This sub-panel contains settings that are common to all types of sequences. The Sequence Properties sub-panel is automatically refreshed when switching from another sub-panel within the sequences page.

The Sequence Properties sub-panel is divided into four sections: the sequence tools (top), the sequence list (center left), the sequence properties (center right), and the additional sequence tools (bottom).

The sequence tools

The sequence tools are located at the top of the Sequence Properties sub-panel.  These tools are used to add new sequences and recover sequences that have been accidentally deleted.

Add New

When clicked, this button creates a new sequence by placing named start and end markers on the global timeline for the specified frames.  The sequence name and start/end frames are specified in a popup box that appears when the button is clicked.  Sequence creation can be canceled using the escape key.

Recover deleted

When clicked, this button presents a list of deleted sequences that are available for recovery.  Deleted sequences are kept around for 5 runs of the exporter after they are deleted.  When the exporter has been run 5 times after the deletion of a sequence, the sequence settings will be permanently deleted and will no longer be available for recovery.

Create from actions

When clicked, this button creates action strips from all available Blender actions and lays them out consecutively on the NLA timeline.  Sequence markers are created at the beginning and end of each action strip.  For best results, this tool should only be used if there are no action strips or sequence markers already present on the NLA timeline.  Prior to running this tool, actions should be "fenced", or unused nodes should be keyed into their rest positions at the beginning of the action(s) in order to prevent unwanted transforms carrying over from other actions on the timeline.

Create from action strips

When clicked, this button creates sequence start and end markers at the beginning and end of each action strip on the NLA timeline.  This tool is intended to be used after action strips have been placed on the NLA timeline by hand.  This tool should not be used if action strips on the NLA timeline overlap or are not unique.

The "All Sequences" list

The Sequence list displays all sequences that are currently available for export. The sequence properties on the right-hand side of the sub-panel apply to the currently selected sequence in this list.  A sequence may be selected by clicking on its name in the list.  Each sequence list item has accompanying Export, Cyclic, and Dsq buttons.  A sequence may be excluded from export by toggling the export button.  The Cyclic button causes a sequence to loop in Torque when enabled.  The Dsq button causes a sequence to be written out to a separate ".dsq" file that may be re-used with multiple dts shapes; by default, sequences are stored internally inside the exported dts file.

The Sequence Properties

The Sequence Properties are located on the right hand side of the GUI page. The properties apply to the currently selected sequence in the sequence list on the left-hand side of the panel. If no sequence is selected, the sequence options are disabled and will not react to mouse clicks.

From top to bottom, left to right, the sequence properties are:

Selected Sequence label

The Selected Sequence label is a text label that displays the name of the currently selected sequence in the sequence list. The options below the selected sequence label apply to the currently selected sequence.  If no sequence is selected in the "All Sequences" list, the selected sequence label displays the text "None Selected".

Frames display

The sequence Frames display shows the number of frames in the selected sequence.  The number of frames is calculated using the sequence start and end markers on the NLA timeline (inclusive). This value cannot be changed directly through the exporter GUI.

Sequence Duration

The sequence duration control allows is used to set the duration in seconds of the currently selected sequence.

Sequence Duration Lock

The sequence duration lock button is used to lock the duration at a certain number of seconds. If the number of frames in a sequence changes while the duration is locked, the sequence frames-per-second playback rate will be adjusted (FPS) so that the duration of the sequence remains the same.

Sequence FPS

The Sequence FPS control is used to set the playback rate of a sequence in frames-per-second. For sequences that contain an IFL animation, this value is locked at 30 fps and cannot be set.

Sequence FPS Lock

The sequence fps lock button is used to lock the playback rate of a sequence at a certain number of frames-per-second. If the number of frames in an animation changes while the FPS is locked, the sequence duration will be adjusted based on the number of frames and the playback rate so that the sequence playback rate (FPS) remains the same.

Sequence Priority

The sequence priority control is used to set the playback priority of a sequence in Torque. If two or more sequences that affect the same nodes are played at the same time, the one with the highest priority will gain control of the disputed nodes.

Ground Frames

The Ground Frames control is used to determine the number of ground frames to be exported with a sequence. See Node Animations - Ground Frames for more information.

Blend Animation Options

The Blend animation button allows a node sequence to be exported as a Torque Blend animation. When blend animations are played in the engine, they are "overlaid" on top of the current pose of the character. The blend animations add to the current pose.

The Blend animation frame control below is used to select a frame to be used as the reference pose for the blend animation. The blend animation is then exported relative to that pose.  For instance, if the reference pose is the same as the current frame of the blend animation, that would be written out as no change in location, rotation, or scale for all nodes. You can think of the reference pose as having been subtracted out.

See Also:

• DTS Animations
• Blender Survival Guide - Creating and renaming timeline markers
• Changes from earlier versions