Features you would like to see in AS

[empty]

Don't know if this has already been posted anywhere, but I just wanted to state a few things that would really help this program out.

1. Ability to manually adjust the Tangents of keys in the Graph Mode. Why have a graph mode if you can't manually edit it.

2. Ability to import actions from one file to another.

3. Ability to import another scene file.

That's what comes to mind right now, but I'm sure I'll think of more later.

[synthsin75]

2) Is probably not possible since actions are dependant on the vector points in that specific layer.

3) Is already doable, unless I missunderstand your meaning.

[empty]

2) If I have two different files, both with the same skeleton, why couldn't I use actions from one file in the other? Nothing is changing. I'm not even using vectors.

3)Is doable already, i just hadn't found that option. I just moved up to Pro. This still isn't as helpful as I hoped it would be. can't transfer actions from one skeleton to another.

[synthsin75]

2) I believe the bones are referenced differently internally, so you'd have to use a duplicate skeleton to use the same actions.

3) You can import scenes just like an Anime Studio Object. Layers bring their animation as well.

[shoepie]

After spending 20/30 hours with AS last week a few simple usability features I'd like are (And these are probably all obvious but I thought i'd get it off my chest )

1) Play/stop/rewind buttons on the timeline window.

2) Markers on the timeline so I can specify a start and stop position for when I want to test play back of just a small piece of animation.

3) The ability to reorder the timeline properties for each layer. It's annoying posing the bones, then having to scroll the bar down to add/check where the layer translate keyframes are.

4) When you're editing an action and you select another layer for it to not jump back to the mainline...Grrrr so annoying!! And I wasted at least an hour last week on that!

5) And a warning if you're about to start drawing/importing image on a layer other than frame zero.

Apart from that it's an amazing program and I would never have got into animation without it, having got nowhere with other software.

[Víctor Paredes]

3) The ability to reorder the timeline properties for each layer.
4) When you're editing an action and you select another layer for it to not jump back to the mainline...Grrrr so annoying!!

5) And a warning if you're about to start drawing/importing image on a layer other than frame zero.

I agree with this points.

1) Play/stop/rewind buttons on the timeline window.

2) Markers on the timeline so I can specify a start and stop position for when I want to test play back of just a small piece of animation.

for 1), I think that it´s enough with keyboard shortcuts: space to play and pause, arrows to move by frame, shift+arrow to go to start or end.

for 2), you actually can do that: control+clicking on the numbers of timeline marks a start; control+right clicking marks an end.
you can define the animation length the same way, but with alt instead control.

[shoepie]

for 2), you actually can do that: control+clicking on the numbers of timeline marks a start; control+right clicking marks an end.
you can define the animation length the same way, but with alt instead control.

Cool. I didn't know about that, I shall have to try it when I get home, thanks for that.

I'd forgotten about the keyboard shortcuts for play etc. I'll try using them for my next project and see how I get on.

[heyvern]

2) If I have two different files, both with the same skeleton, why couldn't I use actions from one file in the other? Nothing is changing. I'm not even using vectors.

There was a script from Macton that did this. It is no longer available. I have a copy of it somewhere... have to track it down.

I've been trying to update it... simplify it specifically for use with actions and bones only. Currently it had a bunch of other options that would be unneeded for saving actions.

You need to use scripting to avoid the problem with internal bone ID. A script can check for the NAMES of the bones ignoring the inconsistencies of AS's internal bone ID's.

Saving actions FOR BONES ONLY with identical skeletons is very doable. Someone just needs to create the script.

-vern