Movement Types

The Animator provides six different movement types or ways to move an Actor.

Tween - The position of the Actor is interpolated linearly between the first keyframe and the following keyframe. For example, if the Actor has movement timelines in frames 1-1 and 2-10 and it is at (0,0,0) in frame 1 and at (10,10,0) in frame 10 then it will be at (5,5,0) in frame 5. Put simply, in half the time it will move half the distance.

Spline Tween - The position of the Actor is interpolated on a spline curve anchored by keyframes which removes the effect of sharp corners at keyframes. This provides more natural motion with acceleration and deceleration rather than rigid starts and stops.

The last four types of movement require that the Actor follows another Actor. The Actor to be followed is specified by clicking the Select button in the Follow box. When an Actor has been selected the radio buttons for the Follow options will be enabled.

Follow - The Actor will follow another Actor or travel along an assigned path. Hint: Make a light follow the camera. This will ensure good illumination of all visible Actors.

Follow with Offset - Follow an Actor using the Actor's offset. The offset is specified in the model that the Actor is using for its costume. The model's offset is indicated by the red cross (Follow Point) which is visible in the Designer

Follow On a Path - Follow an Actor on a Path trailing by the Actor's offset. Note that Paths, Targets and Lights do not have an offset to follow. Follow-On can be used to follow an Actor that is itself following on. In this way "Trains" can be built up like a locomotive and a set of box cars. The loco follows a path, the first box car follows-on from the loco, and the others follow-on the Actor in front of each.

Follow Locked - Follow an Actor with one or more of the three coordinates locked. The unlocked coordinates are free to be moved. An example would be a 'chase plane' camera that follows an aircraft in the X and Y coordinates, but varies in the Z coordinate for dramatic effect.