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Animation question for the Dynamix programmers

by Mathieu Bouchard · in Torque Game Engine · 05/01/2001 (7:57 pm) · 5 replies

My modeler and I are trying to figure out how to, via script, get an animation to play while moving. Specifically we're trying to get our player to swing a sword despite movement.

We are trying to approach the situation by using blend anims (like when you look up/down and move at the same time), but these seem bound to specific types of movement... looking up and down, for example, plays a specific blend anim, which we don't have much control over.

What I'm asking is what, in your opinion, would be the best way to get a blend anim to be initiated via script? (ie. When fire key is activated, animation of swinging is played, and the player can move without interrupting the animation)

Thanks

Mat
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Mathieu Bouchard
#1
05/03/2001 (12:30 pm)
*bump*

If I can't get answers here, and also
get ignored when emailing Dynamix dev members, or can't get replies posting in the internal T2 forums AND can't get replies posting in the Modsters forum (invite only forum by Dynamix), then how am I supposed to get answers to questions like these?

It's not like I'm charging anyone for the TC I'm designing... All I'm doing is adding replay value to Tribes 2 for free. The least Dynamix could do is at least try to answer some of my questions...

I'm not mad yet, but I will be getting quite frustrated if I can't get answers within this month

Dynamix, please take a few minutes to post something to point us in the right direction...

-JI

(when I say "Dynamix", I mean anyone who has worked with the V12 engine)

Torque Owner Rick Overman
#2
05/03/2001 (5:43 pm)
Shape animations can be triggered via the %obj.playThread(thread, ) console command. If you search through the Tribes2 scripts you will find numerous examples of how it is used.

As far as triggering the blend via script I will have to defer to Tim since he wrote a lot of that code. (I e-mailed Tim about this thread).

--Rick

Mathieu Bouchard
#3
05/03/2001 (7:53 pm)
Thanks for answering Rick

I've been working for the most part with %obj.setActionThread, and didn't try much with %obj.playThread as it didn't give very obvious results in comparison to setActionThread

I'm anxious to hear what Tim has to say

-Mat

Torque Owner Tim Gift
#4
05/04/2001 (9:12 am)
The only way to run more than one animation at a time from the scripting language is to use the playThread interface. This interface is part of Shape base class, so any shape can have up to four simultaneous animations controlled by scripts. Control is pretty basic though; play, pause, stop, set direction (forward, backward). There is no way to set the thread to a specific position. The player action animations are particular to the player class, and you can only run one at a time.

Mathieu Bouchard
#5
05/04/2001 (10:37 am)
Thank you very much for answering

You've pointed me in the right direction, and I'm getting somewhere now (got the blend anim working while moving, looks really sweet!)

If I have more questions, which I probably will have, should I post around here or would you guys recommend I harass someone else? I understand that you guys are really busy so I'll refrain from asking any more questions for at least a week or so :-)

-Mat