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What is the best alternative to Spriter?
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Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional)
All
8
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
2
Top
Con
No more support
Adobe ditched AIR which they will EOL at 2020
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Pro
Powerful tool
This program has developed AAA TV Series and Movies like Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
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Con
Exspensive
Flash can be priced at $999.99 on the official Abobe store.
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Pro
Export to HTML5
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Pro
Interpolation between frames
Several ways to create animation and special effects: motion tweens, classic tweens.
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Pro
Create and organize layers
Layers help you organize the artwork in your document. You can draw and edit objects on one layer without affecting objects on another layer.
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Pro
Bone tool
Bone tool that enables you to link symbols together quickly and easily in a parent/child relationship commonly referred to as inverse kinematics.
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Pro
Easy to use
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Experiences
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18
2
Blender
All
25
Experiences
Pros
16
Cons
8
Specs
Top
Pro
Free and open source
Blender is licensed under the GPL. Some Blender modules such as the Cycles rendering engine are licensed under the Apache 2.0 license.
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Con
Too many possibilities, no unified workflow
The operations are not optimized enough for specific tasks.
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Pro
Wide import and export format support
Support lots of modern 3D formats including DAE and FBX - ideal for game developers.
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Con
The physics engine is a bit lagging behind, especially the destruction physics
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Pro
Has a powerful rendering engine
Blender runs the Cycles path tracing engine under the hood. Cycles is a very powerful rendering engine capable of full path tracing (light fall off, caustics, volumetrics). It is mostly compatible with OpenCL and CUDA rendering, and is implementing mycropolygon displacement features. The upcoming release has a viewport engine called EEVEE whereby you can see and interact with your work in render mode in real time!
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Con
Difficult learning curve
Blender has a history of being unintuitive, but the 2.8 overhaul made the program far easier for beginners to pick up, and changes continue to be made to further improve the experience. However, there is still a learning curve.
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Pro
Python extensibility
Blender embeds Python 3, which can be used to write add-ons, tools, extend the interface, rig characters and automate tasks.
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Con
Not good for Industrial Design because it uses average vertex normals
You can not create a hard surface with a radius continuity degree along a surface using a specific radius value.
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Pro
Powerful animation suite
Blender provides a full rigging system, and automates animation by interpolating between keyframe positions.
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Con
Vertex normal issues on edges after boolean operations.
After creating a simple boolean operation the vertex normals are broken. A lot of work to fix the issue and you loos surface continuity.
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Pro
Supports both low-poly and hi-poly modeling
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Con
Bad vertex normal after boolean operations
Does not handle well polygon intersections. And need tweaking by hand points or adding average vertex normals via modifiers.
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Pro
Regular release schedule
Releases are made every ~3 months.
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Con
Does not handle NURBs
Is not capable of real hard surface for industrial design because is not able to reproduce surface continuity degree as a NURBs does and average vertex normal destroy surface radius.
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Pro
Sculpting and 3D painting features
Although Blender's 3d painting and sculpting tools (mostly painting) are not at par with specialized software like Substance Painter, ZBrush, or Mari, it is more than capable of getting most jobs done if the user takes the time to learn and understand it.
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Con
Poor particle system
The Blender particle system can at times be a little limiting and finicky (and buggy) to get working. Even if it can get most straight forward jobs done, it is far from the most advanced system, and could benefit largely from advancements.
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Pro
Includes video editing & compositing tools
Blender's node-based compositor has comprehensive video sequencing and post-processing features.
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Pro
Node based modeling support
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Pro
Keyboard shortcuts
Good keyboard shortcuts for everything. Keep your left hand on the keyboard and your right hand on the mouse.
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Pro
Very useful for a freelancer
It offers a round solution (it covers many areas and professional fields) for a freelancer, for free, constantly updated, very polished, and allowing high quality results that clients do require. After some learning, it becomes very useful for professional work.
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Pro
Has a large community
There's a huge community to help you get started immediately.
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Pro
Coherent and streamlined workflow / internal use logic
The trick with Blender is to get used to its usage philosophy, as it keeps consistent through all the application. Once you get it, every feature or addition is learnt naturally, almost effortlessly.
