eNLArge

MaxScript Preview 0.1 (06/29/2002)

Copyright (c) 2002 by Borislav Petrov

SHORT DESCRIPTION

eNLArge is a set of MAXScript tools providing an interface to List Controllers for non-destructive, multi-layer animation editing. 

IS THIS NON-LINEAR ANIMATION?
  • Yes, more or less.
  • eNLArge provides a Channel Manager for Animation Layers setup.
  • eNLArge also provides a Channel Mixer, a graphical, NLA-like editor 
  • There are also plans for animation clips loading and saving.
ENLARGE : CHANNEL MANAGER:
eNLArge : Channel Manager provides a compact interface to the new weighted List controllers in 3ds max 5.
  • eNLArge works with the new Character Assembly in 3ds max 5. It will recognize all animated tracks in all nodes of the assembly and create a Base Channel for them automatically. 
  • You can quickly switch between all characters in the scene using a drop-down list.
  • You can pick a character from the scene with the mouse using the [>] button
  • You can select the current character in the scene by pressing the [S] button.

Channels:

  • You can create any number of channels (corresponding to sub-controllers in the List controller) for all animated tracks. Entering a name in the text field before creating a new channel will make it use that name. You can change the name anytime later.
  • Selecting a channel in the list automatically makes it the active channel - any animation keys will be placed on that channel.
  • Animating properties that are not yet assigned to channels will create regular keys on the corresponding tracks. Using the Animation>Assign Free Animation to Channel command, you can assign such animation tracks to the current channel. This will also create empty tracks for the other channels and thus make  the newly added tracks completely eNLArge-ready.
  • You can rename channels anytime by entering a new name and pressing the [Ren] button or selecting the Edit>Rename command. Double-clicking an existing channel puts its name into the text field for editing 
  • You can delete channels - you will be prompted and all animation will be removed from the channel.
  • Deleting all channels will remove the list controller and copy the last channel's  animation to the remaining track. You can turn these tracks back to channels anytime. 
  • You can clone channels to create copies of existing animation for additional tweaking or as reserve copies .
  • You can control the Weight of each channel separately
  • You can switch between Blend and Additive mode based on the Average option of the new List Controllers in 3ds max 5
ENLARGE : CHANNEL MIXER:
eNLArge : Channel Mixer  provides a graphical interface to quickly adjust the timing of the channels. 
  • You can drag the channels with the mouse to adjust the start and end frames at once.
  • You can drag the right edge of the channel to adjust the end time only.
  • You can drag the left edge of the channel to adjust the start time only.
  • You can set the Start, End and Length of each channel using the value spinners.
  • Each channel has its own custom color for easier visual navigation.
  • The background grid can be set to any density to provide visual representation of the frames
  • A channel bar displays the animation range of all List Sub-controllers belonging to the channel. This means that it displays the range from the earliest to the latest key found in any of the controllers.
  • You can edit the single sub-controllers in TrackView manually. The length of the channel bars will be adjusted respectively if necessary. 
  • Using the Zoom value, you can scale the time display in and out.

ToDo:

  • Snap to grid.
  • Access to the Channel Weights from this interface
POSSIBLE FUTURE FEATURES
  • Channels loading and saving
  • Weight Mutiplier curve to enable clips in their active range and turn off outisde the range. 
  • Transition falloff control.
VERSION HISTORY
  • v.0.1.5 - Implemented the basic Channel Mixer UI functionality.
  • v.0.1.1 - 0.1.4 - Implemented the basic Channel Manager functionality.
  • v.0.0.1- first Graphical Editor test
PUBLIC BETA
  • Coming Soon!