Skele: Character Animation Tools, Cutscenes and Animations authoring tools

Thanks heaps for the reply,
I'll give it a go. Sorry, I hadn't noticed that video before.
Cheers.

EDIT:
That works a treat. Happy days!

 

Thanks Uninator,

Yeah, you're right, currently the Mirror-editing feature has a quite strong assumption for the model's skeleton structure and over-complex setting.

I will redo this feature later to make it setup-free like in blender.


Best regards,

 

You're welcome,

If you've any other questions, you could always ask me here or via mail.

Best regards,

 

Awesome, thank you TMPxyz! Looking forward to the next Skele release

The really bad news is, that I can't get any animation that rotates bones interpolate correctly between two key frames. I have read the previous posts and tried it with all the different available interpolation methods (quaternion, euler, euler quaternion approximation). Also adding more key frames didn't help (only if I created a key frame for each frame which really isn't a solution).

I've seen several really strange problems. Here are the two strangest:
1) One problem I had was, that in the last interpolated frame before the next key frame the animation already "overshot" its target (the key frame animation). The curve was in linear mode though, so there was no overshooting visible in the curves.
2) Then I often have the issue, that the interpolated rotation doesn't follow a straight path (as you would think it should do), but instead does some weird "elliptic" rotation to reach its destination. Sometimes this effect is smaller visible, sometimes it is really strong.

Are these problems also related to the bug with the incorrect rotation you posted on your homepage?

If I do the same animations in Blender, they interpolate just as you would expect it to be... So this can't be a math issue I guess...

Please note that I see this issues even when doing only small rotations (~45°, so this seems not to be related to the 180° problem mentioned in the Unity manual).

I really can't get any of the rotations done correctly... Are there any other bugs in the animation window that we should know about?? (I'm using Unity 5.3.5f1)

Is there a Unity version that worked stable, so I could switch back for doing the animations in that version?

Thanks for your help and sorry to bother you with this Unity related issues

 

Ok, I tried the Animation Window of Unity 4.6 now, it has the same issue: An animation with 2 simple keyframes (one standing, the other 45° rotated forward) results in an "elliptic like" interpolated rotation instead of rotating directly as expected.

I also wrote a small test script that interpolates between the same 2 rotations using Quaternion.Slerp(). That way, it interpolates correctly (it rotates the shortest possible way)...

Because it works with the Quaternion.Slerp() function, I thought that a possible workaround would be to create the .anim file per script (not using Unity's Animation Window). And for each frame in the .anim file, I would create a key frame (calculated by Quaternion.Slerp() by interpolating between my real key frames). But this would require to write an own custom "Animation Window" where you can place/edit the real key frames. Whicht then has an export button that creates the .anim file using Quaternion.Slerp().
This has the downside that the animation file would be bigger then necessary because it would have a keyframe each frame. Also it would be a lot of work. But at the moment I see no other solution as the Unity Animation window definitely isn't use able for creating skeleton animations that include rotations...

 

I checked out the latest Unity 5.4 beta: The problem also occurs there but not as common as in all the previous unity versions --> I wrote a bug report. Hopefully they will fix it.

 

Hi, Uninator,

Thanks very much for the feedback,

You could check this video in FAQ of Unity5.3.4p1 interpolation issue, and compare with the case you mentioned:
http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/84-utility/81-f-a-q#known-compatibility-issue

I'm using Unity5.3.4f1 and it's good here. The issue happens since Unity5.3.4p1 and persists in later versions.

I've sent report to Unity before, and it seems they might fix it in Unity5.4 official release, not 100% sure though.

Best regards,

 

Hi firstly this is great so thanks. I'm rigging IK moves in no time. I have some questions about trying to implement walking on uneven ground. My character is a tripod type creature which means humanoid avatar is out of the question as far as I know. I noticed the Constraints tutorial 1 for walking and decided to try implementing some code to move the feet, its very crude but it works (it's actually quite funny to watch). Anyway the character walks ok on a flat surface but it seems there will be a lot of work involved to modify the Skele code to begin coping with adjusting the feet to not pass through uneven ground. I have some thoughts on how to do it by raycasting from the left and right targets and then pulling the main hip up as required towards the path target to keep the character upright but can foresee other issues like stride lengths and so on to look natural (it will end up being lot's to do I'm sure). Do you have any advice on what will be the best approach to cope with uneven terrain for my 3 legged beast? I'm quite new to IK in general and my understanding is if I bake animations like in the walk demo 2 I won't be able to control the IK targets - true? Thanks in advance.

