Blend Spaces

Overview

A Blend Space is a composite asset based on Skeleton and/or Animation Sequence, which can accept multiple input controls (currently two at most) to control the blend of multiple animation sample points.

The Blend Space supports standalone playback, playback nodes for Anim Tree, and Anim Tree Slot nodes input.

Blend Spaces Creation and Types

Different types of Blend Space provide numerous features in the Asset Editor.

Different Blend Space types can be created in the following steps:

Click File -> Create to open the Asset Creation window. Then you can create a Blend Space asset in it.

Blend Spaces

The Blend Space (Blend Space 2D) allows sampling and blending in a 2D action pose sample space based on specified sample points, for example, it can be used for a character's movement in eight directions, etc.

Blend Space 1D

Blend Space 1D allows sampling and blending in a 1D action pose sample space based on specified sample points.

Blend Space 1D is a one-dimensional variant of Blend Space. It is created, edited and used in the same way as Blend Spaces.

Aim Offset Blend Spaces

An Aim Offset Blend Space is a special Blend Space asset for processing demands including weapon or character look-at aiming. It only blends mesh space additive type poses and adds the result to the inputted base pose.

Aim Offset Blend Space 1D is a one-dimensional variant of Aim Offset Blend Space. It is created, edited and used in the same way as Aim Offset Blend Space.

See Aim Offsets for more details on this section.

Asset Details

Blend Spaces can be set by modifying the related properties in the Asset Details panel.

Option	Property	Description
Horizontal Axis	Name	Horizontal axis name.
	Minimum Axis Value	Minimum horizontal axis value.
	Maximum Axis Value	Maximum horizontal axis value.
	Number of Grid Divisions	Number of horizontal axis grid divisions.
	Interpolation Time	Horizontal axis interpolation time.
	Interpolation Type	Horizontal axis interpolation type. Average Interpolation: Average the historical and current sampling points as the final sampling point value. Linear Interpolation: The further the sample point interpolation weight is from the current time, the smaller the weight. Cubic Interpolation: The further the sample point interpolation weight is from the current time, the smaller the weight, and the faster it attenuates than the linear interpolation weight.
Vertical Axis	Name	Vertical axis name.
	Minimum Axis Value	Minimum vertical axis value.
	Maximum Axis Value	Maximum vertical axis value.
	Number of Grid Divisions	Number of vertical axis grid divisions.
	Interpolation Time	Vertical axis interpolation time.
	Interpolation Type	Vertical axis interpolation type. Average Interpolation: Average the historical and current sampling points as the final sampling point value. Linear Interpolation: The further the sample point interpolation weight is from the current time, the smaller the weight. Cubic Interpolation: The further the sample point interpolation weight is from the current time, the smaller the weight, and the faster it attenuates than the linear interpolation weight.
Additive Settings	Preview Base Pose	Preview base pose.
Blend Samples	Blend Samples	Sample Animation List: List members are dynamically adjusted with the addition or deletion of samples. Each member provides horizontal axis coordinates, vertical axis coordinates, associated animation and play rate.
Sync Group	Sync Group	Sync group.
Blend Time	Blend In Time	Blend in time.
	Blend Out Time	Blend out time.
	Blend Timing Mode	Absolute timing mode: The blend in and out time will not be influenced by the play rate; Relative timing mode: The blend in and out time will be influenced by the play rate and changes in proportion to the animation duration.
Trigger	Start Trigger	Start playing trigger event.
	End Trigger	End playing trigger event.
	Break Trigger	Break playing trigger event.
	Loop Trigger	Loop playing trigger event.
Sample Interpolation	Target Weight Interpolation Speed Per Second	Speed of interpolating to target.
Custom Key Value	Custom Key Value	Custom key value.
Slot Name	Slot Name	Slot name.

Sample Grid Editing Area

A two-dimensional grid is generated in the Blend Space sample grid editing area, whose number of grid divisions is determined by the Number Of Grid Divisions under Axis Settings in the Asset Details panel. A sample point can be set on any grid line intersection point.

Sample points can be added by dragging Skeleton or Animation Sequence assets from the Action List to specific intersections.

Click the icon to enable or disable the animation name associated with the sample point.

Click the icon to enable or disable the display of the triangles in the grid section.

Drag the sample point to adjust its position.

Right-click on a sample point to open the Sample Point Edit window where you can adjust its settings. (Note: The settings here are the same as those in Blend Samples of the Asset Details panel.)

Select a sample point first and press Delete key to delete it.

After deleting the centered sample point:

Simulate the change of the input control by dragging the green square in the panel, observing whether the blend result is as expected in the Viewport. In addition, a prompt window containing current blend state information will pop up in the panel during the dragging. It will display the current input control. Press and hold the Ctrl key while dragging to view the blend weight details of each node, which will help us better analyze the causes of blend results.

Using Nodes

After creating a Blend Space, it can be used as a player in the Animation Tree, and you can enter a slot node of the Animation Tree. See Blend Space Nodes in Animation Trees for more details.