"Transformer" with parts animated by user input

So I am about to animate this spaceship which has transformer like features.
The thing is, the two highlighted thrusters will be controlled by the ships movement… which is controlled by the user.

example: if the ship moves up, the thrusters will point down.

Just like the rest of the ship though, the location of these thrusters can change depending on the animation/stance.
(even the thruster-mesh itself can move backward/forward)

I am wondering what the best way is to approach this.

Can I blend the animations?
attach them as separate meshes to sockets?
Would I need to animate the thrusters seperately?

Id like some information/thoughts and help with this before I start working on 70+ animations.
Thanks in advance!

Hi Luos,

Like most character/vehicle setups, there are probably several ways to achieve what you are attempting. But, I’ll be happy to share how I would probably tackle it.

I would animate the ship as a whole wherever it makes sense (like a transformation anim), and not worry about treating things like the thrusters as totally separate entities. Then, I’d use additive animations for things that need to be layered on, like blasters firing and recoiling, maybe landing gear deploying, etc. Finally, for parts that need to be controlled dynamically, like the direction the thrusters are aiming or maybe the direction a turret is pointing, I would use Skeletal Controls . Skeletal Controls are added to your anim graph after the animations; so, regardless of what animation (or animations) are being played at a given time, you can still use a SkelControl to aim your thrusters.

In the case of the thrusters, you could use a TransformBone SkelControl for each thruster and drive the rotation with whatever value makes sense (like input direction or movement direction or something). I used a very similar setup for thrusters on a sort of hovercraft, and it worked pretty well. FYI, in the animation section of the Content Examples, there’s an example of driving the scale of a bone with a Skeletal Control.

Good luck!

Now that is an answer I can do something with :slight_smile:
Thanks Ray!
I will most certainly give it a go and let you know how it goes!