 

Hi, GameDevs,

Skele 1.9.6p1 is submitted, just some minor improvements, if you're at 1.9.6, you could skip this one.

====================================
1.9.6 p1 (Submitted on 2016/06/29)
Add: Allow showing multiple splines simultaneously;
Add: DbgHandler for adding prefix of Framecount/time in log;
Fix: Auto-Constraint Setup util;
====================================
1.9.6 p2 (Submitted on 2016/06/30)
Fix: CCDSolverMB jitter;
Add: Auto-Constraint Setup util: when opened, try filling options with currently selected object;
====================================

Also, here's a video of the "Automatic Biped Constraints Setup Utility" introduced in 1.9.6;
I've been feeling that the constraints setup is kind of complex, so we made this to simplify the procedure to a few clicks.

Best regards, Be creative,

 

Hi, Beloudest,

That's an interesting question

We've added a 'Use raycast' option on the 'Floor' constraint in the v1.9.6, it utilizes the Physics.raycast on a given object to find out the floor position.

Here is a gif showing a tripod walking on uneven terrain.



In the gif above, we used the raycast option from Floor constraint on a mesh-collider,
(You might notice the rear leg is jittering a bit, I'm investigating that. you could try re-adding the CCDSolverMB component on the leg, sometimes that could fix the jitter)

========================

Also, do you mean to use it in edit-time or runtime?

========================
updated:
fixed the jitter in v1.9.6 p2.

Best regards,

 

Nice, I have come across this and am aware that it's there. I've spent a good bit time trying to make the robot run just with two legs. I'm trying to add some curves into the mix to make for nice easing and lift the knees, once that's working I'll try playing with ray-casting on the feet.

Here's a preview:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uj2xpacgzhyxnk1/Desktop 06.29.2016 - 15.31.49.11.mp4?dl=0

That's walking up a incline. I plan to make it Nav Mesh compatible.

 

Hi TMPxyz,

I already wrote a bug report to Unity. My bugs seem to be different then yours...

Have you already tried Unity 5.4.0b23 with Skele? The rotation handle is not working anymore (it worked in 5.4.0b22). I checked out if this is a bug of the rotation handle by testing the rotation handle code provided by the Unity manual: https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/Handles.RotationHandle.html

But this code works, so it seems that it is something else in the Skele code that causes this problem. Could you check that please?

Thanks!

 

Hi, Uninator,

Thanks for the feedback,

I'll download the beta tonight and check it here.

But do your really have to use the beta version? I heard the AnimationWindow's interpolation issue is still active in beta.


Best regards,

 

Hi, Uninator,

Just tested on the latest U5.4.0b24,

The RotationHandle works fine here, but the interpolation issue is still active,
So it's not recommended to use on this version now.


Best regards,

 

@TMPxyz, I've exported the animation with the helper tool and imported it in a new project. I don't know what to do next. I've imported the model and the model@clip dae files into a new project but I cant seem to add the animation to the model. I've tried googling it but no luck. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you!

 

Hello, we are having trouble getting Skele to work properly, for some strange reason the move tool does not work. Has anyone else had this issue?

Edit: Actually the move tool does seem to work, but only in 2D mode! Very strange...

Edit#2: I fixed this issue by resetting my layout to default. Hopefully this helps anyone else that runs into the issue.

 

Hi, I recently bought your asset, and installed it today to give it a shot. I script in JS, so I followed your instructions in the docs to create a Plugins folder, and transfer the scripts from Animator/Plugins into my folder, and I get the following errors:
Assets/Plugins/AMCameraFade.cs(8,7): error CS0246: The type or namespace name `MH' could not be found. Are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?

