Motion Settings

Golaem Crowd plugin uses a dedicated motion engine, which can automatically retarget, blend and mix motions on any kind of morphology. These features can only be performed because it uses its own representation of a motion.

Thus, to allow to play motion clips and motion capture on Golaem Crowd skeleton, it is required to convert each new motion so that the animation engine can recognize its structure. This motion is stored in a .s4d file (associated with a .ctr.xml file).

These motion files will then be used when defining a Motion Behavior or a Locomotion Behavior.
 

Motion Prerequisites

Before being able to export a motion, the correct skeleton description and skeleton mapping should be done (as described here).
 
Then, to get the best of the animation engine, some rules should be followed:
  • the motion should better be done with feet at a null height (when in contact with the ground). This is not mandatory, but will allow a better detection of the support phases. If the motion is at a different height, the Foot Max Height parameter should be set accordingly when exported the motion
  • when a motion represents a locomotion (for instance locomotion animation), the translation should be contained in the animation (the character should have a different position at the beginning and the end of the animation). This will allow the motion engine to compute the velocity of the motion and use it as locomotion in the Locomotion Behavior
  • when a motion is to be used in loop process, the postures at the first frame and at the last frame should be exactly the same (but it can have a different position/orientation if the motion contains a translation)

 

Converting a motion with the Skeleton Motion Converter can be performed through the following options:

  • Crowd Shelf: (and then going to the third tab named "Motion")
  • Crowd Menu: Skeleton Motion Converter
  • MEL command: glmSkeletonConverterCmd;

The Motion Settings tab is available only once a skeleton has been loaded and mapped


The motion converter window with a valid motion

Configuration

Open a character in Maya. This character must follow the character prerequisites
 
The following parameters can be used to customize the motion conversion:
 
Start Frame the first frame to export
End Frame the last frame to export
Foot Max Height The maximum authorized height for the lowest extremity of the foot. It represents the height over which the motion engine considers the foot is not in contact with the ground (the parameter is understood as Maya working units)
Foot Max Speed The maximum authorized speed for the lowest extremity of the foot. It represents the speed over which the motion engine considers the foot is not in contact with the ground (the parameter is understood as Maya working units/second)
Motion Way
  • Computation Method: how the global orientation of the motion is computed. This mainly impacts the way motions are blended together. This is an advanced parameter and the default value should meet most cases:
    • when using the root orientation, blended motions will tend to keep the original motion displacement orientation
       
    • when using a fixed orientation, blended motions will tend to keep a fixed displacement orientation (whatever the displacement orientation is in the motion)
World orientation/position for the root uncheck to use the local transform of the root node instead of the global transform. This may be needed when the skeleton description is done by using the JointOrient mode, or when an inherited transform is present. To ensure the parameters are correct, click on the refresh button of the 2d preview and make sure the two left windows correspond to the front and side views of the motion (the third view should correspond to a top view of the motion)
Conversion mode in most cases, the accurate conversion mode should be fine, but in some cases, the joint orientations may be displaced. In such a case, the safe mode may look better.

Export

The motion can be exported as a set of .s4d and .ctr.xml files by clicking the "Export Motion" button.
 
This file will then be used to configure a Motion Behavior or a Locomotion Behavior