I'm also rather new to BG animation format, but I don't want to start yet another topic here. So, here's a couple of questions:
1. Are the animation slots in ANISND.ids fixed to monster types? For example, does the game executable read slot 0x7E and see it as BG1 Simple Monster (i.e 0x7E = always and only BG1 type)? And even if I overwrite the animation files linked to this slot with, say, a BG2 animation, it won't be properly recognized as BG2 Monster type and will crash, correct?
2. Which file (if any is available as externalized) governs base animation speed (the speed at which creatures move/the number of points it moves forward as frames are played)? In other words, what determines that a Greater Werewolf moves slower than a Werewolf in-game, even though they have the same movement speed stat? I'd suppose this is hardcoded, as I can't find any info about it anywhere. Also, compare Wolf and Werewolf speed. Both are BG1 creatures, same base movement, but different in-game speed.
3. How do I know which animation sequence number does what? Say, I have all the frames for my animation ready, but I have no idea how to put them into sequences so that the game recognizes sequence x as attack, sequence y as dying etc. Is there a reference chart for these numbers? Are these hardcoded into specific animation slots? The tutorials available at Black Wyrm etc. are nice but none of them actually explain how to arrange frames and set up these sequences into proper numbers for the game to read.
Basically, what I want to do is fix the Werewolf animations. Currently what happens is that when Werewolf walks N, S, W, or E, it moves at similar pace to BG2 avatars. But when it walks in diagonal direction (SE, NE, NW, SW), it moves at double speed. Dunno how this is even possible... There must be a file (IDS? 2DA? Hardcoded?) that reads seperate animation sequences and tells the creature to move at this or that speed. I can't find anything related at IESDP. I also want to speed up the stand/idle animations as they play at half the speed and appear jerky. Funnily enough, for the second before you finish polymorphing the animation sequence plays at normal speed (as previewed in bam editor), then it slows down to a half. Which file governs that?
How do I know slot 0x7E is rigged? Well, extract Wolf bams and rename them to Werewolf scheme, put in override, and now Wolf animation suffers from the same issues. Normally, Wolf animation in its own slot moves at standard BG1 pace in all directions. If I rename Werewolf bams to Wolf ones, boom, issues gone. It moves super slow now, just like BG1 Wolfie, but at least at the same speed in all directions.
Even though I'm not sure if I want to do it, it would be nice to know how to set the base speed of Werewolves and Greater Werewolves to the same value through animation files. I know you can use opcodes, but if they have the same movement base stat, their animations should be fixed to move at the same speed.
Edit: Ah, BGEE has all of these externalized: EXTSPEED.2da. Unfortunately, TobEx doesn't have this feature as of yet.
Edit2: To those who care, I just tried BGEE on my PC and I'm disappointed. Not only does it look blurry and zoomed-out as hell at 800x600 (looks worse than the original), it introduces some new bugs and it doesn't fix those animation slots. Werewolves still appear to be glitched in the same way... You can move them to a new animation slot, set your own movement speed and it might work fine, though.
Edited by Tash, 01 July 2014 - 06:26 PM.