the first frame.

    So, in short:
    Legacy is ready-to-use;
    Generics is mecanim compatible out-of-the-box;
    Humanoid needs you to be aware the default-curl-pose when make animation;


    The Default Pose in Generic Rig:
    $prefabPose.jpg

    The Default Pose in Humanoid Rig:
    $curlingPose.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 2, 2014
  23. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, there!

    This week's update is ready to pack.
    If everything goes smoothly, it should get into the assetstore on May 7th.

    Be sure to check the new features video clips in the first post of this thread!

    The main change list is below:

    0.96
    NEW: IK Root Rotate mode, in IK Rotate Mode, press 'E' to switch between IK Rotate mode IK Root Rotate mode;
    NEW: IK Pin, pin the specified joint;
    NEW: Straighten the limb, for arms or legs, make the lower limb to follow the axis of the upper limb;
    NEW: IK Limb Constraints, improve the quality of IK for arms and legs, needs configuration;
    NEW: Revised GUI;
    NEW: include the Web demo scene code;
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2014
  24. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, there.

    I've just submitted the v0.96 package to the asset store.
    If Unity guys gives green light, it should get into the asset store on May 7th;

    Don't forget to update Skele next week :D
     
  25. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Wow, Unity guys are really fast this time. Skele v0.96 is online now.
     
  26. dibdab

    dibdab

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    is this working only on one-mesh rigs or it isnt automaticly appearing? I have these mesh renderers but how do I add skinned mesh renderer?

    *ok, with some multi-mesh rigs it appears but it looks like this system works best w one-mesh (or the multi-mesh animation process seems like would too much complicated)

    tried to follow on humanoid rig

    but this happens if I drag the .anim into animation controller (or using the same animator controller as the robot)
    the character doesn't move


    start screen


    but also there is something on the console I'm not understanding

    AssertionException: Expected: not null
    But was: null

    NUnit.Framework.Assert.That (System.Object actual, IResolveConstraint expression, System.String message, System.Object[] args)
    NUnit.Framework.Assert.IsNotNull (System.Object anObject)
    UnityEditor.Graphs.AnimationStateMachine.Graph.BuildGraphFromStateMachine (UnityEditorInternal.StateMachine stateMachine) (at C:/BuildAgent/work/d3d49558e4d408f4/Editor/Graphs/UnityEditor.Graphs/AnimationStateMachine/Graph.cs:56)
    UnityEditor.Graphs.AnimationStateMachine.Graph.RebuildGraph () (at C:/BuildAgent/work/d3d49558e4d408f4/Editor/Graphs/UnityEditor.Graphs/AnimationStateMachine/Graph.cs:51)
    UnityEditor.Graphs.AnimatorControllerTool.RebuildGraph () (at C:/BuildAgent/work/d3d49558e4d408f4/Editor/Graphs/UnityEditor.Graphs/Animation/AnimatorControllerTool.cs:252)
    UnityEditor.Graphs.AnimatorControllerTool.StateDirty () (at C:/BuildAgent/work/d3d49558e4d408f4/Editor/Graphs/UnityEditor.Graphs/Animation/AnimatorControllerTool.cs:247)
    UnityEditor.Graphs.AnimationStateMachine.StateTransitionsEditor.OnInspectorGUI () (at C:/BuildAgent/work/d3d49558e4d408f4/Editor/Graphs/UnityEditor.Graphs/AnimationStateMachine/StateTransitionsEditor.cs:51)
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2014
  27. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, dibdab,

    Thanks for your feedback. :)

    You have pointed out 3 things, let's tackle them one by one.

    1. about the humanoid rig animation
    I made a video to introduce the workaround for Humanoid rig. Please check it out


    Beware that the generic rig must have same structure and same names of bones with the humanoid rig, I guess the robot's skeleton is not the same as your own model.
    Are your model all rigged with biped? Using same set of skeleton might help unify the bone names.

    2. About the Multi-Mesh

    Skinned Mesh Renderer will appear if the model is rigged in modeling software and import into Unity with Legacy/Generic/Humanoid rig type, then you could start Skele with the green button on SkinnedMeshRenderer component.

    I cannot see the structure of your multi-mesh model, In theory, if the multi-meshes are sharing the same instance of skeleton in Unity, you should be able to manipulate them all at once.

    I guess what you're trying to do is "sharing skeleton with multiple mesh". You could talk with your programmer referring to this link.

