💾 VRC-Animation-Sync
UTC animation sync for VRChat.
VRC Animation Sync is a single configurable UdonSharp behaviour that can be used to easily sync animations for all players without networking.
It is intended to be efficient and relatively simple to use without the need for any additional editor scripts or dependencies outside of UdonSharp. All configuration can be done within the Unity Inspector window without the need for any programming, Udon, or SDK knowledge. That said, the source code is cleanly-organized and commented in the hopes of also being a good learning tool.
Errors regarding functions not being exposed likely mean you need an updated version of the SDK or UdonSharp.
- Unity (Tested: v2019.4.31f1)
- VRChat Worlds SDK3 (Tested: v2021.11.8)
- UdonSharp (Tested: v0.20.3)
Other useful VRChat world-creation tools that I will always recommend.
- World Creator Assistant (SDK & Package Management)
- CyanEmu (Unity-Window Testing)
Make sure you have already imported the VRChat Worlds SDK and UdonSharp into your project.
- Download the latest Unity Package and import it into your project.
- A pre-configured example prefab is included that you can drop into your scene if you like.
- Create and select an empty game object and add the P_AnimSync behaviour via the Unity Inspector window or 'Component > Pokeyi.VRChat > P.VRC Animation Sync' toolbar menu.
- Click the 'Convert to UdonBehaviour' button if prompted.
- Configure the rest of the behaviour's properties in the Inspector window as you see fit. Each of these is explained in detail further below.
The main features of Animation Sync.
- Sync Toggles - Designate at which points in runtime you want the animation to synchronize.
- Keyframe Event - Method for triggering re-synchronization at certain keyframes sent from the animation.
- UTC-Sync - The method used for syncing animations to all players.
All of the following properties have hover-tooltips in the Unity Inspector window.
Designate at which points in runtime you want the animation to synchronize.
- Start Sync UTC - Sync animation once at start.
- Event Sync UTC - Sync animation via called events.
- Frame Sync UTC - Sync animation every frame.
Call the public "_EventSyncUTC" method to trigger a re-synchronization. (See: Notes #1)
- This can be done without any programming by selecting 'SendCustomEvent(String)' from the dropdown when adding a Keyframe Event to a keyframe in your animation.
UTC-Sync is a method of syncing motions or events for all players without the use of networking by aligning them with Universal Time as a shared frame of reference.
- The only caveat to this form of syncing is that each player's local machine must have had its clock synchronized. This is usually done automatically by Windows. The latest synchronization can be checked in your Date & Time Settings, but it should be very rare that this would need to be worried about manually.
For now, this behaviour is best suited for simple looping animations. It should support changing animations as long as you re-sync afterwards, but the transition may not be smooth.
- In most use cases, for a looping animation that starts on Awake, you would only need to sync once at start.
- I also prefer to put a Keyframe Event at the last frame of each animation to resync, just in case.
- 'Frame Sync UTC' should not be necessary for most use cases and is probably not great for performance either.
- Per the VRChat API, public method/event names starting with an "_Underscore" are protected from remote network calls, necessitating use of a local-only event. Doing this protects them from being called by malicious clients and potentially breaking functionality in your world.
Please credit me as Pokeyi if you use my work. I would also love to see your creations that make use of it if you're inclined to share. This and related projects at release have involved over three months of solid work and self-education as I strive for an opportunity to change careers and make a better life for myself. If you find value in my work, please consider supporting me, I appreciate it more than you can imagine!
This work is licensed under the MIT License.
Copyright © 2021 Pokeyi - https://pokeyi.dev - pokeyi@pm.me
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