CRYTEK CONFIDENTIAL © 2011 Crytek GmbH CryMannequin

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CORE MANTRA 2 Let the data sequence animations: Less custom code == Fewer bugs Less custom code == More reuse Less custom code == More consistency Less custom code == More malleable systems

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL GLOSSARY RECAP 3 FragmentID A high level ID used to request an animation state. Reload, LedgeGrab, MotionMovement Tags A list of keywords used to filter animation selection. A character’s set of Tags represents their animation context. Crouched, Rifle, M4, UnderFire Action State machine used to interface with the animation system. Handles one FragmentID installation at a time.

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CASE STUDY – WEAPON CRAFTING 4 Flow of states for crafting ModifyIdleposeCustomise Good rule of thumb: Reduce states to the minimum logically required to control the flow of the system. These are all the code needs to drive and can be taken as your key FragmentIDs. Swap Part

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CASE STUDY – WEAPON CRAFTING 5 Transitions ModifyIdleposeCustomise If we need animations between FragmentIDs these are best handled as Transitions. This reduces code and makes the system easier to modify purely through data. Swap Part

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CASE STUDY – WEAPON CRAFTING 6 A grey area... The swapping of a part needs to sequence removing a specific old part and inserting the new. Customise Swap Part

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CASE STUDY – WEAPON CRAFTING 7 Both transitions... Customise We could just request an alternate customise stance and let the transition system handle removing the old and applying the new part. This would also let the animators drop in a single animation to do both steps if they wished. Swap Part Customise Remove Old Part Attach New Part

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL CASE STUDY – WEAPON CRAFTING 8 Both fragments... Customise Or we could request explicitly push on Remove and Attach fragments. Which we use is dependant on the situation and the degree of control required by the code. Swap Part Customise Remove Old Part Attach New Part

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL PROCEDURAL CLIPS – MOMMY’S LITTLE HELPERS 9 Custom state machines you can expose to the Mannequin editor Often a feature can be marked up directly in data without need for controlling code We’re steadily building up a suite of these to tie additional functionality directly into the animation mark-up o Attaching an object into the hands o Triggering particle effects or sounds o Looking at a target o Adjusting DOF Procedural clips are sequenced and so are started and stopped for you and automatically gain parameters, trigger and blend duration timing Sensible use of these can let you be more hands off with the animation o E.g. no need to split animations to match sequencing to object swaps

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL Global Tags Crouching + M4 +1P Persistent Set on the AnimationContext Apply to all future fragment or transition selections A single limited pool Fragment Tags LowVault, FirstSelect, ScreamingUppercut Apply to a single FragmentID request Set on the controlling Action A separate pool per FragmentID For really optimal database access Tags are a limited resource, 64 bits are reserved for the global state. Only go global if you really need to. If you can use fragment tags then do so. Use groups to reduce cost and simplify the UI. E.g. All weapons share bytes by being in the weapon group -> tags in a group are mutually exclusive. TAGS – GOING GLOBAL? 10

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL DEMOS 11 SettingUpASimpleFragment.avi Creating a fragment made of layered animations under a new ID. AddingANewItem.avi Adding a new item tag, setting up a model for previewing and a database for item animations. Using the new settings to add core fragments. PreviewingAWeapon.avi Using the Previewer to test out sequencing a weapon’s animations. SettingUpTransitions.avi Using the Previewer to setup transition animations into and out of prone.

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL DEBUGGING DEMO 12 In-game debug Mn_debug o In-game display of current actions, fragments & clips o Very useful in conjuction with FRAPS Es_debugAnim o Low-level debug on the actual animation assets on the named entity Dumps Mn_dump o Sequence file is saved into Animations\Mannequin\FragmentSequences o Can be loaded into the Editor via the Previewer/Load Sequence... command

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL WORKSHEET 13 Using the Previewer Try setting up a preview sequence to validate a set of animations. Test out the M4 weapon animations: Select, Reload, Deselect etc... You can filter the Fragment Browser by typing m4 into the tag filter Drag and drop from the fragment browser onto the previewer tracks Weapon anims need an underlying Idlepose fragment Analysing an in-game sequence dump Try out saving a sequence from game and examining it in the Previewer Load a level: gameplay_sandbox is a good bet Do something interesting Dump the sequence mn_dump dude Exit the game and switch to Mannequin Previewer/Load Sequence Filename will be dude_.xml

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL WORKSHEET 14 Using procedural look-ats Try setting up a new fragment which combines an animation with procedural looking at the player Load the humanAIPreview file Create a new FragmentID (New ID...), add a new fragment to it (New) Batterystall_dispute_action_ai_buyer is an interesting example anim clip You’ll need to include the LookPose scope to pick a lookpose anim Use EditID on the FragmentID to change its scopes Use Looking procedural clips to control the looking Drag the blends to extend the ease in Insert default None clips to fade off The ‘L’ key toggles the camera as a look target

CRYTEK © 2010 Crytek GmbH CONFIDENTIAL QUESTIONS ? 15 Mannequin’s home on confluence: