* Auto-walking/stride/etc. features are more of a rig-level feature than an NLA feature. The old NLA-modifiers and stride offsets, etc. were really being evaluated as part of the pose system (but before constraints) instead, so it is more logical to move those there in line with constraints.
++++++++++++++++++
So this seems to be more evidence that stride offset are like that fashion show tag line…
One day your in … and the next you are out.
So I am still back to the original question … perhaps in slightly modified form.
What is the superior replacement for the old stride concept?
Some repeating curve?
Python Script? or the new programming tool
<<driver>>
?
Or something so new and easy I have not even seen it?
Thank you for your effort, your terseness notwithstanding.
Was humor intended? Not everyone may understand your image intensive contribution.
Hopefully many people benefit from your images and words other than me.
I did search and see another post … where the person asked a similar question in a different way.
Subsequent to my first post in this thread I saw … http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=203113&p=1752344&highlight=#post1752344
I suggest other readers of my thread … in need of help … read that one as well.
I commented on the level of interest of the discussion and I may have seen the same image. I did not do a image equality test of any kind.
Sorry, I was in a hurry when I posted that, no humour intended. But you are right, that’s the same image in the other thread.
Does the other thread clear things up? To repeat something, we now add a ‘Cycles’ modifier to your forward channel ( usually Z loc ) found in the Graph editor.
mikahl
I know more than I did. That is good and perhaps minimal.
Sometimes I want to spare the reader from reading all the misadventures.
I will attempt providing a summary.
Sometimes the question can be posed and answered in clear fashion with hindsight.
What would be a clear concise answer which can then be researched further?
You are invited to improve this.
Question
Blender 2.55
I cannot find the NLA Strip Offset feature in Blender 2.55
which works with the concept of stride bone offset bone.
Where is it or the superior replacement?
Answer
The offset feature of pre 2.5 is dead and gone.
The superior replacement is to have a new stride motion travel track in the NLA editor.
This requires some master parent bones for ease of use.
The track is combined with the original appendage movement to get the complete desired stride motion.
Its curve in the Graph editor can have a
Cycles
modifier to obtain repetitive (cyclic) motion.
The travel track in the NLA is not repeated but typically spans multiple repeating limb animation strips as indicated in the image.
See the image provided above and the reference provided above.
mikahl
do you know of any tutorials or documentation for the
cycles modifier
?
It seems I had to click on only one keyframe in the graph editor to get any results.
Clicking on all or more than one did not display the cycles.
Well you’ve pretty much figured things out yourself! Modifiers (like the cycle one) are applied on a per-channel basis. If you’ve shift-selected multiple channels, and add a modifier, only the last channel will get the modifier.
Try going into the modifier menu, and adding some cycles in the “After” field.
No I have received assistance from this forum.
No I need more assistance … no one is singing yet … I have not been successful yet.
…
I actually meant that for a single channel I had to click on a single keyframe on the curve to get
Cycles modifier to work.
…
Blender fatally rejected its own file. The file I created to try the solution for this discussion. So now I have created a new one. Lets move on.
…
More importantly back in the NLA editor.
A new segue strongly related question which perhaps could be in its own thread.
I need to know more for this specific challenge.
…
Goal in the NLA
one track to control entire body moment for the cycle.
one track to control leg movements of walking
(I am not considering artistry or anatomical fine points yet)
…
Progress
I am in the NLA editor with two tracks.
Track 01 … Body Travel Locomotion visually resulting from leg movement. Requires the master bone.
Track 02 … Leg Steps. The legs in the motion of walking or something similar.
Either works independently when selected with Golden button on the left of the active strip name.
Previously I have been able to combine the actions for a period of a few hours.
…
Failure
In this new blender file I have not been able to combine the strips in the desired fashion…
… Body Travel plus leg steps
In the NLA editor I see that the Animation data has an action blending user selection menu…
I see each active track has own Blending user selection menu.
Those menu choices include
Multiply Add Subtract Replace.
My best guess is
…track 01 … replace
…track 02 … add
I have tried other combinations.
No success yet.
…
Your suggestions for NLA active strip panel settings are welcome.
Here is a file with two NLA Tracks, One track is just a linear motion with 2 points and linear interpolation. Because of this it can be added to the NLA as an action of any length. The other is a run i took from a bvh and is 42 frames long. I have added that one to repeat. It is not a run cycle since the start and end frames don’t match hence the jerkyness. I thought I’d stick it together and post to show that it can be done.