    If this is not the case, please provide some more details of your model structure ( hierarchy pics or sample scene ) and I'll see if I can give more help. :)

    3. The Unit-Test Log
    It seems the log you posted here comes from NUnit, a unit-test framework, not part of Skele.
    The framework could come with Unity Test Tools, I'll give it a try tonight and see how it goes.
     
    Last edited: May 10, 2014
  28. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, dibdab,

    I've downloaded and tried with Unity Test Tools just now,
    However I cannot reproduce the log you posted here.

    My guess here is that your programmer might have added some tests to ensure every state in Animator is filled with an animation?

    So, my suggestion is to create the animations for your humanoid character and ensure that every state is filled with animation, then check if the log still shows up.
     
  29. dibdab

    dibdab

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    ok. the error log might not be because of skele (though I guess I dont have Unity Test Tools installed). so you say all the animation states should be filled? I'll do that. (didn't have this as a problem w other humanoid rigs and animations though).

    the thing about (rigged) multi-mesh character object is that in one case skinned mesh renderer didn't show up under the individual objects, in other case it did. I don't know why it is. the multi-mesh is good for separate head/clothes/skin textures,
    but I can do atlased one-mesh rig.

    just took a look at the video. yeah, that's what was happening.
    I might be mistaken, the robot's object/skeleton base isn't at waist height, rather than foot? if it is, wouldn't be better at the foot (it might complicate things w the character controller, had some issues w finalIK w such skeletons before)

    "Beware that the generic rig must have same structure and same names of bones with the humanoid rig, I guess the robot's skeleton should not be the same with your own model."
    could you make an empty skeleton of the robot available, so I would rig my characters to that skeleton? I could probably get it/convert from the asset, but if you have it around, it would help (if possible, in T-posed 2009fbx)
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2014
  30. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    1.
    The curling pose and the skeleton's base position for humanoid is decided by the Unity humanoid configuration. Sadly we cannot override it.

    2.
    "so I would rig my characters to that skeleton?"
    No, you don't need to rig your character (let me call it Mr.X) to the robot's skeleton.

    Indeed you should duplicate one copy of your Mr.X (let's call it Mr.XCopy) , make Mr.XCopy into Generic rig, then make your animations on Mr.XCopy.

    Just for others' reference, when I say "make Mr.XCopy into Generic Rig", I mean change the import setting of the Mr.XCopy.
    $rigtype.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2014
  31. dibdab

    dibdab

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    just to confirm it's working on one-mesh rig generic
     
  32. Darkling420

    Darkling420

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    Awesome. Keep up the good work. The only request I have is to be more familiar with Unity editor built-in.
    Example. Allow using Unity Editor control widgets (move, rotate, etc) as well as the key bindings.(or a custom editor window with the controls looking similar to the built-in).
    I would also like the ability of rotating/transforming from the inspector window transform/rotation/scale element.
    Other than that, I think this is pretty well in line with perfection.
    I've been trying to make a transformer in Maya for about a year, whereas using Skele only took 11 minutes on a vehicle from daz. Since I'm a creature of habit, I like having a single UI for everything, and this is the best addon to date.

    I also like how extensible it is. Two different models built inside unity with Skele became one model.

    I'm not plugging anything, but here's an image of the two models with body shift while steering, peda fast, pedal slow, pedal back while looking backl, and look back animations made with Skele. I've never had luck animating, but these only took a few minutes each and are likely to save me $$ thousands this year.
    $daisy.jpg

    p.s. the little girl is from 3drt from the asset store
    Edit: I forgot to mention that the IK rotation worked on the girls arms and the rudder of the bike simultaneously (two separate models with skinned mesh renderers).
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2014
  33. ZJP

    ZJP

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    @Darkling420
    A Webplayer? ;)
     
  34. Darkling420

    Darkling420

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    The image was supposed to be animated. I build for Android, but Ill let it compile for webplayer later, it just takes forever.
     
  35. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, dibdab,

    Glad it works for you :)

    As for the multi-mesh part we talked before.
    I made a video here, maybe it's not your case, just for others' reference.

