BlockyRenderer:Animations

The preview plays .blockyanim animations on the matching model. It opens the same way as for a model: automatically, with the title bar button, Ctrl+K V or Ctrl+Shift+V.

An animation playing on its model, with the timeline at the bottom

Which model is used

An animation file does not name a model. The extension searches for one in two ways:

• Server JSON files that name a model and an animation in the same file. It reads all .json files under Server/Models/ and Server/Item/Items/, for example AnimationSets or CustomModelAnimation entries. Player animations in item files (FirstPerson, ThirdPerson, ThirdPersonFace, ThirdPersonMoving) are skipped, because they move the player and not the item.
• Folders: models in the folder of the animation and in every folder above it, each also in a Models subfolder.

All candidates are then ranked:

1. the share of animated nodes the model has (node names are compared),
2. models named in a server JSON before the others,
3. models closer to the animation before models further up,
4. the shorter file name, which is usually the base model (Player before Player_With_Face),
5. the path.

The files under Server/Models/ are read first. The many item files are read in the background. If a clearly better model turns up later, the preview switches to it on its own, unless you chose a model by hand.

Model list

In the preview of an animation, Model at the top lists the candidates, the best first (up to 40). If a model does not have all animated nodes, the share is shown, for example Frog/Models/Frog · 80%. While the search is still running, the list shows Searching….

Other model… opens a quick pick with the matching models first and all other models of the workspace below. A model you choose by hand is stored for this animation in the workspace and used from then on.

If no model is found, the preview shows No matching model was found for this animation. and a Choose Model… button.

Animation list

In the preview of a model, Animation lists the animations that belong to it:

• animations named together with the model in a server JSON,
• animations you paired with the model by hand,
• animations in the folder of the model and its subfolders. If the model lies in a Models folder, the folder above it counts.

(no animation) stops the animation. Other animation… (or More animations… (n) if the list is longer than 60) searches all animations of the workspace. If you pick an animation from outside the list, it is paired with this model, and this model also becomes the stored model for that animation.

The Blocky Editor has no animation list.

Timeline

The timeline at the bottom appears when an animation is loaded.

Control	What it does
▶ / ⏸	Plays and pauses.
Slider	Jumps to a point in time. Moving it pauses playback.
Time	Current frame, total frames and seconds, for example 61 / 120 · 1.03 s. Animations run at 60 frames per second.
Speed	0.25×, 0.5×, 1× or 2×.
Loop	Starts over at the end. When an animation is loaded, it is on if holdLastKeyframe is false.

Keys

These keys work while the timeline is shown and the focus is in the 3D view:

Key	Action
Space	Play or pause
← / →	One frame back or forward (pauses)
Shift+← / Shift+→	Ten frames back or forward
Home	Jump to the start
End	Jump to the end (pauses)

Missing nodes

If the animation moves nodes the model does not have, the timeline shows ⚠ n of m nodes missing. Hover over it to see the names (up to 20). This is common in vanilla files: many animations have tracks for nodes that no longer exist in the model.

Text and 3D

• Cursor in the animation text: the node of the track at the cursor is outlined in the 3D view. If several nodes share the name, the first one is shown.
• Click in the 3D view: the tracks of the clicked node are selected in the animation text, if it has any.
• Changes to the animation text apply at once, also unsaved ones. The playback position stays where it is.

What is played

All five tracks of the format are played: position, rotation, stretch, visibility and UV offset. A UV offset moves the texture of a shape, which is how flames run through a texture strip. Details are on File Format.