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Pro
Very versatile
You don't have to switch between software when you want to do different things. Because modeling, sculpting, composting, video editing etc can all be done in blender.
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Pro
Generative geometry using nodes
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, FreeBSD
Technology:
C, Python
3D:
Yes
2D:
Yes (as of 2.8)
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Experiences
Free
663
95
Spine
All
10
Experiences
Pros
6
Cons
4
Top
Pro
Integration libraries support most engines
Spine provides integrated modules for 14 major engines including GameMaker Studio, Cocos2Dx, LOVE, MonoGame, Unity, XNA, Flash, HTML 5, libgdx, Corona, and more. Generic runtime libraries are also available for C, C++, Objective C, C#, JavaScript, Lua and ActionScript 3. Dozens of third party libraries support additional targets.
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Con
Spine Professional is expensive
Spine Essential includes nearly all features, except IK, weights, and meshes. Spine Professional is expensive, though it does give all future updates for life (Spine is updated very often).
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Pro
Simplified UI allows for an easy learning curve
No-nonsense workflow allows you to create your artwork in programs much better suited for the task like Illustrator and Inkscape for example, while Spine itself focuses only on the important task of skeletal animation.
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Top
Con
Requires EVERY developer to have a license
Ever developer needs a license, not just the animator, or an overall license for the project. The license agreement is extremely restrictive.
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Top
Pro
Allows for easy use of artwork from third party programs
Spine's developers provide scripts which makes exporting artwork from third party programs much easier to do.
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Top
Con
Doesn't support gamemaker 2.3
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Pro
Community-driven feature roadmap
Esoteric Software maintains public Waffle issue trackers to help plan and prioritize feature additions.
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Top
Con
No integration for lesser known engines
Spine does not directly support some game engines, such as Construct 2 or Clickteam Fusion.
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Pro
Funded via Kickstarter
Spine received resounding support from Kickstarter backers, beating its pledge goal by over 5 times. A second successful Kickstarter added meshes and other important features.
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Pro
Price high for this product
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Experiences
$69 / $299
227
41
DragonBones Pro
All
13
Experiences
Pros
10
Cons
3
Top
Con
Almost no documentation
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Top
Pro
Animation weight
This is a very useful feature because you can make a walk animation that you can simply change the animation weight to see the character start running, because it will increase the scale of the movement of the bones in the animation. This will increase the hand and the leg swing as you increase the animation weight and the character, making it appear as though it is running.
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Con
Not developed anymore
Publisher/ Developer dropped support for the software and left it in the dark. Use Spine instead.
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Pro
Switch sprites
Can easily switch sprites in between the animations like switching clothes and other multiple behaviors.
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Con
Deceptive pricing
It's not "free" if you can't save, and tutorials cost money.
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Pro
Completely programmable animations
Watching and moving can be programed depending upon certain events.
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Pro
Animation speed changing, bone scaling, switching postures
Size as well as animation speed can be easily changed during an animation.
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Pro
Multiresolution with texture scale
Can easily export to different texture sizes to target multiple resolution platforms.
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Pro
Color transform, changeable Z-Order
Can easily change the Z-Order of a sprite during an animation and can also change the color mask on a sprite, in between an animation.
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Pro
Animation reuse/clone
Create once and use the same animation for different characters just by simply cloning the same animation for the new characters.
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Pro
Nesting skeleton, timeline tween
You can nest skeletons and change the timeline of the animation in between the animations in order to make some cool effects.
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Pro
Flash Pro extension, WYSWYG
There is an extension available for Adobe Flash users, which gives a WYSWYG design window inside of flash.
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Pro
Open source
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Experiences
Free
113
30
Marionette Studio
All
7
Experiences
Pros
5
Cons
2
Top
Con
It's not free
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Top
Pro
Actively maintained
Marionette Studio team is actively involved in the development of this software. There is a changelog available and a public Trello board.
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Top
Con
No integration for major game development engines
There is no integration with major game engines such as Unity, Construct 2D, Unreal, Cocos 2dx, etc.
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Top
Pro
Cloud based solution
Projects and files can be stored in cloud and the is no need for creating backups.
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Top
Pro
Animation export
Animations can be exported as image packs and using some 3rd party tools can be imported and used in Unity.