Assets/Plugins/AnimatorTimeline.cs(7,7): error CS0246: The type or namespace name `MH' could not be found. Are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference? I'm using Unity 5.3.5. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your time.

 

Hi, VectorNector,

Thanks for your feedback

This doc page explains how to export the clip with DAE Exporter: (A video tutorial is included too)
http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/81-exporter/77-dae-exporter-manual?showall=&start=2

Tell me if you still have difficulty getting it to work, you could also mail me via tmpxyz at gmail;


Best regards,

 

Hi, LukeLitman,

Thanks for your valuable feedback

Can you give me more details on your Unity version & OS,

What's more important, could you give me a screenshot of the layout which might cause trouble,

Thanks a lot,


Best regards,

 

Hi, wheelbarrow,

Thanks for the feedback

Sorry for that, but I don't quite remember that I've written instructions about JS.
Maybe you've found an old document that I wrote long ago?

Could you help to point me to the link or location of the instruction in question?

Also, even if you use JS scripting, if you don't need to directly call C# code, you don't need to move anything.
http://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/ScriptCompileOrderFolders.html

Is there any issues that interferes your JS code?

=============================

Also, there's an issue in Unity AnimationWindow since Unity5.3.4p1, it might last until official Unity5.4.
http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/84-utility/81-f-a-q#known-compatibility-issue

I'm currently using Unity5.3.4f1 which is free of this issue.


============================

You could also contact me via mail by tmpxyz at gmail dot com

Hope to hear from you soon,

Best regrads,

 

Hi TMPxyz,

Are we all good to go with the current (full) release of 5.4?
Turns out I've uninstalled 5.3.3f1, and don't want to risk things going crazy with the compatibility issue.

Thanks mate.

 

Hello!
Tell me, where is the human model from this video?

I want to test the facial animation, but could not find anywhere that model. Or someonecan provide a free model of a human head with bones apart to morph?

 

I've been researching this asset more since UCC (Universal Character Customisation) was abandoned and now I have returned here to Skele.

I have been looking for a good character customisation solution and I believe this asset might be helpful for that.
Black Desert Online has the best character customisation tools I have ever seen and its worth a look! :3

Goals of Character Customisation:
(Most ideas taken from UCC Character Customisation)
Use dynamic morphs / blend shapes
Create morphs that can plug into other assets for compatibility
Morph Mixer or Blender that can allow for complex morphs and blending for unique characters
Morph Tags that allow for specific Morphs but also offer variety
Save percentages of morphs / blend shapes for randomly generated characters in-game
Share morphs between meshes of the same vertex count to allow for varied characters
Allow interactions in-game to save or store preferred morphs but still offer variety (morphs adjust based on interactions)
Allow linking morphs to separate mesh objects or conform (example is a glove conforming to a morphed hand without adjusting the glove's vertices)
For animal species, having tags, labels and names for species and more would be largely helpful
Robust Morph editor like UCC for dedicated character customisation

Most ideas can be taken from UCC Character Customisation, it was an asset I was going to use until it was canned by the developer himself.

I believe Skele has the potential to offer what UCC did for character customisation.

In earlier posts, I noticed someone mentioned changing poses.
Based on that idea, what about being able to modify defined limbs interactively in-game but with the ability to limit constraints to prevent problematic behavior?
I think this is a neat idea for, example, modifying the limbs of a doll to a different position, creative cut-senes and more possibilities.

All in all, I believe an approach similar to the Korean MMO Black Desert would be a solid idea.

What do you all think?

I believe Skele is an on-going robust animation package that can go beyond just animations and provide customisation options as well.

One particular usage in my game I am working on is the following:
Adventure Creator with the usage of ICE Creature Control using animations derived from Skele for customisation options with FinalIK offering amazing control.
Additionally, Lip Sync Pro and Random Eyes would help to build character.

 

Hello,

I'm having a problem with keyframes making 360 spin... What I mean is for example I have my character finger rotation x at 355 right? So when I move it up a bit like I want it goes to 360 and then resets back to 0 and then 5. This way I do get the rotation pose I want but since last keyframe had 355 and next is 5 it does a spin from 355 to 5. Basically like that and everything else has the same thing.

