Animation Editor

Importing Animations to GUTS and Using the Animation Editor.

Basic Navigation in GUTS:

• Movement in the editor is controlled with W, A, S, D, to move horizontally, and Q, E, to move vertically. Holding down the right mouse button, will allow you to look with the camera.

• Adding a Generic Model
  • Once TorchEd has loaded, right click in the layout panel on the left.
  • Select - Building Blocks > Generic Model. This adds a Generic Model object to the scene and the layout panel.

• Select the Generic Model from the panel, there are now properties listed on the right side of the editor.

• Click on the file button, under the Resources rollout tab of the properties window. Locate the .MESH file of the character you want to import.

• Click on the Animation Editor button on the top of the Layout Panel on the left side.

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Welcome to the Animation Editor

• Save Animation File button – saves the animation file, created by the editor.

• Load Animation File button – loads animations that have been exported

• Speed Control – sets the playback speed of an animation in the editor.

• Loop Control – sets an animation to loop on playback in the editor.

• Previous Trigger Button – moves to the previously created tag in an animation timeline.

• Next Trigger Button – moves to the next created tag in the animation timeline.

• Show Bone List Button – a bit self explanatory, but very helpful when troubleshooting. Example - comparing the bind files of a character, to the XML file of an animation that may not be loading properly.

• Snap to Frame Checkbox – off by default. With it on, trigger tags with snap to the frame markers in an animation timeline.

• Lock Trigger Positions Checkbox – On by default. Existing trigger tags will be locked in their current position on the timeline.

Animation Timeline

• Attack1(attack1.skeleton) – this is the name of the animation. The first part Attack1, is the external name, the actual name of the animation file. The second part, (attack1.skeleton) is the internal name of the file, the name the engine sees.

• The Timeline – the red marker shows the current point of playback in the animation. The purple dashes are frame markers in the animation. The green circle is a Trigger Tag. The red circle is a currently selected Trigger Tag.

• Trigger Tags – place trigger tags at different points in the timeline for things like the Hit frame of an animation, or when to play a sound or add particles and camera shake.

• Animation Playback Controls – Stop button, pause button, play button, all function as intended. The green marker represents the current position in the timeline. You can left click and drag the green marker, to scrub through the animation. The red marker in the animation timeline will move correspondingly.

• Trigger Tag Properties – you have to have a tag selected to see these properties, but this is where you can set what kind of tag is being created. In the image example here – the tag is set on frame 12, and it is a HIT tag type.

• The information at the very bottom of the properties window is a help window. It will display information about a section of the properties window that you are currently editing. In this image it says:
  • Attaches If the particle system attaches

• When you set up the animation file for a character for the first time, the animation editor will have nothing in its list.

• Creating an Animation File:
  • Click the load file button. It will automatically show you the directory that the .MESH file for the character is stored in.
  • Select a desired animation to add. Adding a new animation will cause the editor to automatically save the changes you are making. You will now notice a new file in the same directory as the .MESH and .skeleton files.
  • Note – if a character you are creating is intended to have special particles attached to it at all times, you must add the Bind File to the animation list at this point, and attach the particle tags to its timeline.
  • Click play on the animation playback controls, or scrub through using the green marker, to make sure the animation correctly functions.
  • You are now ready to add tags to you animation! Enjoy!

• Be sure that all these files remain in the same directly to correctly function when you create you characters for the game.