Forum rules - please read before posting.

Help with 2D timeline integration.

I'm having a really tough time figuring out how to use timeline for cutscenes in my 2d game. I know there is a good feature video from Chris of integrating timeline but I need more of a step by step on how to apply these ideas to the actionlist editor. There are other timeline tutorials on Youtube but they all talk about moving the player character, not how to manipulate the camera or change images like a slideshow. Can anyone break it down and explain like I'm 5 how to create a timeline element like this using directors and timeline, then use it in the actionlist?
What I need to do a lot of is, click on a hot spot, switch camera to view offscreen, then:
...Move the camera in a slow pan (up, down or side to side), pause wait for click, possibly insert dialogue
...Change texture/image of an object, insert dialogue, change texture/image again (to create a slideshow with dialogue text)
Here is an example:
image

Also, I'm using portrait style conversation text. This works great but is there also a way to not show portraits sometimes for NPCs, other than speaking as the Narrator?

Comments

  • To play a Timeline using the Engine: Control Timeline Action, you need to assign a Playable Director component - this'll be the component in the scene that is running the Timeline asset you want to play.

    The Timelines covered in the feature video are included in the 3D Demo. See the Basement scene's Intro1 and Intro2 cutscenes to see how they have this Action type set up.

    Move the camera in a slow pan (up, down or side to side), pause wait for click, possibly insert dialogue

    Having camera movement inside Timeline is a case of either switching to a single GameCamera and animating it's position (two separate tracks: one AC MainCamera track to switch to the camera, and a Unity Animation track to animate its position), or having two stationary GameCameras in the start/end positions and transitioning from one to another (a single AC MainCamera Track with two clips overlapping).

    The 3D Demo game's intro Timelines demonstrate camera switching using the MainCamera track.

    To insert dialogue, you can use AC's Speech track.

    Waiting for a click is more complex - you'll need to separate your Timeline into two: one before the click, and another after. It's then a case of running the first, waiting for a click, and then running the second Timeline with a second "Engine: Control Timeline" Action.

    Alternatively, you should be able to rely on a custom script that pauses the Timeline via a signal emitter and awaits a mouse click before resuming. The "Idea 1" section covered by Unity here sounds similar to what'd be involved.

    Change texture/image of an object, insert dialogue, change texture/image again (to create a slideshow with dialogue text)

    Changing images is best done by animating a Sprite Renderer with different sprites. This can be done with Unity's Animation track - AC need not be involved here.

    Timeline is a powerful tool, but this does mean it can be complicated to get to grips with. If you're new to it, I'd recommend making a Timeline in a fresh (non-AC scene) that simply handles this kind of sprite-swapping to get a feel for how it works.

    Also, I'm using portrait style conversation text. This works great but is there also a way to not show portraits sometimes for NPCs, other than speaking as the Narrator?

    The "For speakers of type" field in Subtitle menus can be used to limit its display to certain characters.

    If you want to have it show for all speakers some of the time, but not others, you can lock a Menu to prevent it from showing at all. At runtime, this can be done with the Menu: Change state Action. Locking your regular Subtitles menu, and unlocking an alternative Subtitles menu at the same time, will cause the alternative to show in its place.

  • Thank you for your explanation. I know you have described this to me before so I appreciate your taking the time to go over it again. I'm going to try to tackle learning Timeline and animations again tomorrow but may end up hiring someone to do a step by step tutorial specifically covering these actions.

  • I was never able to figure this out! :D
    What I did instead, in case anyone is trying to do the same thing...
    For panning the camera, it's easier (IMO) to add the "moveable" component to your camera. Then use the "Object: Transform" action to move your camera around wherever you want.
    For doing slideshow like images/cutscenes, I simply started using separate cameras and switching between them. It gets clunky and in some scenes I have like 50 cameras but it is straight forward and it works. The Camera Switch action has a nice crossfade ability. If that doesn't matter to you you can also do Object Teleport to make things appear or move objects to a marker offscreen to make them disappear. :)

Sign In or Register to comment.

Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Welcome to the official forum for Adventure Creator.