Possible to play multiple animations on a static shape?

#1 Yes.

See:

ConsoleMethod( ShapeBase, playThread, bool, 3, 4, "(int slot, string sequenceName)")

#2 I've used playThread before on a player object, but I haven't used it on a static shape. I realize that they are both using the same ShapeBase function; however, I'm not sure how to set up my static shape to be able to call different animations on it.

Is it the same as my player? A cs file that sets up the animations like the following?

datablock TSShapeConstructor(BlobDts)
{
   baseShape = "./blob.dts";
   sequence0 = "./blob_idle1.dsq root";
   sequence1 = "./blob_walk.dsq run";
   sequence2 = "./blob_shoot.dsq shoot";
   sequence3 = "./blob_absorb.dsq absorb";
   sequence4 = "./blob_floatIdle.dsq floatIdle";
   sequence5 = "./blob_jump.dsq jump";
   sequence6 = "./blob_jump.dsq standjump";
   sequence7 = "./blob_fall1.dsq fall1";
   sequence8 = "./blob_fall2.dsq fall2Idle";
   sequence9 = "./blob_duckIdle.dsq duckIdle";
   sequence10 = "./blob_idle2.dsq SpecialIdle1" ;
   sequence11 = "./blob_idle3.dsq SpecialIdle2" ;
}

If I use a static shape instead of a player, this setup is correct? The animations will still play?

#3 I use multiple animations on static shapes by creating all my animations in the one time line.

E.g. frames 0 - 9 will contain animation 1, frames 10 - 19 animation 2 and so on. Each animation is then exported out as an individual thread and named accordingly.

Then in script I can call any animation I need.

Some example commands:

%obj.playThread(0,"anim1");
%obj.playThread(0,"anim2");
%obj.playThread(0,"anim3");
%obj.playThread(0,"anim4");
%obj.playThread(0,"anim5");

You can also reverse the direction to which the animation is played, pause the animation and adjust the speed through script.

#4 Tim Heldna's approach is much simpler to do, but the other one should work just fine as well.

#5 Tim, how in the world do you adjust animation playspeed from script? I asked this question a while back and nobody could tell me how to do it. The only way I saw was from engine code.

#6 Sorry, my bad. You can't alter the speed, not that I know of.

Here are the commands that I have used and know work:

%obj.playThread("iflAnim"); //play the animation
%obj.stopThread("iflAnim"); //stop the animation
%obj.pauseThread("iflAnim"); //pause the animation
%obj.setThreadDir("iflAnim",1); //set animation direction forward
%obj.setThreadDir("iflAnim",0); //set animation direction backward

#7 (Controlling animation speed from C++ is of course not too tricky. Use TSShapeInstance::setTimeScale.)

#8 My artists have all of my animations already exported as dsqs. I still don't completely understand how to make them play on my static shapes. Do I have to make a TSShapeconstructor similar to what the player does, or can I include all the information in my staticShapedata datablock somehow? If I have to create the constructor, how do I assosciate it with the staticShapeData datablock?

#9 Note the first line of the TSShapeConstructor:

baseShape = "./blob.dts";

THIS is what tells it what DTS file to affect. Nothing else matters. So, yes, use a TSShapeConstructor. It's not specific to the player at all.

#10 Cool. Thanks. I'll try that out.