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Pro
Easy to use
Can be used by anyone - intuitive interface and short learning curve.
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Pro
Web-based software
Easy to be accessed as no software needs to be download or installed on your computer.
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Experiences
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7
3
Creature
All
3
Experiences
Pros
3
Top
Pro
Automated animation
One of Creature's strengths is its ability to assign motors on bones which will generate animations based on parameters set on the motors.
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Top
Pro
Unity runtime always up to date
Among various game engine supported, Unity is the most up to date runtime including the most recent features, many samples, integrating well in the Unity editor.
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Pro
Easy to use
Creature has a simple workflow structured into 3 steps: Meshing, Rig and Animate.
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65
23
Mango Animate Character Maker
All
3
Experiences
Pros
3
Top
Pro
Easy to use
Free characters, premade templates, easy bone tools...
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Top
Pro
Infinite customization
Self-import images, self-upload body part layers, customizable facial features and expressions; You can also make custom motions and save to ‘my library’.
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Top
Pro
Cheap
Only $139 for a Lifetime Pro license of Mango Animate CM (time-limited).
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$139/Lifetime
10
0
OpenToonz
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
1
Specs
Top
Pro
Used in many movies/TV shows
It was used by Futurama and Studio Ghibli.
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Top
Con
Crashes a ton
If you are going to use this for a project, make sure you save frequently.
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Top
Pro
Easy to learn
With a quick 20 minute tutorial, you can get off and running easily.
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Technology:
C++
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6
0
Expressive Animator
All
7
Experiences
Pros
6
Specs
Top
Pro
14-day trial
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Top
Pro
Animated SVG export (SMIL, CSS, JS)
You can animate your vector graphics and export them as animated SVG, with options for interactivity.
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Top
Pro
Advanced Easing Editor
You can create your own custom easing functions, like Oversoot, Bounce, Elastic, and more.
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Top
Pro
Frequent updates
The app is still in development, but with every update it gets more and more powerful. Considering that this is an app made by 2 people.
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Pro
Works offline
You can install it on your desktop as a PWA, and use it offline.
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Top
Pro
It's part of a suite of creative apps
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, MacOS, chromeOS, Linux, Web
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Experiences
$15
15
1
Moho 12
All
6
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Top
Con
Too expensive
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Top
Pro
Cheaper than Toon Boom and Adobe Products
Cheaper than Toon Boom and Adobe Products. People often complain about the price hike, but the pro version does go on sale, and even the full priced version is less than other insdurty standards on the market.
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Top
Con
Limited support for game engines
In most cases you'll have to export and edit sprite sheets. This will consume memory. Also, FBX file support is limited and not all features will run in Unity. Aside from Unity, there is no support for runtimes for video game engines. Also, many animation features such as vector integrated features will not export to Unity. Spriter, Spine, and Dragon Bones would be better options.
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Top
Pro
Good community support
Lots of online forums, Facebook groups, YouTube videos, etc.
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Pro
It's better than any 2D animation software on the market for vector based animations
It beats Adobe Flash and Toon Boom at vector based animation. It has more features for 2D vector animations with it's integration with 3D mesh and bone rigs. Smart bone rigs create better animtions with less distortions then Toon Boom, and there are no bone rig animation options with Adobe Flash.
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Pro
Easy to use interface
Quicker to animate and use than other similar products.
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$399
20
2
Krita
All
12
Experiences
Pros
7
Cons
4
Specs
Top
Pro
Easy to use layout
All the most used and useful tools are easy to find in Krita's UI and are often just one click away. They are not hidden behind menus or dropdowns.
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Top
Con
New features are not tested thoroughly
Since releases are so often and with little time between them, usually new features are not tested a lot and this can bring a lot of bugs with them. Which fortunately are quickly patched in the next release.
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Top
Pro
Constantly updated
Krita is getting constant releases with updates and bug fixes. New features are added at a pace that far surpasses the other alternatives.
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Top
Con
Documentation is lacking
Krita's official documentation is incomplete in some areas, especially for new features that are constantly added. But this is compensated with it's great design and usability which makes it easier to understand how things work.
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Top
Pro
Free and open source
Krita is completely free and open source. They have raised a couple of successful Kickstarters in the past to get the initial financing and now they are accepting donations.
