Tal Hershkovich writes:
A new update and branch of Animation layers - available only for Blender 3.2 and beyond.
Because of an important NLA fix/update - NLA tweak mode's full stack evaluation, I've started re-writing the addon. Current and most recent update is Animation Layers v2.1.2.1
The addon is now using NLA's new tweak mode option instead of the previous workaround using an active action and a subtract track for the selected layer.
Older versions from the main branch are still working with Blender 3.2 as well, but development is continuing only from this branch.
What does it actually mean?
- It means the addon will eventually be fully synchronized with Blender's NLA.
- 'Combine' Blend type is now available as well (In previous versions it was not available).
- 'Combine' Blend type is using the correct calculation for Quaternion rotations and is now also included in the Anim Layers bake type, as well as NLA's bake type.
- When only combine blend type layers are merged, or 'Combine' together with 'Add' blend types they will be merged into a new 'Combine' layer. if 'Replace' Blend type is included (usually on the base layer) then they will merge into a new 'Replace' Layer.
- 'Combine' is now also used by default when adding a new layer. It is possible to change the default blend type when adding new layers from the bottom of the settings subpanel.
- You can change back to 'Add' blend types to revert to the old default setting, or to 'Replace' blend types if someone wants to use animation layers as an action mixer.
Other new addition
Custom frame range, Speed and offset controls were added to the layer settings. These settings are connected with strip and action start/end values, however they are more simplified and easier to use.
These settings are also included in the smart bake, and will influence the keyframes positions accordingly after baking/merging layers.
UI update - since the addon is growing bigger, I've separated the Tools & Settings subpanel into separate subpanels, in order to keep the addon readable and easy to use
So what's down the road? Current Road Map:
- Fully synchronizing the addon with the NLA - that means working with multiple strips on the same track/layer while switching between them automatically, and having all the NLA's options available via the addon, while keeping the UI easy to use.
- Adding Groups to layers!
- And of course as always testing and fixing bugs.
If you already have Animation Layers addon, then you can update to the new version via the auto updater in the addon's preferences. Otherwise Animation Layers will be included during Blendermarket's summersale and will have a 25% discount
