AdamCodd/unreal-engine-5-raw · Datasets at Hugging Face

If a weapon doesn't need to override some states, then you don't need to connect anything to the output pose in the corresponding Layer. Additionally, Animation Blueprints containing Layers have their own Event Graphs. So, if you need to process data for a specific vehicle, you can keep it contained in that vehicle Animation Blueprint's Event Graph.

Animation Blueprints can also be created as Templates, which are Blueprints that do not reference a specific Skeleton asset or animations. This means you can reuse Animation Blueprint logic in a more modular way.

To create a Template Animation Blueprint, follow the normal Animation Blueprint creation process, but instead of specifying a Skeleton, click Template, then click Create.

Animation Blueprint Templates contain the same interface and editor found in normal Animation Blueprints. However, because templates do not correspond to any Skeleton, you cannot directly reference animations or assets related to a specific Skeleton. Instead, you can parameterize your template logic and expose Variables that are set in another Blueprint.

For example, you can create a Sequence Player node in the AnimGraph. Typically, this node is used to play Animation Sequences directly, but instead you can expose the Sequence property as a Variable. To do this, click the Bind dropdown menu in the Sequence Player's Details panel, and select Expose As Pin.

Next, right-click the newly exposed pin on the Sequence Player and select Promote to Variable, to create a Variable for the Animation Sequence to play. Similar to exposing Linked Anim Graph variables, you must also make this Variable public.

Animation Blueprint templates are referenced in the Anim Graph by right-clicking in the graph and selecting your template from the Linked Anim Blueprints section of the context menu.

Linked Anim Graph

Linked Anim Layer

Animation Blueprint Templates

Creation and Overview

Input Pose

Input Variables

Animation Layer Interface

Base Blueprint Setup

Specific Blueprint Setup

Linking Anim Layers

Additional Use Case Example

Template Usage

Instance Class

The Animation Blueprint class to use for this Linked Anim graph.

Receive Notifies from Linked Instances

Whether Skeleton Animation Notifies will be received by this linked instance from other Linked Anims. This can be useful in situations where you want to encapsulate Animation Notify handling in one Linked Anim instance, while playback can happen in another.

Propagate Notifies to Linked Instances

Whether Skeleton Animation Notifies will be sent from this linked instance to other linked instances. Propagate Notifies to Linked Instances must also be enabled on the target Linked Anim instance for notifies to successfully propagate.

Remarks

You can then set any exposed variables on this template to correspond to your Blueprint requirements.

Animation Compression

When creating animation systems in Unreal Engine, Animation Compression is the process of transforming animation data from Animation Sequence assets, in order to lower your animation system's overall file sizes and memory cost. Using animation compression, you can see significant improvements across your project's performance, especially when scaling projects across multiple hardware targets of varying power.

You can use this document to learn more about Animation Compression in Unreal Engine.

Generally speaking, animations with minimal movement can benefit greatly from animation compression, with little impact on the overall quality of the animations, while animations with a lot of movement undergo a more significant reduction in quality. When approaching animation compression its important to tailor the kind of compression you implement, based on the type of quality loss your project can afford.

In Unreal Engine there are two data assets that are used to apply compression to Animation Sequences, the Bone Compression Settings and Curve Compression Settings assets. Using these assets, you can apply compression codecs which will test different methods of compression, seeking the optimal balance between quality loss and file size reduction, and only appling the best result.

Unreal Engine comes pre-packaged with a set of general use Compression Settings assets, that you can use on your project's Animation Sequences. These default assets can be found in the Engine > Content > Animation folder.

Optionally, you can create your own Compression Assets, for more control over how you compress your animations. To create an Animation Compression Settings asset, use (+) Add in the Content Browser, navigate to Animation > Advanced and select either the Bone or Curve Compression Settings asset.

To apply compression to an animation in Unreal Engine, you can assign a Compression Settings asset to an Animation Sequence, using the Compression Settings properties in the Animation Sequence Editor's Asset Details panel.

By changing the Compression Settings asset registered to an Animation Sequence, the new compression settings will be applied automatically. Compression is also automatically applied during load if the Compression Settings have changed since the asset was last compressed, if the Derived Data Cache (DDC) notices a new Compression Settings asset registered to an Animation Sequence, or during a cook.

When changing a Compression Codec's properties, compression will not be automatically applied, as the asset could be assigned to many assets. To manually compress all assets that are registered with a specific Animation Settings asset, you can use the Compress button in the Compression Settings asset's Toolbar.

After clicking the Compress button, a dialogue box will appear, prompting you to confirm the total number of assets that will be compressed.

Bone Compression is used to reduce the amount of data the Animation Sequence asset contains about the Skeletons movement. Bone Compression codecs look to optimize animation data on specific bones that experience no or small movements between keys, where techniques such as interpolation will suffice.

After creating and assigning the Bone Compression Settings asset to an Animation Sequence, you can double click the Bone Compression Settings asset to access its properties where you can select and tailor different methods of compressing your animation's skeletal motion data.

Here you can define a list of animation bone compression codes to try. To add a new Codec array, use Add (+) in the Codecs property. After adding a codec, additional properties will populate the field, relevant to the codec you have selected.

Empty entries in the list are ignored when running bone compression on the animation sequence. However, the list must contain at least one codec in order to compress bone data.

For a detailed description of each available codec, and a description of their additional properties, see the Bone Compression Codec Reference documentation.

Curve Compression is used to compress the Animation Sequence's curve data. Curve Compression codecs look to reduce curve data by optimizing data using a variety of methods that target values with little or no changes between keys, where techniques such as interpolation will suffice.

After creating and assigning a Curve Compression Settings asset to an Animation Sequence, you can double-click the Curve Compression Settings asset to access its properties where you can select and tailor different methods of compressing your animation's curve data.

Here you can define a curve compression codec. To set a Codec array, use the drop-down menu to select a codec. After adding a codec, additional properties will populate the field, relevant to the codec you have selected.

Empty entries in the list are ignored when running bone compression on the animation sequence. However, the asset must contain a codec in order to compress curve data.

For a detailed description of each available codec, and a description of their additional properties, see the Curve Compression Codec Reference documentaion.

For a reference about all of the Bone and Curve Compreesion Codecs in Unreal Engine, see the Animation Compression Codec Reference documentation.