What is the advantage of purchasing AnimationBandit vs. hiring an animator or using motion capture?
We believe that the vast majority of users will save time and reduce cost by using AnimationBandit. How much depends on the complexity of your project, the cost and skill of the animator you hire, and many other variables unique to your individual situation. In general, a highly skilled animator working on AAA titles charges hundreds of dollars to produce about 3 to 4 seconds of quality work per day. Animating a complete character from scratch often takes months of labor to complete at great expense.
If you use motion capture you will spend many thousands of dollars per day renting a sound stage, and must hire an actor and a team of professionals to solve that data to your character rig. You will still need to hire an animator to clean up your raw data and turn it into game-ready motion cycles.
You may opt to supplement this asset with your own animation, but using AnimationBandit as your foundation lets you focus on the specific actions that truly make your game unique.
What do I need to know before using this asset?
This asset assumes users have a basic understanding of Unity’s animation tools, Mecanim, state machines, blending, etc. If this is unfamiliar to you, please consult tutorials on the Unity website.
How do I apply AnimationBandit’s motion to my own character?
AnimationBandit is compatible with Unity’s Mecanim system which allows for retargeting to other Humanoid characters. Please consult Unity’s website for guidelines on how to properly rig your character. Animation will look best on characters similarly proportioned to the one provided with this asset.
What if I want my code to translate the character as opposed to root motion?
FBX files contain two versions of each animated clip. Use the version labeled “InPlace”. If you would like to match the animated speed but prefer to control motion with code, use these settings:
Walk = Z axis linear speed of 1.76 meters/cycle (1.5 meters/second)
Jog = Z axis linear speed of 3.58 meters/cycle (4.71 meters/second)
Run = Z axis linear speed of 3.75 meters/cycle (6.79 meters/second)
Where are the options to bake root motion into the pose?
By default, Animation Bandit is set to follow an animated root joint. This provides the highest quality motion since the root is authored to cycle perfectly (no drift on the X axis during run cycles for example).
If you want to bake root motion into the pose (to remove Y translation during a jump), you can do that by changing the root motion node to “none”. If you do this, please understand that Unity is estimating the position of the root based on the character’s center of mass, and this approximation is not always correct. This sometimes results in unwanted motion drifting even though there is no drift in the animation itself. In that case you are better off either using the authored root motion from the root joint, or by setting the character position in code using “InPlace” cycles.
When climbing, why do my character’s hands and feet clip through the ledge?
This asset assumes flat wall surfaces. If your character is proportioned differently or your terrain is uneven, you may have to use IK to fix clipping issues. Please consult the Unity website for tutorials.
How do I create a playable character, add AI, sound effects, interactions with environment geometry etc.?
All of the above require custom code, and falls outside the scope of this asset which is merely a collection of animated actions. Unity provides a wealth of tutorials on their website with instructions on how to add programmed behaviors to your game.
I want the character to perform an action not included in this asset. Will you create additional custom content for my game?
No promises on when/if we will create additional content, but your feedback and suggestions for future assets are always welcome.
How do I adjust the animation to fit the custom needs of my project?
Maya and MotionBuilder both use a Human IK system that allows you to retarget FBX animation to your character rig for further editing. Please consult documentation on how to use these tools for your preferred animation software.
How do I share this with others for free, or sell it as a part of my asset pack?
This asset may be used by the purchaser as part of a compiled game, but it is not meant to be shared or redistributed for any other purposes. We rely on the support of our customers to continue making new animation.