Behavioral Gridmap for Real-Time NPC Motion Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rendering applications face challenges in generating realistic animation sequences for non-player characters (NPCs) by smoothly transitioning from locomotion to performed motions, often resulting in motion artifacts such as sliding or jumping, due to the limitations of motion graphs in aligning and orienting characters during these transitions.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to generate a behavioral gridmap that aligns a locomotion sequence with a performed motion sequence by creating a behavioral motion space from locomotion and performed motion spaces, using registration curves and parametric motion datapoints to define motion plans and rotations, allowing for real-time alignment and orientation of characters without storing multiple behavioral gridmaps for various rotations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If motion graphs are used to transition from locomotion to performed motion, then character navigation to goal location is achieved, but motion artifacts such as sliding, jumping, or skipping appear that look unnatural
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-computes a behavioral gridmap that stores optimal transition parameters and alignment data before runtime. This preliminary preparation includes calculating proper orientations, positions, and motion blending parameters for all possible locomotion-to-performed-motion transitions, allowing the character to seamlessly execute realistic transitions without computing them in real-time during gameplay.
Solution Approach 2:
The behavioral gridmap serves as an intermediary data structure that bridges locomotion motion space and performed motion space. It contains pre-calculated transition information that mediates between the two motion types, providing smooth blending parameters and alignment data that eliminate motion artifacts during the transition from locomotion to performed motion sequences.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple behavioral gridmaps are stored for various rotations of goal location, then alignment accuracy for different orientations is improved, but storage requirements increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The behavioral gridmap is designed as a universal data structure that handles all goal location rotations and orientations using a single storage entity. It contains parametric transition information that can be applied to any rotation angle, making the gridmap multi-functional for all possible character orientations rather than requiring separate gridmaps for each rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parametric representations in the behavioral gridmap where transition parameters are defined in terms of relative orientations and angles rather than absolute values for each rotation. This allows the same gridmap data to be reused for different goal location rotations by simply changing the parametric angle values, eliminating the need to store multiple complete gridmaps.
3Reliability
If complex alignment calculations are performed in real-time to eliminate motion artifacts, then animation realism is improved, but computational cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
Complex alignment calculations are performed in advance during an offline preprocessing stage, and the results are stored in the behavioral gridmap. During real-time gameplay, the system only needs to query and apply pre-computed transition parameters from the gridmap, avoiding expensive real-time calculations while maintaining high animation realism.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects and applies appropriate transition parameters from the behavioral gridmap based on the current character state, locomotion type, and target performed motion. This dynamic parameter selection allows the system to achieve realistic transitions efficiently by retrieving pre-computed data rather than performing complex calculations during runtime.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for real-time, goal-directed performed motion alignment for computer animated characters. A sequence of periodic locomotion may be seamlessly aligned with an arbitrarily placed and rotated non-periodic performed motion. A rendering application generates a sampling of transition locations for transition from a locomotion motion space to a performed motion space. The sampling is parameterized by control parameters of the locomotion motion space. Based on the location and rotation of a goal location at which the performed motion is executed, a particular transition location may be selected to define a motion plan to which a performed motion sequence may then appended. Advantageously, by utilizing a look-up of pre-computed values for the control parameters of the motion plan, the rendering application may minimize the computational cost of finding the motion plan to move the character to a location to transition to a performed motion.