So my question is how to fix this? Is there a way to just let it go over 360 or something like that?

 

Hi, AwkwardScience,

I just tried Unity5.4f3, it still doesn't not work properly.

I've sent mail to ask MecanimDev for some workaround, still waiting for response,

Best regards,

 

Hi, AleVerDes,

It's Mixamo's "Male Character Pack", but seems to be deprecated after Mixamo acquired by Adobe.


But you could use the model provided by Unity, it used to be included in the standard assets or this one



Also, if you need auto-generator, you could try Autodesk Character Creator, it could create models(free) like Fuse, also face-rig or blendshape (not-free)

Best regards,

 

Hi, frostORG91,

Unity seems to have some serious changes on the AnimationView after Unity5.3.4f1, and it brings some issues on interpolation and keyframe creation since then.

http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/84-utility/81-f-a-q#known-compatibility-issue

I've just checked the latest Unity5.4.0f3, it still has some trouble for editor-script to create keyframe;
I've sent emails to unitydev to ask for workaround, still waiting for response.

I've been staying on the Unity5.3.4f1, would recommend that if you could do the same.

Best regards,

 

Hi, Janet Merai,

Thanks for the feedback,

Is it like UMA + blendshape + runtime shape editor?
That sounds a complex system.
I felt like to make a runtime editor extension before, maybe would take this advice when I get down to implement it.

About the interchangable blendshapes, I only know that bone animation can be applied to different meshes, but I've not heard it possible to apply blendshape to another mesh, as it's done per vertex (maybe there's some methods I've not known yet)


Best regards,

 

Here is an example:

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/re...morphs-and-modifications-on-any-model.365896/
I was going to use that asset but the developer stopped development on it just as I became interested.

Black Desert has the internet raving about its character creation system.

Just some of what can be done with UCC had it been in development more and something I was saving up to purchase.

The developer behind UCC, first link, allowed you to share morph data between instanced shapes and so on.
I highly recommend looking at both UCC, first link, and Black Desert Character Creation, second link.

In my opinion, it is the best way to do character customization in Unity :3

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/53272
This asset is also something I have been taking an interest in but I need to experiment with it first.

I'm not sure what is currently on your to-do list but I know you have an issue tracker that deals with current bugs and feature bugs... what I am implying is a system that defies UMA and MCS by doing something that is unheard of and untapped.

The problem with UCC was the fact it was in beta and not very... UI or artistic friendly.

With UCC, you had to provide your own meshes to get morph them and it was amazing because it is exactly what my project was going on and if you read the forum there were a ton of people interested in it which means more potential to bring in extra fans and money.

Anyway, enough rambling on my end, I do believe it is worth researching and experimenting with... the developer behind UCC began his niche asset which never got marketed well... perhaps you could do better?

 

Oh okay I guess thats what I will do then. Thank you!

 

@TMPxyz - Do the new workarounds in the latest update fix most/all of the v5.4f1 issues? Either way, keep up the good work. Skele is one of my favorite tools. I really appreciate your great, continued support of it.

 

Hi, @IFL , @frostORG91 ,

Yes, the new Skele 1.9.6f3 update is dedicated to fix the interpolation issues that started bugging us since Unity5.3.4p1.

I've tried the new update on Unity5.3.6 & Unity5.4.0, it should work fine now.

I guess there's to be some other changes around the interpolation code in later Unity versions, I'll try to keep tracking it.

Anyway, just let me know if you find any issues,


Best regards,

 

Hi, Janet-Merai,

Thanks for getting us all these materials

I watched all of them, it seems that the author had done some great work for customizations. I wonder why he dropped it, maybe the demand is not big enough? Or there's still a lot of features that have to be done?

Anyway, it looks quite a complex system, and it still calls for serious artist works from developer users. I would need to think it through first if I should make it.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will consider it

Best regards,

 

Sorry for the delayed response, I am running Unity 5.3.4 and using the default 2 by 3 layout. Our animator also uses 5.3.4 but with the default layout. For whatever reason, resetting the layout fixed this issue for both of us! This has fixed other issues for us as well, such as terrain painting no longer working, so it may be an issue with another package.

