Animation¶

Doriax supports two complementary animation approaches: editor-authored keyframe animation built in the Animation Timeline, and runtime action playback written in code. Both are updated each frame by ActionSystem. You can mix them freely — author the idle loop in the timeline and drive attacks and UI effects with runtime actions.

Animation families¶

Runtime actions¶

Actions target an entity and update one property over time. They are lightweight, code-friendly, and do not require the timeline editor.

Available action types¶

Basic action example¶

-- Move an entity from its current position to (100, 200, 0) over 1.5 seconds
move = PositionAction(scene)
move:setTarget(entity)
move:setAction(Vector3(100, 200, 0), 1.5, EaseType.EASE_OUT_QUAD)
move:start()

PositionAction move(&scene);
move.setTarget(entity);
move.setAction(Vector3(100, 200, 0), 1.5f, EaseType::EASE_OUT_QUAD);
move.start();

Chaining actions with callbacks¶

Use TimedAction to sequence multiple actions:

seq = TimedAction(scene)
seq:setTarget(entity)
seq:setDuration(0.5)
seq:setCallback(function()
    -- start the next action when this one ends
    nextAction:start()
end)
seq:start()

Easing curves¶

All TimedAction subclasses accept an EaseType that shapes the interpolation curve. Common choices:

See TimedAction for the full EaseType enumeration.

Sprite animation¶

SpriteAnimation cycles through a sequence of atlas frames at a fixed interval. Use the Sprite Slicer to cut a sprite sheet into named frames first.

sprite = Sprite(scene)
sprite:setTexture("characters/hero.png")

anim = SpriteAnimation(scene)
anim:setTarget(sprite)
anim:setAnimation("walk_00", "walk_07", 0.08)  -- from frame, to frame, interval (seconds)
anim:setLoop(true)
anim:start()

Sprite hero(&scene);
hero.setTexture("characters/hero.png");

SpriteAnimation anim(&scene);
anim.setTarget(hero);
anim.setAnimation("walk_00", "walk_07", 0.08f);
anim.setLoop(true);
anim.start();

Skeletal animation from GLTF¶

Import a GLTF file as a Model. The model exposes its embedded animation clips by name or index.

model = Model(scene)
model:loadGLTF("characters/hero.gltf")

-- Find and play by name
local walk = model:findAnimation("Walk")
walk:setLoop(true)
walk:start()

-- Or blend between clips
local idle = model:findAnimation("Idle")
idle:start()

Model hero(&scene);
hero.loadGLTF("characters/hero.gltf");

Animation walk = hero.findAnimation("Walk");
walk.setLoop(true);
walk.start();

GLTF can carry multiple named clips in a single file. You can play several clips simultaneously for layered animation blending.

Keyframe tracks (timeline-authored)¶

In the editor, the Animation Timeline writes keyframe data into component tracks. These are stored in the scene file and played back at runtime through the action system. The track types available are:

Morph targets¶

Morph targets (blend shapes) are authored in a 3D tool such as Blender and exported through GLTF. Use MorphTracks on a Model entity to blend between shape keys at runtime.

model.setMorphWeight("smile", 0.8f);
model.setMorphWeight("blink", 1.0f);

Best practices¶

• Name animation clips consistently (idle, walk, run, jump, attack).
• Keep looping clips separate from one-shot clips.
• Use runtime actions for UI and gameplay feedback; use the timeline for complex authored motion.
• Avoid driving physics-controlled entities through animation — let physics simulate them and use animation only for visual overlays.
• Test frame intervals in play mode; what looks good in the editor may feel wrong at the actual game frame rate.

See also¶

• Action — base action class
• TimedAction — duration-based base
• SpriteAnimation
• Animation
• Particles
• Animation Timeline — editor authoring