IKinema releases Action 2.0 for MotionBuilder
IKinema has released Action 2.0 for MotionBuilder, the latest version of its plugin for streaming and processing motion-capture data.
The update adds the Animation Cleaning Pipeline (ACP) system – originally known as Automatic Cleaning Pipeline – from the Maya version of the plugin, and improves the quality and customisability of solves.
Solves problem tasks more cleanly than MotionBuilder’s native solver
Action provides a real-time solution for retargeting, marker solving and editing mocap data, with IKinema promising cleaner results than MotionBuilder’s own native solver, particularly in tricky use cases.
The demo above makes the point rather neatly, showing side-side-comparisons of the two solvers applied to humanoid characters in unusual poses, and non-humanoid characters like dragons.
Data streamed into Action for MotionBuilder can also be interchanged directly with the Maya edition of the software, or with LiveAction, its virtual production technology, integrated into Unreal Engine 4.
New automatic mocap clean-up tech from the Maya edition of the plugin
The main change in version 2.0 is the addition of the ACP technology from Action for Maya, which provides automated real-time clean-up of common errors such as jitter and foot slippage.
IKinema’s newsletter lists the other new features as follows. All translate, approximately, to ‘the solves are better, and more controllable’:
- Retargeting improvements focused on quadrupeds and disproportionate characters
- Flexible generic default marker solving settings allows the user to revert to default, apply automatically, or apply on demand
- Marker solve matching pose improvements with marker offsets locking and unlocking capability, enables fine-tuning to localised body parts
- Increased general stability and consistency when working with multiple takes
Pricing and Availability
Action 2.0 for MotionBuilder is available for MotionBuilder 2014 and above.
Both node-locked and floating licences of the software cost £890 (around $1,080), including a year’s maintenance. Academic and student licences are also available.
Read a full list of new features in Action 2.0 for MotionBuilder in IKinema’s release notes