It also contains a script I’m working on that converts actions to offsets from linear travel of your armature root bone from point A to B… ie where it is at its first frame and the last frame of the action. The script creates a new offset action and a new action on the armature with the linear speed of the motion. And takes everything back to the origin.
It’s a wip… so you will have to change the names of the objects/actions etc… Because the rig etc came from Mocap you may have to change the linear armature action to match the up axis of your rig. A lot of bvh’s are y up.
At the very least it gives an example of having two tracks in the NLA.
cheers batFinger! Neat to see moCap stuff.
In that spirit, here’s my incredibly incomplete walk-cycle .blend. And cheers to Gord Goodwin for using his Nathan rig. Hope this helps bezierSlinger.
Sorry - don’t have time for a ‘full’ tutorial.
Double-check to see your on the channel you selected, when you selected that first keyframe.
Hello.
Thanks for the file.
I see two tracks … which seem to be
01 entire body movement
02 limb movement
hip is parent of all … master
camera is on same rig
motion is indicated by standard grid in 3d window …
no items are visible during render
blending using numbers for [in out]
…
I tried an experiment inspired by your file
I typed in some blend numbers for [in out]
I actually do not understand the in out usefulness for you.
It seems you wanted straight line motion … so I would think your would simply add the two armature actions
I seemed to get more combined results … though not the results I wanted
Does that evidence suggest any solution?
Is it reasonable for me to have my track
01 master bone z axis hop
02 limb movements
??
<aside>I actually had correct results yesterday and now blender is fatal when it tries to read the file.
<second aside>
I cannot directly use your file IMHO as in <cut and paste>
my character has different features than yours
I believe i must understand the problem
Is there a problem with clicking on the golden circle button or that just blender legend?
Track one moves the armature object, track two is the running action. Hip is the root bone of the armature… and I am using the armature object to move the whole thing. I explained that in a previous post. The running action has been modified by a script to go “nowhere” by the time it gets to its last frame… as opposed to going from point A to point B . it now goes from (0,0.0) to (0,0,0). The “travel” is then applied by moving the armature at the same rate as the original action. I have put the armatures origin on the ground because i’m working on toeroll from it… but if the origin was at the same location as the hip bone in rest pos, it would match position with it at the end points of the action in pose mode.
You can see this by isolating nla tracks … by pressing the yellow dot… or in the action editor.
No sure why i had numbers for blend in out… must have been fiddling.
It’s only an armature, couldn’t get filesize down with mesh in it… this is why it doesn’t render anything.
camera is parented to the armature object to go with the motion.
It seems you wanted straight line motion … so I would think your would simply add the two armature actions
My objective was to “normalize” my mocap library and be able to quickly apply them to any path… which this has done.
As for startup error… try appending from a new file.
Thanks for your continued messages
For global motion…
I just noticed I was animating a master bone.
In contrast You animated the rig.
Perhaps I should try animating the rig.
(I can not predict any difference)
I am investigating.
I think our messages are crossing in close tempo.
Sometimes I may write ideas to see if I understand them correctly.
I am very inexperienced in the NLA editor
batfinger … mikahl
thanks
Success!!
I have combined motion at this moment.
I sound rather tentative at this moment.
…
?Did I have success because I animated the rig in <<object mode>>?
The first track of travel was animated in object mode.
My other animation were in <<pose mode>>.
There is the other blender legend that if you click on on the gold button on the left … that you will permanently poison the track and must delete the track to progress.
Any truth to that one?
And is the NLA editor properties panel paying any attention to the blending settings of
<add multiple subtract replace>??
…
Perhaps the NLA examination is for another thread.
batfinger mikahl
just some events … that are now perhaps off topic
when I try to edit the NLA strips with tab …then … in the graph editor … to add modifier cycles
Blender keeps having fatal errors.
Thus any progress reports are delayed.
deleting a keyframe in trying to undo seem to cause the problem
I will keep struggling.
My character was created in two parts at least, with different armatures, for certain reasons.
That must be assessed.
So I must consider how to coordinate their sputnik arrangements.
Also I must consider if the
curve deform modifier or follow path constraint
are compatible with this effort