We have run into another issue which I cannot solve, we are trying to use IK constraints to keep our character's feet on the ground as he idles, the animation looks perfect when manually playing the animation, however it does not work at all at while the animation/animator is playing at runtime .

I have tried both with mechanim and legacy animations and it just seems like the constraints do not work while the animation is playing, however if I turn the animator off and move the target objects around, it does seem to work.

Any idea what might be happening?

 

Hi, LukeLitman,

Thanks for your valuable feedback

I've reproduced this on my machine, it's something related to the event sequence order.

Here's a quick fix to that:
1) open "Assets\Skele\Constraints\Scripts\ConstraintManager.cs", Line48
2) Change Update() to LateUpdate()

Or you could wait for me making a new update and upload to AssetStore.

=========================================

Just uploaded the update to AssetStore (v1.9.6 p4),
You could modify the code or re-download the package.


Best regards, Be creative,

 

Hi, Developers,

Now we're on the Summer MADNESS SALE



Best regards, Be creative,

 

That worked like a charm, thanks a bunch!!!!

 

I bought your Asset with the discount, I am looking forward to more progress and to see what can be done with it :3

 

Hi! I'm new with using this to animate realistic animations but I stumbled up on this weird issue where the limbs just spin around randomly for no reason, are there any solutions?

 

And it happens a lot...

 

Hi, Alfonso_CJ,

Thanks for your feedback,

Could you tell me your Unity & Skele versions in use?
There're some Unity versions that have compatibility issues:
http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/84-utility/81-f-a-q#known-compatibility-issue

If that's not the case, please send the model FBX to me and I will deubg on that.

Look forward to hear from you soon,

Best regards,

 

Unity 5.3.5f1, I guess the Skele version in use is the latest because I bought it about a week ago.

 

Hi, is tat possible to implement rigging system that can rig model very fast to become a humanoid? Maybe something better than Blender Rigify that can generate bones that almost fit to the model without much adjustment.

 

Okay, so. Have we gotten a solution yet?

 

Hi, Alfonso_CJ,

Sorry for the late reply, I've been participating the latest Ludumdare gamejam working on this entry.
And I felt unwell after staying up whole night on the last day.

As for your question,
http://www.tmpxyz.com/Skele/docs/84-utility/81-f-a-q#known-compatibility-issue
There're compatibility issues for Unity versions between [Unity5.3.4p1, Unity5.3.6f1) , (including 5.3.4p1, excluding 5.3.6f1)
I suggest using:
5.3.0 -> 5.3.4f1
5.3.6f1 or above
5.4.0f1 or above

If this doesn't solve your issues, please send the model in question with the clip to me, I'll debug and patch it soon.


Best regards,

 

Hi, optimise,

Thanks for your feedback

You mean something like Adobe's Auto-rigger?

Hmm, long time ago, I used to consider adding a manual-rigger like Blender's weight-paint, but soon I realized that it's just too complicated for non-artists.

Auto-rigger in another hand could be useful for non-artist, but it might generate obvious errors that has to be fixed manually. (especially at fingers)

Put it simple, the manual tool is too complex for non-artist people, the auto-tool is not good enough yet to put technical artist aside.

So, we would not do rigger for now.


Best regards,

 

Yeah alright! Looks cool! I'll be trying to solve the problem when I have time, I'll give you info on it if I manage to fix it.

 

Alright, I've been trying to solve this but I'm not ending up with positive results, so I guess I give up now.. I'd be thankful if I could get a little help.

 

Okay, let's go through the diagnosis procedure:

1. be sure to check that you're using the latest version of Skele by checking if there's update in AssetStore window;
2. What's your OS & Unity version here? Are you using Mac or Win? Unity 5.3.6 or 5.4.0?
3. Does that happen on all models or only on the model in question?

If you can send the model & clip, pack the fbx archive with the clip and send to tmpxyz at gmail dot com. Then I would check the clip on my machine here.

Hope to hear from you soon

Best regards,

 

Hello, maybe my question is silly but cant we modify animations and bone animations in Unity without this pluggin? When I import an animation I go in the animation edit mode and just start editing what I want, why would I need this asset?