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Top
Con
Poor touch controls
They are still pretty much a WIP. But they are getting there.
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Top
Pro
Developed in part by KDE, which has a great community and therefore great support.
KDE has a long history of making solid applications.
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Top
Con
Working with text is not that pleasant
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Pro
Amazing support for displaying brushes
Krita's preset brushes are one of the default dockers. Each brush has a preview on mouseover that shows a detailed view of the type of brush involved. All the brushes also have useful and descriptive names such as "HP Pencil" or "Textured Fuzzy".
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Pro
Very customizable
Although the UI is rather busy, Krita is very customizable. The editing window can be themed and the sidebar can be customized extensively throw many dockers or panes.
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Pro
Easy editing in a tiled view
Tiled view that shows your image tiled in the editor, and permits you to edit it as you are seeing it tiled. If the brush passes out of your texture, it will just automatically wrap back the painting to the other side of the original texture, while permitting you to paint and see the results on any of the tiled "clones" (the shortcut key to activate this is w by default).
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
License:
Open source
Technology:
C++, Qt
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Experiences
Free
489
77
Anima2D
All
5
Experiences
Pros
3
Cons
2
Top
Con
No longer supported by Unity.
This has been merged into the 2D Animation package.
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Pro
Purchased by unity
Everything you could want from a skeletal animation system, free and because purchased by unity promises to be native in future.
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Con
Uses the Unity hierarchy
It's impossible to rename your asset after making your animation, otherwise you lose dependencies.
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Pro
Free
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Pro
Spring bones
Much like spring joints native to unity, you can set bones to have dynamic spring animations based on their parents.
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68
22
SmoothMoves
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
2
Top
Pro
PlayMaker integration
Developers echo17 provide Playmaker action scripts for SmoothMoves.
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Top
Con
Bone hierarchy is not collapsible
When working with a complex skeleton, the entire tree is always visible. There is no way to hide bones under their parents.
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Top
Pro
Texture swapping and tinting at runtime
Animations can be re-skinned in several ways, entirely on the fly.
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Con
Unity Middleware
SmoothMoves is not a stand-alone application. It runs entirely within the Unity Editor, and is not compatible with other engines.
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10
4
Unity 2D
All
7
Experiences
Pros
4
Cons
2
Specs
Top
Pro
Built into Unity 4.3+
2D game creation was a major feature request from the Unity community and was added with version 4.3. 2D is provided in both the Pro and Free distribution of Unity.
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Top
Con
Lacks critical features
Vertices can't be animated, so you can't have ANY organic feel (like... lungs breathing). Parent bone can't be animated without affecting the children. This is especially impeding for organic feel, again. No option to show & unshow assets (or it is hidden), like for switching weapon on your character for exemple.
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Pro
Integrates with Mecanim
Mecanim brings state machines and blending to 2D bone animation. The state machine editor allows for designers and programmers to visually create a Finite State Machine (FSM) to control when animations should play. Mecanim also allows for blending so an animation can transition smoothly between two states without the need of in between frames made by an animator.
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Top
Con
Poor script interface for texture atlases
Accessing individual sprites within an atlas texture is possible at runtime, but requires use of the Resources folder subsystem.
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Top
Pro
Sprite Sheet and Bone based animation supported
Both types of 2D animation for game development are supported in Unity’s system and can be used interchangeably in the timeline.
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Pro
Easily change sprites dynamically
Usually used for character customization, programmers can change any sprite in a bone animation at runtime easily by referencing the bone and loading the new sprite from the resources folder.
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Specs
Platforms:
Windows, Linux, Mac
Languages:
C#
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Experiences
Free+
660
172
Demina
All
4
Experiences
Pros
2
Cons
2
Top
Con
No longer under development
The most recent update to Denima occurred in October 2012.
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Pro
Straightforward tutorials
Denima's user interface is very simple, and the primary documentation is a simple walk-through of the workflow.
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Con
XNA-specific
Denima's runtime library is intended to integrate with the XNA framework, which has been unsupported since April 2014.
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Pro
Open source
Demina is a C#/XNA application hosted on CodePlex under the Microsoft Public License.
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0
1
Built By the Slant team
Find the best product instantly.
4.7 star rating
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