$sequence

$sequence is a QC command available in all Source games. It defines a skeletal animation. It can be used either on its own, or, to make use of Source's more advanced skeletal animation features, in conjunction with one or several $animations.

Note:All models that have any polygons must have at least one $sequence. If you don't actually want any movement, it's easiest to re-use your reference SMD. Models that solely use $includemodel do not require any $sequences.

Todo: What happens if no $sequences exist in the $includemodel?

Usage

$sequence has two modes. One directly accesses a single skeletal animation (SMD or DMX), while the other needs intermediate $animations.

Note:a DMX skeletal animation may only be used if the game that the model is being compiled for includes the Dmxconvert util.

Note:A $sequence can only see $animations that come above it in the QC file.

$sequence <name> <skeletal animation SMD/DMX> <simple options>

$sequence <name> {		// opening brace must be on the same line as the command
	<$animation name(s)>
	<advanced options>
	<events>
	<simple options>
}

Examples

$modelname		"weapons/shell.mdl"
$cdmaterials		"models/weapons/"
$body		shell	"shell-ref.smd"
$sequence idle	"shell-idle.smd"

$animation a_strokechin "strokechin.smd" subtract idle 0

$sequence strokechin {
	a_strokechin
	delta
}

$sequence run_holding_all {
	a_runS a_runSE a_runE a_runNE a_runN_SMG a_runNW a_runW a_runSW a_runS

	blendwidth 9
	blend move_yaw -180 180
	addlayer layer_run_holding
	ACT_RUN_RIFLE 1
	node "running"
}

Options

Simple

<string|name>

The name of the animation. Will appear in HLMV, Hammer, etc.

<string|Skeletal animation file>

Path to the $sequence's source file. By including this, you tell studiomdl that you are using the simple version of the command.

frame <int|start frame> <int|end frame>

Specifies a range of frames to extract from the source animation. Useful for trimming off frames not used in a particular animation.

For example, if the source animation contains 80 frames but this animation should only play the last 30 frames, then frames 50 80 will load only those frames.

Can also be used to extract a single frame of animation by making the start and end frames match.

frames is an alias of frame, and can be used interchangeably with it.

Warning:All frame numbers used elsewhere in the sequence (e.g. animation events) are relative to start frame.

origin <float|x> <float|y> <float|z>

Adjusts the position of the animation within its own local space.

angles <float|x> <float|y> <float|z>

Adjusts the rotation of the animation within its own local space.

rotate <float|angle>

Identical to angles, but it only rotates along the Z axis.

scale <float|scale>

Multiplies the size of the skeleton in this sequence. Negative values are accepted.

reverse (in all games since )(also in )

Reverses the animation.

loop

Has three effects:

• Causes the sequence to repeat endlessly until stopped.
• Prevents the sequence from restarting if triggered while already playing.
• Causes studiomdl to perform some cleanup between the first and last frames.

hidden

Prevents the $sequence from being listed in user interfaces. Useful for sequences which serve only as layers of others.

noanimation

Todo: Documentation

fps <float|frames per second>

Override the framerate of the animation. If unspecified, defaults to 30.

Note:These are animation frames - not screen frames!

<string|motion extract axis>

Movement animations are easier to create if the model actually moves forwards, but for playback in-game it must "walk on the spot". This command resolves the issue by stripping root bone translation from an animation.

You can add walkframe <int|endframe of motion extraction> at the same line before specifying axis to limit motion extraction for specific part of animation.

Note:Extraction always starts from the beginning of animation or from the last specified walkframe, and ends at the specified frame. To create a delay, use walkframe without specifying axis.

Tip:You can add several walkframe to get a more accurate result.

$sequence sword_attack {
	knight_anims\sword_attack.smd
	ACT_SPECIAL_ATTACK1 1
	fadein 0.2
	fadeout 0.2
	fps 30
	walkframe 10 LX LY LZR //motion extraction from the start to 10 frame
	walkframe 30 LX LY LZR //motion extraction from 10 to 30 frame
	LX LY LZR //motion extraction from 30 frame until the end of animation
}

Accepted axes are:

• X, Y, Z, XR, YR, and ZR - R stands for 'rotation'.

Warning:It looks like these axes completely ignore walkframe.

