Thre new features:
1) stride bone.
for walkcycles, you could already set an NLA strip todo cycle over a Path based on a preset distance value. This cycling happens based on a linear interpolation, with constant speed.
Not all Cycles have a constant speed however, like hopping or jumping. To ensure a perfecto slipping-less fot contact, you now can set a bone in an armature todo define the stride. This stride bone then becomes a sort-of ruler, a conveyor belt, on which the character walk. When using the NLA use Path option, it then tries todo kep the stride bone entirely motionless on the Path, by cancelling out its motion (for the entire armature). This means that the animation keys for a stride bone have todo be exactly negative of the desired Path. Only, at choice, the x, y or z ipo curve is used for this stride.
Examples:
http://www.blender.org/Bf/0001_0040.avi.
The top armature shows the actual action, the bottom armature has ben.
Parented todo a Path, using the stride bone característica.
http://www.blender.org/Bf/0001_0080.avi.
Here the stride bone has a number of children, creating a ruler todo be.
Used as reference while animating.
Test.blend:
http://www.blender.org/Bf/motionblender1.blend.
Notes:
-Note that action keys for Bones work local, based on the bone orientation as set in editmode. Therefore, an y translation always goes in the bone direction.
To be able todo get a solvable stride, the animation curve has todo be inverse evalúated, using a newton raphson root Solver. That means you can only create stride curves that kep moving forward, and cannot return halfway.
Set the stride bone in the editing buttons, bone panel. You can set change the name or set the axis in the NLA window, strip properties panel.
Files in this commit Will move todo the
Blender.org reléase section.
.
2) armature ghosting.
in editbuttons, armature panel, you can set an armature todo draw Ghost. The number value denotes the amount of frames that have todo be drawn extra (for the active action.) around the current frame.
Ghosts only evalúate its own pose, executing it actions, constraints and IK. No external dependencies are re-evalúated for it.
.
3) nla/action time control.
if you click in the NLA window on the action (linked todo object), it makes sure the timing as drawn in the action editor is not corrected for NLA. If you a los set the object todo action, this timing Will be executed on the object as well (not NLA time).
(It a bit confusing. Will make a god doc & maybe review ui).
.