Spriter/C2 - (9-16-2019 - bug fix)

> I was thinking that the finished version should install the corresponding Construct 2 plugin automatically upon Spriter's installation. This way there wont be any confusion upon upcoming updates, each newest version should setup the necessary files in Construct's installation folder and be ready to go.

>

We won't be able to do this as Spriter isn't exclusive to Construct 2. It can be made to work on any engine, or used for traditional frame by frame animation through exported pngs and gifs. Ashley and I have discussed the idea of the plugin getting bundled with C2 after the plugin and Spriter 1.0 are complete.!

There are programs that target multiple software (like Trapcode's suites) and upon installation they detect which relative software the user has already installed in his/her system and give the option to install the appropriate files for each software. Granted, the example I am using is a plugin suite, but I was hoping that Spriter could install as a standalone software and during the installation process detect all (if any) of the relative programs that support importing the .scon files and offer the ability to setup the corresponding and up-to-date importers/plugins for each one of them.

[quote:3ho8kwjw]Also, I am not sure about the current state of .scml & .scon dependencies, but I think that a single file should be needed in order to import & update animations in a project between Spriter & C2.

This is a matter of if and when Ashley has a chance to change the importer to load from .scon instead of .scml. He has to prioritize what to spend time on, and there's still a feature or two that will be added to Spriter that will require additions to the importer. I will ask him what his plans are on switching the importer to .scon after those features are complete.

[quote:3ho8kwjw]Ideally, saved changes on a Spriter's project should be transferred automatically within C2, and if not automatically, with a simple update or re-import button/right click command.

The automatic transfer would be impractical, and again Spriter isn't C2 or even Windows exclusive. I don't know know whether Ashley would want to add a right-click reimport command, but it's possible in a future version of Spriter I might be able to add an icon you can click and drag from Spriter into C2 that would reimport the currently open file. There's quite a bit on the todo list before we can think of implementing something like that though.

So, if I understand this correctly, the importing method and the way C2 updates the changes on the .scon files are in essence things that Scrirra has to decide and implement, it's not to BrashMonkey's end..?

Thanks again for your time and answers!

is this plugin needed anymore, or does Construct 2 have integrated support for Spriter now?

There are programs that target multiple software (like Trapcode's suites) and upon installation they detect which relative software the user has already installed in his/her system and give the option to install the appropriate files for each software. Granted, the example I am using is a plugin suite, but I was hoping that Spriter could install as a standalone software and during the installation process detect all (if any) of the relative programs that support importing the .scon files and offer the ability to setup the corresponding and up-to-date importers/plugins for each one of them.

The plan is for the scml plugin to eventually be included with C2 as a standard plugin, which will solve the same issue, as any updates would be included with each C2 download.

We could consider automatic plugin installation at some point in the future, but something like this would be as complex to implement as some of the more powerful features and enhancements we're planning on adding in the near future, so it's not high on the priority list for the time being.

[quote:1jigszwc]So, if I understand this correctly, the importing method and the way C2 updates the changes on the .scon files are in essence things that Scirra has to decide and implement, it's not to BrashMonkey's end..?

Ashley and I discuss the requirements of the import and the best way for the plugin and import process to work with C2's architecture, but it's up to me to prioritize and develop the plugin itself, and up to Ashley to prioritize and develop the part of C2 that manages the imports and reimports (everything that happens immediately after dropping an scml or scon file into a C2 layout). For the most part, since Ashley has such a nonstop stream of C2 updates and planned features, we try to consolidate anything needed for the import into less frequent, larger changes. Once I have the information he'll need to implement sub-entity imports and possibly deformable sprites, I'll bring up an exclusively .scon import again.

If there is still two required files for import by the time I'm done with everything planned for immediately after Spriter 1.0, I've been considering adding a file settings template feature in Spriter, so you can select Construct 2 as your target platform or any predefined custom option set you want to create and share. So for C2, this would automatically set all the save options, and cause every save to automatically save both the scml and scon versions, until/unless you deselected that template.

lucid , I am happy to read those lines, thank you very much for your work and for your answers!

lucid Hoping this is an easy question and I'm sorry to bother you with it.

