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UVAAnimationPlayer

The VA Animation Player is the core animation system that powers all vertex animation playback in the Vertex Animation Toolset. You can access it through any VA Mesh Component using the "Get Anim Player" node in Blueprints.

Getting Started

To access the Animation Player in Blueprints:

  1. Get a reference to your UVAMeshComponent or UVAInstancedMeshComponent
  2. Call the "Get Anim Player" function
  3. Use the returned Animation Player reference for playback control

Blueprint Functions

Basic Animation Control

Animation Control Nodes

Play Animation 

Play Animation
├─ Animation Index: Integer (which animation to play)
├─ Start Position: Float (0-1, where in animation to start)
├─ Blend Duration: Float (seconds to blend from current to new animation)
└─ Loop: Boolean (whether to loop the animation)

Play Animation List 

Play Animation List
└─ Animation List Index: Integer (which list to play)

Simple Controls

  • Stop Animation
  • Pause Animation
  • Resume Animation

Playback Settings

  • Set Play Rate: Change animation speed (1.0 is normal speed)
  • Set Position: Jump to specific point in animation (0-1)
  • Set Playing: Start/stop playback
  • Set Reverse: Play animation backwards
  • Step Forward/Backward: Move one frame at a time

State Information

Get current animation state:

  • Get Current Animation
  • Get Animation List
  • Get Play Rate
  • Get Position (0-1)
  • Get Playing
  • Get Reversed
  • Get Scaled/Unscaled Duration
  • Get Remaining Time
  • Get Start Position
  • Get Timestamp

Animation Lists

Animation Lists help you organize and control sequences of animations.

Blueprint Examples

Basic Character Animation

// Set up basic idle animation
Event BeginPlay
└─► Get Anim Player
    └─► Play Animation
        ├─ Animation Index: 0 (Idle)
        ├─ Start Position: 0.0
        ├─ Blend Duration: 0.2
        └─ Loop: True

// Switch to running when movement starts
Event Move
└─► Get Anim Player
    └─► Play Animation
        ├─ Animation Index: 1 (Run)
        ├─ Blend Duration: 0.5
        └─ Loop: True

Using Animation Lists

// Random idle animations
Event BeginPlay
└─► Get Anim Player
    └─► Play Animation List
        └─ List Index: 0 (Idle List)

// Sequential walk cycle
Event Move
└─► Get Anim Player
    └─► Play Animation List
        └─ List Index: 1 (Walk Sequence)

Environmental Animation

// Windmill example with variable speed
Event BeginPlay
└─► Get Anim Player
    ├─► Play Animation
    │   ├─ Animation: WindmillSpin
    │   └─ Loop: true
    └─► Set Play Rate
        └─ Rate: WindSpeedVariable

Events

The Animation Player provides several events you can bind to in Blueprints:

  • On Animation Started: Called when a new animation begins
  • On Animation Finished: Called when an animation completes
  • On Animation List Completed: Called when all animations in a list have played
  • On Instance Registered/Unregistered: Called when animation instances are added/removed

Tips & Best Practices

Performance

  • Use Animation Lists for organized playback control
  • Leverage the built-in blending system
  • Keep blend durations reasonable (0.2-0.5 seconds typically)

Animation Control

  • Store animation indices as Blueprint variables for clarity
  • Use animation names when possible
  • Set up proper animation sequences for smooth transitions

Common Patterns

  • Use Sequence Lists for locomotion animations
  • Use Random Shuffle Lists for idle variations
  • Leverage events for animation-driven gameplay logic

See Also