$frames and self.frame

[Swift]

If you're working with Darkplaces, it may be better to use framegroups instead.

http://dpwiki.slipgateconstruct.com/ind ... ing_for_DP

[Sajt]

Hmm. Framegroups are useful for idle animations, but not much else. An illustration: if you use framegroups, and some entity goes into a death animation outside of your PVS, and then you move into the room, you'll see the death animation just starting when it should be ending.

[Swift]

Oh really? I'm sure I saw Nexuiz use framegroups for character anims.

For some reason I thought they could drastically simplify a hub system for anims.

Well, is there any way to jigg it so that framegroup data would be sent to players outside the PVS?

Edit: Actually, one could create seperate DYING and DEAD framegroups entries and do some statemachine checking. Ya? Either way, I'm not entirely sure I understand the downside.

[Spike]

Depends what the framegroup is synced to. In regular quake, the framegroup animation is synced to map start time. So start a framegroup animation and your animation begins mid-death.

DP's skeletal models are an exception to this, and those start the animation when the model first dies.

If you're using csqc, then framegroups may be easier to use, where you can specify the exact time into it. Otherwise I wouldn't really recommend using framegroups (the death animation is just one issue).

The first time you see the ent, it'll start playing its current animation. If you remove it and readd it (teleport out and back) the animation restarts. If you switch it to its dead non-animation after a fixed length of time, people just entering the room will see it starting to die then suddenly flat on the ground.

[mankrip]

In regular quake, the framegroup animation is synced to map start time.

Plus a random amount, if the "random" flag is defined.

[Swift]

I guess the question remains: can all of these problems with framegroups can be averted if player animation is coded in CSQC?

If you're using csqc, then framegroups may be easier to use, where you can specify the exact time into it.

What are the effects of using .frame1time frame2time etc?
Assuming MD1/MD3 model - Does frame1time/frame2time specify the next frame, or next framegroup?

[Spike]

.frame specifies the framegroup
.frametime specifies the time into the framegroup.

this results in a 4-way blend between the two frames of the new framegroup and the two frames of the old framegroup.

if you then send the time at which the animation was meant to start from the server, and calc the frametime as time - startime, then someone seeing a death half way through or after the event will see it starting half way through or already dead.

how you encode the time can vary. one way is as 'X seconds ago' rather than the absolute time, as this can be sent in a single byte. You'll want to scale it.

[ceriux]

I still don't think it's a good programming practice, but... It's up to you. It's your code.

personally its easier for me to code animations with out macro's they confuse me.