Character Animation
Since many aspects of the Combat System are related to animation systems, Ninja Combat provides some Animation assets that can be used for the character animation.
None of these Animation assets are mandatory, and you are free to use other Animation Systems, as long as the internal functionality is transferred.
Animation Instance
The default Animation Instance, NinjaCombatAnimInstance, can be used as the base class for Character Animations. It provides common locomotion variables, and it is connected to the Combat System to track important states, such as Target Lock, Blocking and Stagger.
You can use this class by simply creating a new Animation Instance, in Blueprint or C++, using NinjaCombatAnimInstance as a base. This class can be modified in many ways, so you can still consider using it as a base class, even if your locomotion calculations are completely different.
Animation Notifies
Multiple Notifies and Notify States are available to handle multiple aspects of the system.
Notify | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Cast | Notify | Sends a Gameplay Event to the Cast Ability to trigger the actual cast. |
Combo Window | Notify State | Defines a part of an attack or ability that can receive input to advance a combo. |
Death | Notify | Sends a Gameplay Event to the Death Ability to start the "Finish Dying" flow. |
Invulnerability | Notify State | Applies the Invulnerability Effect for the duration of the state. |
Launch Projectile | Notify | Sends a Gameplay Event to the Attack Ability to launch a projectile. |
Melee Scan | Notify State | Sends Gameplay Events to the Attack Ability to start and stop melee scans. |
Opportunity Damage | Notify | Sends a Gameplay Event to the Opportunity Attack Ability to apply any deliberate damage. |
Parry Window | Notify State | Defines a part of an attack that can be parried. |
Weapon Trail | Notify State | Executes weapon trails on the weapon obtained from a query. |
Notifies are a great way to connect gameplay events to something visual that can be easily identified by players. But keep in mind that Animation Notifies are frame-rate dependant and might be skipped during low FPS scenarios.
If that is a potential problem for you, then you should consider reinforcing their functionality into fallback systems.
Animation Providers
These classes are used by Gameplay Abilities to select an appropriate animation for the character. The following providers are readily available:
Provider | Description |
|---|---|
Default Provider | A simple Animation Provider that uses a specific Animation and optionally a section. |
Directional Provider | An abstract Animation Provider that can select animations or sections based on an angle. |
Directional Evade Provider | Selects the animation using an angle calculated from the Character Movement and Forward Reference. |
Hit Reaction Provider | Selects the animation using an angle calculated from the Target and an incoming hit. |
Weapon Animation Provider | Retrieves an Animation from the source object (usually the weapon) for the ability. The source object must implement |