     
  36. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, Darkling420,

    Glad to hear your feedback :)

    You talked about unifying GUI style and operation style with Unity Editor.
    Emm... It's possible but could cost a serious chunk of refactor work, also I might need some help with an artist...
    So, I would take note of that for now, maybe give it a re-considering after reaching v1.0;

    By the way, I'm looking forward to see your webdemo too. :)
     
  37. dibdab

    dibdab

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    it's interesting that physics work while animation is on. (if animator controller has 1 animation, if it's 2, no physics just pose/anim)
    was testing w ragdoll. its also possible to record position even in play mode w snapshot.
     
  38. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Physics? WOW, that's a very interesting idea.

    Thanks dibdab, I'll check out what interesting features we can have from that.
     
  39. Dbone

    Dbone

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    Very interested in this asset, it looks awesome! I just want to confirm that ALL of it's features are available in Unity free before I buy. Also, do you need to import a character with an IK rig to use IK transformations, or can you select bones and apply IK in Skele? Generally I work with mocap and use use a basic rig with no IK, but I would like to modify some animations using IK.

    What great work! And what a great price! Thanks!
     
  40. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, Dbone,

    Thanks for your interest in Skele. :)

    Let me answer your questions here.

    1. ALL features are available in Unity Free.
    2. To use IK features of Skele, you DON'T need to rig your character with any IK solver or helpers etc.

    P.S.: There is a label invisible problem in Unity Free for now as you can see in dibdab's pic. It's because Unity free displays the text in black and make it indistinguishable on black background, I'll fix it in next week's update.
    $invisibleLabel.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2014
  41. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

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    Hi, there!

    I have just submitted this week's update package.
    If Unity guys give green light, it should get into the assetstore on May 14th.

    Be sure to check the new features video clips in the first post of this thread!

    The main change list is below:

    0.98 (Submitted on 2014/05/11)
    NEW: Pose Manager. You can save/load poses in your project now.
    NEW: Skeleton Sharing Utility. Use this utility to make several skinned meshes share one same skeleton instance. (must be rigged to same skeleton)
    FIXED: Some text on Unity Free are not visible, as the text color is the same as the background color;


    Also, As we will reach the v1.0 in the next update, I'm preparing for that milestone a good feature that I've been wanting to add recently.
    Hope you would like it.
     
  42. dibdab

    dibdab

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    looking forward to new updates

    about .anims and physics:
    now using 2 .anims in animator controller and physics work (ragdoll colliders). when animator is switched off it seems like with 1 .anim the physics are unstable, with 2 more like normal ragdoll physics
    animator off after ball bounced

    animator on
     
  43. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    Hi, dibdab,

    Glad to see you have made progress there.

    Although I don't know if you're baking animation with Physics in edit-time or combining animation with physics in run-time, I would like to share some experience about combining the animation and physics in run-time here too.

    As I'm not an all-expert about the physics things, it'll be helpful if you point out anything wrong in my statements.

    Now here we go,

    I think the most important fact is Animation will overwrite the result of Physics.

    You can see it in doc here, it made clear that the Animation update is after the Physics update in each frame.
    So, if you want to combine the animation physics together, you should make a careful setup to avoid unexpected effect from animation when you want to see physics in action.

    For example, if I made an facial animation when the Gatekeeper is hit by the ball, it should be fine as the physics and animation are affecting different bones.
    But if I want to use physics to make the Gatekeeper be hit away by the ball, and there's an animation that is affecting the position of root bone, that will be problem.

    Here is a clip that shows the animation effect on Physics:
    $cover.jpg
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2014
  44. dibdab

    dibdab

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2011
    Posts:
    976
    me neither. I'm using default animator settings, not doing anything fancy. maybe I'll do a video of it later.

    about Modifying existing animations from FBX files:
    I guess it only works for the same skeletons that already carry some animations.
    would it be possible to export (mecanim humanoid) fbx and use retargeted animations? there's one asset on the asset store that claims to export fbx and there's another animation exporter and a collada exporter


    also, one more thing.
    could you make a root-height 'keyframer' for skele (or is it already possible)? I was running into .anims being positioned lower than my unanimated character (might be me doing something wrong).
     
  45. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    You only need make a POSITION keyframe for the root bone at the start of the animation, watch the 1:20 position of the video, you could see how the POSITION keyframe is made.
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1126224/Skele/15/15.html

    Your guess is mostly right, For Legacy Generics rig type, the animation will work on all models that rigged with same skeleton, it doesn't matter if the model carries animation or not.
    E.g.: The three models are rigged with same skeleton, and are being driven by same animator.
    $t02.gif

    The humanoid rig type animation ( or retargeted animation ) cannot be modified easily in Unity Animation Window.
    If there's not a FBX/DAE file that we can use to transform it back to generic/legacy rig type animation, we can hardly modify it.
    I cannot say about if the exporter can export a file that can be modified in max/maya, as I haven't tried exporting animation before.
    However If you do succeed in exporting it, and apply the animation on same skeleton of your model, I think it should be OK.
     
