NPCs - animations

[JaXt0r]

Goal is to have NPCs behave right: i.e. have idle and walking animations.

Some hints from lmichaelis about how to achieve it with Gothic data:

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Animations (and animated models generally) work like this (as far as I can remember at least):

1. The model is requested to be loaded by, for example, a VOb
2. The engine replaces the .3DS-extension of the indicated model with a .MDS or .MSB extension (depends on the game: G1 uses .MDS and G2 uses .MSB; solve this with a priority lookup. First try .MSB, then try .MDS then you can try extensions for non-animated models: .MDL, .MDH, .MDM, .MRM).
3. The Model script (either MSB or MDS) is parsed with phoenix::model_script::parse
4. From the model script, the name of the mesh and skeleton files can be retrieved (see model_script::skeleton::name). This file is looked up with priority like above: .MDL, .MDH, .MDM, .MRM
5. The different animations and effects defined in the model script are enumerated and loaded by name (with the correct extensions; .MAN for animations, .WAV for sound effects and so on)
6. Choosing which animation to play is a bit more finicky as far as I remember since you have to figure out which animation to play for which action. Consult OpenGothic for this.

The animations loaded in step 5. will contain a set of skeleton node indices which are animated as well as a set of samples that make up that animation. Each animation has a total of nodeCount * frameCount samples, so one sample per frame per node. Each animation also contains the name of the next animation to play, a frame-rate, a layer and a bounding box. I don't know what the bounding box represents though.

You can take a look at the Gothic ModKit for additional information: https://github.com/dzieje-khorinis/Gothic-2-Mod-Development-Kit

[JaXt0r]

Animations are a tricky one. ;-)

Some links on how to create them at runtime in Unity:

Animator

(dead end. No "runtime" animation features):

• Animation vs Animator: https://forum.unity.com/threads/whats-the-difference-between-animation-and-animator.288962/
• Animator change clips: https://answers.unity.com/questions/1319072/how-to-change-animation-clips-of-an-animator-state.html
• Generate AnimationClips at runtime: https://answers.unity.com/questions/911169/procudurally-generate-animationclip-at-runtime.html

Playables API

(Low level. Plugs into Animator. Add animations at runtime.):

• Blog post: https://blog.unity.com/engine-platform/extending-timeline-practical-guide
• Playables Documentation: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Playables.html?_ga=2.213931281.7656710.1587191155-1588388095.1584548241
• Demos
  • Demo 1: https://catlikecoding.com/unity/tutorials/tower-defense/animation/
  • Demo 2: https://delphic.me.uk/blog/seekers_animation_system
  • Demo 2 - source code: https://gist.github.com/delphic/42e7ade45edb60df418954ef09287337
• Playable API open source project: https://forum.unity.com/threads/uplayableanimation-playableapi-animation-system.1353557/
  • github: https://github.com/EricHu33/uPlayableAnimation
• Animancer - custom Package as successor of Playables API: https://kybernetik.com.au/animancer/docs/introduction/features
• Forum discussion howto do complex one: https://forum.unity.com/threads/replicating-a-mecanim-state-machine-using-playables.498941/
• Some example how to use playables: https://forum.unity.com/threads/simpleplayablemanager-script.534401/

Bones:

• Spine: Package to be purchased which eases handling of runtime-bones and -animations: https://en.esotericsoftware.com/spine-demos
• Forum post about Bones and BoneWeights at runtime: https://forum.unity.com/threads/boneweights.593794/
• Post: Howto create SkinnedMeshRenderer (+bones+weights) at runtime: https://answers.unity.com/questions/1300914/generate-skinned-mesh-in-runtime.html
• Forum explanation about BindPoses: https://forum.unity.com/threads/some-explanations-on-bindposes.86185/

[JaXt0r]

Some hints from lmichaelis about how to load the proper animation data from Phoenix: Walk animation load:

1. load ModelScript (with array Animations[].name)
2. Use this name, add MAN and load it as PxAnimationData
3. Use the PxAnimationData.samples for animation
4. PxAnimationData.nodeIndices --> Example: a skeleton with 10 bones (nodes) and 20 frames has
   • 10 node_indices and 10*20samples (i.e. 10 samples == 10 frames for bone/node1, 11...20 samples == 10 frames for node 2)
5. PxModelHierarchy (mdh) == skeleton/bones.

Hint: Check checksums for corresponding object (mrm+mdl+...; Should match!).

[JaXt0r]

From OpenGothic (resources.cpp::implLoadMeshMain()):

1. Check file ending of requested object (e.g. humans.mds)
2. If .mds, load ModelScript
3. check mds.skeleton.disable_mesh
   1. == false then load mesh with this name
   2. == true then skip this information and load requested object's .mdh (replace .mds with .mdh -> e.g. humans.mdh)

[JaXt0r]

How did Romeyyy import Animations back in the PoC days:

1. Some tool (from modding tools) to transform animations (.mds) to .asc
2. KeraxImpEx for .asc import (moesh+animation files are inside Modding Kit) --> transform to .fbx
3. Unity import fbx -> Animation clips are there (hierarchical)
4. Rig (bones weights, ...?) needed to be generated via Unity ("Create from Model")

Reverse engineering pro tip:

• fbx check within 3ds max or blender

[JaXt0r]

Animations are imported and working since ~Oct 2023. We now need to optimize them for Unity usage (e.g. collision usage and grounding on the floor).