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Version 1.62.0 - Interactive boundaries, blendshape expressions and all-round refinements

This update comes not too long after the previous v1.61.2, but as it focuses mainly on bugfixes and refinement over big new features, it was important to get it out in the wild sooner rather than later.  That said, some nice new features are included.  Chief among them:

ActionList: Wait for preceding Action
This is likely something that won't be often used, but will be very useful when it is.  This Action does nothing by itself, but only performs it's "When finished" command once all Actions that link to it's input have completed.  This is help in cases where you have e.g. two chains of Actions, where both must complete before running anything else - but you don't know which one will complete first.  I expect this would be most useful when dealing with dynamic elements such as playing speech in different languages.

Interactive boundaries
This is a new prefab type that can optionally be assigned to a Hotspot.  Similar to a Trigger, this represents a volume that the player must be within in order for the Hotspot to be interactive.  This should help to prevent "unseen" Hotspots from being inadvertently selected e.g. through walls, when relying on "Player Vicinity" detection.

Blendshape expressions
Blendshape-based expressions were already possible via the Object: Blend shape Action, but its now possible to play them back via the existing [expression:Name] speech text token, which was previously mainly used for portrait graphics.  If a character uses expressions and has a Shapeable component, you'll now get an option to link them together.  The 3D Demo has been updated to make use of this workflow.

Animated Conversation icons
This isn't the biggest feature ever, but conversation icons are now animatable.  This requires, however, that all Conversations that involve icons need to be upgraded - which is just a matter of viewing the Inspector and saving the scene.  This step is necessary even if animations are not used, but to avoid warnings in the Console at runtime you should upgrade your Conversations in this way.


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  • edited March 2018
    And the full changelog:

    Upgrade notes
    • GameCameras that use the "Side Scrolling" option now account for Offset field values, which are now exposed in the Inspector
    • Conversations that rely on icons must be upgraded by viewing their Inspectors and saving the scene
    • The "ActionList: Comment" Action’s "Print in Console?" checkbox has been replaced by a popup with more options

    Inventory
    • Added: Inventory items that can be held multiple times can now optionally be selected one-at-a-time
    • Added: Inventory item labels now support text tokens
    • Fixed: Display issues with the default Inventory, Container and Crafting menus when drawn with Unity UI
    • Fixed: Issues related to inventory items, recipes and crafting

    Menus
    • Added: Menu appear type setting "During Gameplay And Conversations"
    • Added: Animated cursor icons now work with Unity UI-based Interaction menus
    • Added: An EventSystem present in a scene will now override the one generated by AC, but a warning will be given
    • Fixed: Graphic menu elements not animating in Unity UI
    • Fixed: Incorrect or missing API links for certain Menu Element property fields
    • Fixed: Unity UI-based menu elements sometimes being non-interactive
    • Fixed: Not being able to combine inventory items with Hotspots in rare circumstances
    • Fixed: Menus set to appear "During Gameplay" showing when a Conversation is active if it was opened via a background-running ActionList

    Hotspots
    • Added: "Interactive Boundary" logic prefab - assign to Hotspots to have them be interactive only when the Player is within a set boundary
    • Added: If a Hotspot relies on ActionList assets for its Interactions, a "Create" button is provided to auto-create and assign an asset when none is assigned
    • Added: Functions to the Hotspot and InvItem script to more easily show Interaction menus for specific objects
    • Added: Hotspots and Triggers that rely on Mesh Colliders will now draw gizmos that share the same shape
    • Fixed: Hotspot icons drawn in World Space showing outside of gameplay
    • Fixed: Error if a Player is made to walk to a Hotspot Marker when no NavMesh is set -  they will now move without pathfinding
    • Fixed: Hotspot labels sometimes being incorrect while the player moves towards a Hotspot to begin an interaction

    Conversations
    • Added: Conversation option icons can now be animated
    • Changed: Conversation.GetOptionIcon method now returns CursorIconBase not Texture2D
    • Fixed: Gameplay momentarily resuming after a Conversation if the Conversation menu runs an ActionList when it turns off

    Facial animation
    • Added: Mecanim-based characters can now use a "Phoneme integer" animator parameter to control lipsyncing
    • Added: Legacy and Mecanim-based characters can rely on a Shapeable script to automatically change blendshape expression using the [expression] speech token
    • Added: Option to prevent character expressions being reset with each new speech line
    • Added: When used in speech text, the token [expression:None] will clear a character’s current expression
    • Changed: The 3D Demo scene has been changed to make use of blendshape-driven expression text tokens on Brain
    • Fixed: Animation issues with Mecanim characters talking and walking at the same time