• LX, LY, LZ, LXR, LYR, and LZR - the root bone moves along the axis until the animation is half complete, then moves back to its original position.
  Tip:You can extract motion from any combination of axes. Just put a space between each one.

This command is also available on $animations.

activity <string|name> <float|weight>

Links the sequence to an activity.

Tip:If an activity name starts with "ACT_" then the activity keyword can be removed. When ACT_ is seen, it is implicitly an activity.

If more than one $sequence has the same activity, then the weight specifies how likely this sequence is to be picked when that activity is called. The odds of any particular $sequence playing is simply its weight over the sum of all other weights.

For example, if a $sequence named swing_a has a weight of 2, and another $sequence named swing_b has a weight of 1, then there is a 2/3 chance for swing_a to play instead of swing_b.

Note:If there is only one sequence tied to the activity, then its weight is irrelevant.

autoplay

Makes the sequence play at all times, on top of any other animations, no matter what the model is doing. Good for blended breathing animations and other automated motion. If a model has multiple autoplay $sequences, they’re layered in the order that they appear in the QC.

Warning:Don't use this for an animation that might be played normally, or you'll end up with it playing twice and the motion doubling up.

addlayer <string|other $sequence name>

Play another sequence on top of this one. The animations begin and end together, so discrepancies in their total run time (framerate * number of frames) will proportionately affect the added layer's framerate, if applicable. The other $sequence doesn't have to be above the current one.

This is generally used to add either delta-ed layers such as aim matrices or specially weighted layers that only affect specific bones.

The other $sequence can be declared ahead of time if it will be imported at runtime.

blendlayer <string|other $sequence name> <int|startframe> <int|peakframe> <int|tailframe> <int|endframe> [options...]

Similar to addlayer, but the new sequence only plays over specified frames, and it accepts a number of options.

The animation starts at 0% intensity on startframe, reaches 100% intensity on peakframe, starts to fade away on tailframe, and fully fades out on endframe.

Options:

spline

Instead of fading the layer linearly, fade it with a spline curve.

xfade

The layer will only fade in and not back out.

poseparameter <string|name>

Allows a pose parameter to control the fading of the layer instead of the parent $sequence's frame. When this option is present, the frame range is instead used to determine how the pose parameter's value should make the layer fade in/out.

Example: blendlayer aimmatrix -1 0 0 1 poseparameter move_x

param value: -2.000 -1.500 -1.000 -00.80 -00.60 -00.40 -00.200 000.00 00.200 00.400 00.600 00.800 1.0000 1.5000 2.0000

layer weight: 0.000% 0.000% 0.000% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.0% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.000% 0.000% 0.000%

These values will change when making use of the spline option, but will still start and end at the same time.

noblend

Causes the layer to stop fading in/out entirely and always be at 100% intensity while active. This also makes the layer ignore sequence transitions.

Note:If a constant intensity is needed but ignoring sequence transitions isn't desirable, the peak and tail frames should be set to the start and end frames respectively instead. That will make the command equivalent to addlayer, but with a specific frame range.

local

Marks the layer as a local context sequence. This blends the layer with the main sequence before the main sequence's keyframes are actually applied to the bones. This is mainly useful for sequence transitions, which otherwise fade layers separately from the main sequence.

Warning:Unless the blended sequence has the realtime option, the blended sequence's framerate will be adjusted relative to the parent sequence so that it starts on startframe and ends on endframe. For example, if both the parent and blended sequences play at 30 frames per second and last for 30 frames, but the blended sequence only plays during frames 5 through 20 (a total of 15 frames, only half of its original length), then the blended sequence will play at 60 frames per second (twice its original framerate!) so that it can start on frame 5 and end on frame 20.

worldspace

When used as a layer, calculates the bone positions in worldspace instead of relative to the parent animation.

Note:When weightlist is used, the weight of the root bone must not be 0.

snap

Remove all blending when transitioning to this animation. This is useful for reaction animations that are the result of sudden and violent changes in the model's state, such as a creature flinching or a weapon firing.

realtime

Instead of playing the animation from its first frame whenever it's asked to play, the animation always plays relative to the global system clock. Useful for adding layers that shouldn't play at the same rate as their parent $sequence, such as breathing.

fadein <float|seconds>

Override how long this animation spends fading in. Default is 0.2.

