I've not seen many assets utilize BlendShapes, so I'll spread some awareness on how to make them. It's really quite simple.
BlendShapes, as Unity calls them, are basically what morphs are to a person, but for CUAs. Moving select vertices around toward a set position, dynamically.
This rifle I ported is animated with BlendShapes inside VAM:
Each BlendShape I made is moving selected vertices to a certain position. And they can be mixed together at the same time. Though this may not always have desireable outcomes if they affect the same vertices.
The translation of vertices is done in straight lines, linear if you will. You'll want to keep this in mind. Rotation for example can have odd results. If you look close on the bolt-handle, you might be able to spot something odd going on. It's not actually rotating, but just moving upwards in a way that breaks the shape. This'd be obvious if you stopped in the middle.
How to:
2. Add 2 ShapeKeys (this is what Blender calls them) by hitting the plus:
The first key added will be the base shape or "basis".
Be aware from this point on, you cannot use any modifiers. Have them applied before starting to work with shape keys.
3. Go into Edit mode, select "key 1". You can rename "key 1" to anything. Change the shape around.
You can also use sculpt mode, just make sure to select the shapekey, and also change the value to 1.0. Otherwise you can't make any changes.
4. Go back into object mode. You can now test the shapekey by dragging the value:
1. Export as FBX:
2. You want to untick the whole "Bake Animation" section, and "Add Leaf Bones":
EDIT: I forgot geometry > "apply all modifiers". If you have any modifiers, like you shouldn't, they will be applied if this is on, and that results in no blendshapes being exported.
2. For the import settings for the mesh, you of course want to leave "import blendshapes" checked:
3. Add the mesh to the scene and select it. You should see BlendShapes over in the inspector. You can drag the value here too and test:
Note a ShapeKey in Blender goes from 0.0-1.0. In Unity this is 0-100(%). You can drag the value past 100 in Unity but the shape will only change up till 100 is reached.
4. And that's it. Create an assetbundle like you normally would.
To access them in VAM, use the plugin: https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/customunityasset-blendshapes-controller.17494/
Simply add to the atom. You can add these BlendShapes sliders to Timeline by selecting the CUA atom, and then the plugin under storables.
BlendShapes, as Unity calls them, are basically what morphs are to a person, but for CUAs. Moving select vertices around toward a set position, dynamically.
This rifle I ported is animated with BlendShapes inside VAM:
Each BlendShape I made is moving selected vertices to a certain position. And they can be mixed together at the same time. Though this may not always have desireable outcomes if they affect the same vertices.
The translation of vertices is done in straight lines, linear if you will. You'll want to keep this in mind. Rotation for example can have odd results. If you look close on the bolt-handle, you might be able to spot something odd going on. It's not actually rotating, but just moving upwards in a way that breaks the shape. This'd be obvious if you stopped in the middle.
How to:
Blender
1. Select your object, go to the "Object Data Properties" tab:2. Add 2 ShapeKeys (this is what Blender calls them) by hitting the plus:
The first key added will be the base shape or "basis".
Be aware from this point on, you cannot use any modifiers. Have them applied before starting to work with shape keys.
3. Go into Edit mode, select "key 1". You can rename "key 1" to anything. Change the shape around.
You can also use sculpt mode, just make sure to select the shapekey, and also change the value to 1.0. Otherwise you can't make any changes.
As a bonus note, shapekeys also make a great way to create Person morphs in a non-destructive way. Plus you can mix and match multiple shapekeys at once. The exported model will have the mix of shapekeys applied to it.
4. Go back into object mode. You can now test the shapekey by dragging the value:
Exporting
The most important part is having the right export settings for Unity to pickup on them.1. Export as FBX:
2. You want to untick the whole "Bake Animation" section, and "Add Leaf Bones":
EDIT: I forgot geometry > "apply all modifiers". If you have any modifiers, like you shouldn't, they will be applied if this is on, and that results in no blendshapes being exported.
Unity
1. Import the mesh you exported into your Unity project.2. For the import settings for the mesh, you of course want to leave "import blendshapes" checked:
3. Add the mesh to the scene and select it. You should see BlendShapes over in the inspector. You can drag the value here too and test:
Note a ShapeKey in Blender goes from 0.0-1.0. In Unity this is 0-100(%). You can drag the value past 100 in Unity but the shape will only change up till 100 is reached.
4. And that's it. Create an assetbundle like you normally would.
To access them in VAM, use the plugin: https://hub.virtamate.com/resources/customunityasset-blendshapes-controller.17494/
Simply add to the atom. You can add these BlendShapes sliders to Timeline by selecting the CUA atom, and then the plugin under storables.