    Cameras
    • Added: "Side Scrolling" option for GameCamera y-axis movement
    • Added: GameCamera "Side Scrolling" modes now have an Offset field
    • Fixed: MainCamera snapping back to its "LookAt child" after saving during gameplay

    ActionLists
    • Added: "ActionList: Wait for preceding" Action - use to run subsequent Actions only when multiple chains have completed
    • Added: Method to the ActionListAsset script to end all instances of a given ActionList asset running in the scene
    • Added: If a custom curve used by the "Camera: Switch" or "Object: Transform" Actions, negative y-values will result in motion in the opposite direction
    • Added: String variable values changed with the "Variable: Set" Action are now included in translations
    • Added: Ability for the "ActionList: Comment" Action to display warnings and error messages in the Console
    • Added: Warning message to "ActionList: Run in parallel" Action if two or more output sockets connect to the same Action
    • Added: When searching for Action instances in the Actions Manager, the IDs of found Actions are also reported in the Console
    • Changed: The maximum fade times in the "Camera: Fade" and "Object: Fade sprite" Actions have been extended from 3 to 10 seconds
    • Changed: The "ActionList: Comment" Action’s "Print in Console?" checkbox has been replaced by a popup with more options
    • Fixed: "Character: Move to point" Action not taking the "Destination accuracy" setting into account
    • Fixed: Error if an ActionList asset file is run manually when not in an AC scene
    • Fixed: Action comments not displaying in Console when its ActionList is skipped

    Third-party
    • Added: Warning messages if Global Variables are linked to Playmaker variables that do not exist
    • Fixed: UFPS players not respecting the direction of PlayerStarts
    • Fixed: Player characters responding to AC’s "Jump" input when their "Motion control" setting is not set to "Automatic"

    Other
    • Added: If AC removes an object tagged as Player but not configured as an AC Player, a warning message is now displayed in the Console
    • Added: Animated textures can now be set to animate at all times, and not just when made active
    • Changed: The "Don’t show behind Colliders?" Settings Manager field has been renamed to "Hide icons behind Colliders?"
    • Fixed: NavMesh visibility buttons in Scene Manager no longer working
    • Fixed: Sound volumes not always updating instantly when changed in the Options menu

  • Thanks Chris.Big update.Thanks for side scrolling camera option and other features.
  • edited March 2018
    Really nice! I was just planning a project where I'll need to be able to call blend shapes or other character animations using speech tokens. So it'll be very useful. Kudos.

    By the way, sorry I've been a bit absent from the forums for a while. I've been really busy lately... 
  • edited March 2018
    Realy good update Chris! I appreciate your hard work
  • Thanks for the update Chris.
  • Thank you so much Chris!
  • Version 1.62.1:
    • Added: Parallax 2D components can now react to the cursor's position, as opposed to the camera's
    • Added: Option to the NavMeshAgent Integration component to rely on the character's speed values, as opposed to the NavMeshAgent's
    • Added: Warning message if a Unity UI-based Menu's Canvas and RectTransform boundary are the same object
    • Fixed: "Talk bool" parameter no longer updating Mecanim-based characters
    • Fixed: Slider menu elements not synchronising custom scripts associated with the Float variable it affects
  • Ummm, I was editing one of my comments in another thread, I tend to edit my comments several times to reword them or fix grammar or typos. But after applying an edit the third time my comment disappeared saying it needs to be approved... is that because of the recent changes done to the forums? that'd never happened to me before...
  • @Alverik: Unsure - it got flagged up as spam automatically.  I've un-flagged it and verified your account, however, so it shouldn't happen again.
  • Same thing happened to me. I did not make fuss about it because the comment was not really relevant anymore. But just fyi, this seems to be a general thing with editet comments, not user specific.
  • The 3D tutorial has been updated for modern Unity and AC versions:

    image

    The resulting game is essentially the same, but it uses newer workflows and newer interfaces to show the better practices since.
  • Version 1.62.3:

    Upgrade notes
    • If a character’s Motion control field is set to Manual or Just Turning, AC will no longer control the Rigidbody’s gravity settings
    • The “Include Inventory items in Hotspot Interaction cycles?” option now has an effect in “Choose Hotspot Then Interaction” mode