  46. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    Hi,

    Skele v0.98 is online in AssetStore now,
    Be sure to update the package :D
     
  47. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    Hi, there,

    Last week, I've been working on the CutScene Editing Tools for the Skele v1.0
    You could edit the character animation right in the Cutscene, and integrate with everything else with ease.

    No more frustration after you work a long time in modelling software and in the end find it not fit into your Cutscene.
    No more tedious import/export work with modelling software for minor changes.
    No more pains in matching your animations with Fx/Sound/Spawning/Dialog/FunctionCalls/etc.


    The main chunk of work is finished. I'm working hard on making it easier to use now.

    One picture is worth a thousand word, one working demo is worth one thousand pictures :)

    You shoud be able to see the Cutscene Editing Tools in next week, and this week I'll post several Web_Demos in this thread.
    So be sure to drop by now and then :D

    Okay, here comes the first demo,
    It shows some basic functions, Cam control, character animation integration, sound control, GUI dialog, Fade, etc

    $CC1_Cover.jpg

    You can see it at the website:
    http://tmpxyz.wix.com/alpha#!cutscene-demo-1/c1v1f
    Or use the Dropbox address:
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1126224/Skele/CC1/CC1.html
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2014
    Socrates likes this.
  48. EmeralLotus

    EmeralLotus

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2012
    Posts:
    1,459
    Really Cool Project.

    Some great stuff your doing here.

    I'm mainly interested in the Runtime Features of the package. Can you give some ideas of what can be done in Run Time.

    Edit: Another question, can the package be used together with FinalIK ?

    Cheers.
     
  49. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    Hi, rocki,

    The cutscene editing system will be online next week, but now I'm glad to share some use cases I've thought about:

    1. Standard Cutscene
    Compared to other cutscene editing product, The best part of Skele is that it enables developers to make skinned character animation with cutscene together, we don't have to frequently switch between max/maya/blender and unity just because small mismatch between characters or character and environment objects. You could just adjust immediately in Unity Editor, WYSIWYG.
    Also when everything is in one animation on one timeline, it would be much much easier to integrate code with animation, it would be very clear to tell where an event should be placed, when to bind fx, when to spawn object, when the GUI dialog should pop up, when to fade in/out, etc, etc.

    2. Interactive Cutscene
    What do we come up when the word "Interactive Cutscene" is proposed?
    (1) A cutscene with options, this is common in games with dialog. Elder scrolls, Monkey islands, Age of Conan, Dragon Origin... Well, all kinds of games.
    (2) QTE cutscene, they can be seen everywhere too. Mostly action games, God of War, Assassin Creeds, Tomb raider, even Call_of_Duty and Battlefield have some of these. We could just jump to different segment of the cutscene based on whether player perform the right action in limited time.

    3. Prefab Actions
    We can see such things in a lot of action games, like Biohazard 4/5/6 and Assassin Creeds, the hero/heroine will perform a special action on enemy during battle, like backstab, combo hits, killing blow, etc.
    You just need make one animation and replace actors with your avatar and enemy at runtime

    4. Random Background NPC animation
    As we could replace the actors at runtime, it can also apply onto some NPCs on background.
    e.g.: in a battle field, there may be many groups of warriors fighting, each group could all play one same cutscene containing many small segments, and we could play segments randomly or based on some logic.


    That's what I have thought about for now, I believe you guys can come up much more.
     
  50. TMPxyz

    TMPxyz

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
    Posts:
    766
    Hi, there,

    Here comes the second demo,

    This one mainly shows the function of "Replacing Actor during Runtime" which is important for Prefab Actions and QTE.
    Also you may note the usage of timescale control and camera switch, etc.

    The four characters are all rigged to same skeleton *mostly*. The two soldiers don't have face rig, that's why their faces won't have animation.

    $CC2_Cover.jpg

    You can try this at website:
    http://tmpxyz.wix.com/alpha#!cutscene-demo-2/ciwi
    Or use the Dropbox address:
    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1126224/Skele/CC2/CC2.html
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2014