Note:fadein 0 achieves the same effect as snap, but HLMV will not recognize it as a snap when automatic blending is enabled, making snap necessary.

fadeout <float|seconds>

Override how long this animation spends fading out. Default is 0.2.

weightlist <string|weightlist name>

Selects a $weightlist to apply to this sequence.

If a default weightlist is used, this will override it with the specified weightlist for this animation.

worldrelative (in all games since )

Todo: Documentation

localhierarchy <string|bone name> <string|new parent name> [range <int|startframe> <int|peakframe> <int|tailframe> <int|endframe>]

Changes a bone's parent for this animation only. "" can be used to remove the parent of a bone.

This is primarily useful for ensuring that a bone blends correctly. As an example, if a weapon is normally held in the right hand, but during this animation it's held in the left hand, it will blend as if it were being held by the right hand. This option can then be used to make it blend relative to the left hand instead, which will remove the jittering caused by blending.

range is optional, and requires four frame numbers that specify how the hierarchy should be blended over the specified frames.

Note:This does not affect animations during transitions, making snap necessary.

compress <int|frameskip>

Skip a given amount of frames to reduce model file size

posecycle <string|pose parameter>

Makes the specified pose parameter control the animation frame instead of the specific animation that should play in a blend sequence.

numframes <frames>

Forces an animation to be a specified number of frames, either by clipping the animation or by duplicating the last frame until it has been padded with enough.

Note:In source engine, animations start on frame 0. Numframes however, starts at 1. Using "numframes 30" will end up with the last frame in HLMV being frame 29. If you want to set a sequence to end on frame 30, you need "numframes 31"

Advanced

In addition to all simple options:

delta

Tells Source that the $animations referenced in this sequence have all been subtracted. The $sequence will be played on top of whatever sequences are currently playing, rather than overriding them.

Warning:Using this with an $animation that hasn't been subtracted has bad results!

predelta

The compliment to the "presubtract" command, this tells the animation compositing system to add the current bone setup on top of a different frame of reference instead of overriding each bones’ animation based on the typical cross-fade weighting scheme.

blend <string|name> <float|min value> <float|max value>

Todo: Documentation

You can have up to 8 unique parameters.

blendwidth <int|width>

Todo: Documentation

Instead of just 1x1, 2x1, 3x1, 2x2, and 3x3 blends, by blending width, you can now have any size rectangular blends such as 7x1, 3x4, 2x9, etc.

blendref <string|name>

Todo: Documentation

blendcenter <string|name>

See Blend sequence.

ikrule

See $ikchain.

iklock

Freezes the bone specified in an $ikchain.

See $ikchain.

activitymodifier <string|modifier> (in all games since ) (also in )

Todo: Documentation

Miscellaneous

node (name)

Tags the sequence as belonging to a point on the sequence transition graph table. This is for animations which don’t change graph state, such as looping animations. Multiple sequences can be at the same entry in the graph table, at which point they won’t need transition animations to move between each other.

Alternatively, you can have them at different points and expressly skip transitions (see $skiptransition). Sequences with no declaration are assumed at the root node and the transition graph assumes any sequence can move from the root node or to the root node without a intermediate transition.

transition (from) (to)

This specifies that the animation enters from one point on the node graph and exits at another point. This is used to play transitional sequences such as walk_to_stand, run_to_crouch, etc.

rtransition (name1) (name2)

Same as transition, but flags the sequence as able to be run in reverse order. This was used by the tentacle in HL1 but I don’t recommend it be used except in special cases.

exitphase (phase)

When transitioning between looping animations, such as "stand_to_run", this tells the movement system where to start the next sequence, assuming it’s looping. It’s also assumed that you’ve made all the sequences that share the next node to be phase matched (see startloop).

$skiptransition (name1) (name2) [(name3) ...]

This adds a rule to the transition graph to allow direct movement between all the named nodes. This is useful for transitions between unique named nodes that that may not require any specific intermediate animation. This is how to avoid the transition graph from forcing "walk" to "run" to instead be a "walk" to "stand" to "run" transition.

keyvalues { [stuff] }

Add a keyvalue block (see $keyvalues) to a specific sequence. This is used for setting up gestures for Faceposer.

Events

Events are available when using $animations. See Animation Events.