    • Added: Ability to include the last-selected inventory item in cursor cycles when using “Choose Interaction Then Hotspot” mode
    • Added: Ability to link a MenuInventoryBox element to a specific Container through script
    • Added: Ability for duplicating Subtitle menus to only show if the player or camera is close enough to the speaker
    • Added: Ability for the “Inventory: Check selected” Action to query the currently-selected item’s category
    • Added: Multi-line support for string variable values in the Variables Manager and the Variable: Set Action
    • Added: Ability to “register” custom Menu instances with the PlayerMenus component, to auto-handle their display and click-handling
    • Added: Gizmos for Hotspots and Triggers that rely on Sphere Colliders can now be drawn in the Scene window
    • Added: Ability to force the letting-go of the currently-held Draggable/PickUp object through script
    • Added: Warning message to the Console if the “Input: Toggle active” Action is used to affect an Active Input that no longer exists
    • Added: Warning messages if scenes are preloaded in conjunction with loading scenes, since they are incompatible
    • Added: Ability to display the ‘AC Status’ in builds as well as the Editor
    • Changed: If a character’s Motion control field is set to Manual or Just Turning, AC will no longer control the Rigidbody’s gravity settings
    • Changed: The “List active ActionLists in Game window?” debug checkbox has been renamed to “Show ‘AC Status’ box” and is now a drop-down menu
    • Fixed: Game breaking if the “Scene: Switch” Action is used to switch to a scene while a different one was previously preloaded
    • Fixed: Inventory items not appearing in a category if their properties are not viewed after creating a category for the first time
    • Fixed: MenuSaveList element labels not displaying correctly when previewed in Game window
    • Fixed: API references to Journal element page texts not being accessible from the Menu Manager
    • Fixed: UnityVersionHandler class not appearing in Scripting Guide
    • Fixed: Display issue with the “Inventory: Check selected” Action
    • Fixed: Minor manual typos
    • Fixed: Minor Editor label tweaks
  • You are a great man!
  • v1.62.4 fixes an unfortunate issue with the previous..

    Version 1.62.4:
    • Added: Option in the “Character: Move along path” Action to start at a random Path node, if the “Path type” is set to “Is Random”
    • Fixed: Rare crash when changing scene with v1.63.3
  • Version 1.62.5:
    • Added: GetFrameRotation method to Char script - use in custom controller integrations to get a calculated rotation towards the target
    • Added: Warning message if the Player attempts to jump while "Ignore gravity?" is enabled
    • Added: "Displaying subtitles" and "Background logic" chapters to the Manual
    • Added: Minor performance improvements
    • Changed: The Menu Manager's "Test in Game window?" field has been renamed to "Preview in Game window?"
    • Fixed: Game hanging in rare circumstances after pausing an ActionList asset
    • Fixed: Momentary visual glitches when some Unity UI-based menus are turned on for the first time
    • Fixed: Button menu elements that are set to run an ActionList asset ignoring its associated ActionList's "Can run multiple instances?" property
    • Fixed: PlayerMenus script's GetMenuWithCanvas method not working for duplicated Subtitle menus
    • Fixed: Occasional data loss when altering the capacity of PopUp variables
    • Fixed: Minor Editor display issues when editing Menu fields
  • Version 1.62.6:
    • Added: Ability to choose between drag-control and custom input when using Direct movement with Touch Screen input
    • Added: The transition time fields for the "Camera: Crossfade" and "Camera: Fade" Actions can now be controlled with Float parameters
    • Added: Ability to assign a Sound object to use for narration audio in the GameEngine's Dialog component
    • Added: Ability to define a "Reverse speed factor" for Player characters that can move backward
    • Changed: When "Assume inputs are defined?" is checked in the Settings Manager, input delegate overrides are no longer ignored
    • Fixed: "GameCamera 2D Drag" moving at all times, instead of just when dragging
    • Fixed: "First Person Camera" head-bobbing speed syncing directly with player's movement speed
    • Fixed: Player character occasionally taking a step forward after moving backwards when in "Tank Controls" movement mode
  • edited May 2018
    Great stuff!
  • edited May 2018
    You are a legend sir!
  • 2018 has been out for a few days now. I tried it with AC and (understandably) got some errors. Any news on a 2018 update for AC?
  • @ZcheK: What were the errors, exactly?  There haven't been issues with my own testing.  Please post full details in a new Technical Q&A thread.
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