I uploaded an image sequence to use as reference for a walk cycle. Then I placed all of my parts on top of the beginning of the reference and added the skeleton. Problem is the different pieces of the character only appear for the first frame of the animation. Is there a way to extend their duration in the timeline? I think it has to do with Objects in the Palette window. It only shows the frames in the first column. Couldn't figure out how to copy and paste the them to the rest of the animation.

Thanks for the help.

-Ben

sman118 Did you create and animate the skeleton before adding the sprites? Spriter lets you have sprites on some frames, even if you don't have them on all frames. Copy, and Paste to All Frames (edit menu or Ctrl-Shift-V) of just the sprites you're trying to move should fix the issue if you did add animations frames first and then add the sprites. Normally, it's best to fully assemble the character before animating it. Let me know if this helps fix your issue, and if not, feel free to email the zipped project folder (scml file, and all the images/subdirectories) to , and I can help you further.

lucid My sequence was importing all of my images and folders. Then, I went to the folder with my "guide animation" and loaded in the image sequence (great addition by the way). Adding in the sequence created a keyframe at every frame. I then started building my character with the smaller pieces. For whatever reason, they only showed up on the first frame.

I was able to through and copy and paste the whole thing to each key frame one at a time. So I'm past the problem, but not sure if bringing my pieces in before importing and image sequences might be the best workflow.

I haven't had the chance to test this extensively, but I will post back here when I do get a chance, and I'll also update the link in the original post. In the meantime, if anyone wanted to test out some of these new features.

plugin changelog 10/16/14

• Added support for Spriter variables
• Added support for Spriter tags
• Added support for Spriter events

When I have a chance I'll make some tutorial videos, but now that these latest are implemented, the plugin is a lot more powerful. All 3 are Spriter Pro features, and allow you to do quite a wide array of behaviors. Use tags to designate parts of your animation to be 'unblockable' or 'go through projectiles'. Spawn a projectile exactly at the moment the recoil happens in your animation using a Spriter 'event'. Or use events to spawn a magical effect or particle burst at a precise moment in the animation. Use variables for anything from deciding what parameters to set to effects controlled and tweened through your Spriter animation, or use string variables to control the pacing of dialog boxes to go with your character's animated emoting. Much like variables, these tools add a wide variety of use cases to your arsenal. If anyone decides to test any of this out, again remember until further notice, these new features haven't been tested thoroughly in the plugin yet, so only use this for testing purposes for the time being. I expect to have sub-entities (the final pro feature for Spriter 1.0 left to implement in the plugin) by next Wednesday.

lucid oh, I sooo much crave for tutorials on those subjects!!!

Hey lucid I have a project where I need to animate some dancers and musicians any chance there'll be a bone animation repository for gamiing and animations in general we could use?

lucid - tried the "set opacity" action on a spriter object today, worked perfectly. Please make it so effects can be applied in the same way and I will never pester you again!

Ragevortex, sorry for the late reply. We don't have anything for dancers or musician animation. As far as available animations, there's our art packs, the sample project, a couple of users (most notably tombmonkey) have shared their animations on our forums for other users to learn from.

everyone

plugin changelog 10/24/14

• Fixed a bug where z-order changes wouldn't update sprites for paused animations until after the object was moved or animation was resumed.
• Plugin-side support for Sub-Entities (not yet useable*).

*Sub-Entity support is now in the plugin, but is not yet supported by Construct 2's Spriter importer. Over the next week, I'll put together an explanation of the manual import process. Manually importing a file is usually a bit tedious, but it will work for people eager to give the new feature a try. In the meantime, I will be brainstorming to see if there's a way to minimize any changes/additions needed for C2's importer, and then sending any necessary information to Ashley. I'll keep you updated as everything progresses.

when can the plugin support deformation?

winsonzhong ,

I think they 'll add it sometime after the v1.0 release.

when can the plugin support deformation?

Elios is correct. We're on track to release Spriter 1.0 mid to late November. After 1.0's release, we'll start shaping deformation into a full feature (the current deformation in Spriter is just a proof of concept), and once it's ready it will be added to the plugin.

lucid I'm glad to read about a set time frame. Christmas will start at late November this year! My wish for Santa is to have some good & practical tutorials giving examples and explaining how to use Spriter's advanced features in C2. Like setting up and triggering collision boxes, variables, action points, audio etc... And workflow practices, like using character maps for crowd npcs, or a setting up a scene that has multiple Spriter objects...