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Creating an Animation Database (MMData)

Introduction

Animation databases hold the animation sets that the Motion Matching system utilizes to animate characters. These are specified via a scriptable object known as MotionMatchingData (MMData). To view an example, navigate to Animations/MMData/JLData.asset.

Steps to Create an MMData asset

Add Animation Files

  • Import one or more .bvh files into your project. Change their extensions to .txt so Unity will recognize them as Text Assets.

Create AnimationData

  • Right-click in the Project window and choose Create/MotionMatching/AnimationData. Link this with the Text Asset from step 1. This AnimationData holds metadata like animation tags.

Create MotionMatchingData (MMData)

  • Right-click in the Project window and go to Create/MotionMatching/MotionMatchingData.

    Tip

    You can duplicate the existing MMData at Animations/MMData/JLData.asset and use it as a starting point.

  • Click Add Animation and link it to the AnimationData file. In the subsequent field labeled Animation with T-Pose, reference an AnimationData where the first frame shows the character in a T-Pose. Note that all .bvh files should have the same skeletal structure.

Configure Skeleton

  • Identify the local vectors pointing forward and upward for the hips/root joint. For example, in the following image, the forward local vector is the Z-axis (0, 0, 1) and the up local vector is Y-axis (0, 1, 0):

    Note

    Ensure your Gizmo handle position toggle is set to local space. More Info.

    The forward vector should correspond to the .bvh file, not your virtual character.

  • The Contact Velocity Threshold is used for determining foot contact points for the foot lock feature. You can leave this setting as is for now.

  • Click Read Skeleton from BVH to open the Skeleton to Mecanim dropdown. This maps the .bvh skeletal structure to Unity's animation system. Some bones may auto-map based on their names; however, ensure all mappings are accurate. If a bone doesn't correspond to any in Unity, set it as Last Bone to ignore it.

Feature Selection

  • Expand the Feature Selector section to choose trajectory and pose features. This package offers fully customizable features, but modifying trajectory features might require code changes. For initial testing, you can copy the settings from Animations/MMData/JLData.asset.

Generate Database

  • Click Generate Databases. This action will create the processed pose and feature databases under the StreamingAssets/MMDatabases directory.

Congratulations! You've successfully created an MMData file for your Motion Matching system. Feel free to experiment with these settings to best suit your project's requirements.

Last update: 2023-11-10
Created: 2023-11-10