Okay, bringing this over from the 'Is the Poser user base shrinking?' thread. So.

Let's talk animation.

What kind of things would we want in an add on? This list assumes that a 3rd party programmer actually has access to the functions needed to accomplish the feature:

1. Better IK/FK if possible. The global IK solver is....well, ancient. We need a togglable IK solution. If we had that, a lot of other IK/FK features would become possible. Like IK pinning.

2. A true non linear motion blender, a la AniMATE.

3. A larger, easier to read dopesheet

4. A ragdoll add on for Bullet.

5. A metablob add on for Bullet(?)

 

Any other ideas (deliberately leaving off a bunch so others can play....)?

Hypotheticly speaking
( were I not moving to iclone pro),
I would consider paying for these three to start:

1. Better IK/FK if possible. The global IK solver is....well, ancient. We need a togglable IK solution. If we had that, a lot of other IK/FK features would become possible. Like IK pinning.

1. A true non linear motion blender, a la AniMATE.

2. A larger, easier to read dopesheet.

Add to that: a clamping function
and a key reducer to thin the gazillion keyframes that accompany imported mocap

A Cycle function like the excellent one in C4D
where by I could set a few keyframes of an objects motion for one cycle and tell the program to repeat it for the many cycles I desire

Auto foot and hand contact
like in Iclone.

I'd sallut anything, that avoid the feet skating effect. A clear foot-floor collision detection, and you should be able to set every item in the scene as a floor object.

till now when you import a bvh file , the feet of your character has be outside the camera range , or else you'll see it skating over the ground. That is most annoying and the main reason why I gave up on animations.

I am like an F-15.
Not a pound for air to ground.

Poser translation : LOL.
Not a dollar for animation. LOL.

Here are some very easy things to add.

Currently there are 4 types of splines Spline, Linear, Constant and Spline Break.  I would like a fifth one which would be Spline AB.  It would only create a spline curve between points A & B.  If I add another keyframe after point B then it would be a spline Curve from B to C.  That way you will never have the over shoot caused by putting a third point in that is not on the natural curve of the spline.  It would in effect be like putting in a Keyframe Spline and one frame later a break spline.

Also I would like to be able to set a default type of spline to be used instead of having to go in and change it after the fact.  A simple check box in front of each type and use the one that is checked until some other option is selected.

On the layers be able to select which objects that I want to be effected.  So I would like to have a layer that has just lights.  If I  am not on the light layer then any changes I make to the lights will not be recorded.  Should have a warning saying I am not on a layer that allows the changing of the lights.  Or better yet if I select a light then if there is only a single layer for the lights auto switch to that layer, if there are multiple layers then present a choice of which light layer I want. 

Also on the layers if I have three assigned to Rex it would be nice to be able to select which parts are in the selection choices.  Most of the time I do not need to animate the scales on a joint so would like to have a way to have them not show up in a layer if they are not part of the layers selected options.  So I may have two layers with no scale graphs and the third one may be set to just the scales if I wanted.

Most of the above should be fairly easy to create using a plugin since the fuctions they call are available via Python.  Or at least as I understand the functions listed in the Python manuel.  The following will be a bit harder since I do not know if you can get the information needed since I can not find a Python listed function for them.

The IK chain:  Is really only a problem if you are trying to make a animation longer then a couple of seconds.  In a real work flow each scene should be limited to what action is required for that sceen and nothing else.  and each scene complied in a video editor.  With proper planning and storyboarding you should be able to create a scene with IK on then another with it off as the action dictates.  Haveing said that It would be nice to have a graph of what the joints that are effected by IK are doing during any point of the motion and it would be even nicer to be able to step in and make a tweek to the motion to make it do what I want it to do at any moment.

As far as the foot sliding in imported BVH files the easiest way to handle that is to remove/suppress/enhance the XYZ motions of the Hip actor.  Import your BVH file then go to the layer that has the Hip xTran/yTran/ZTran and either clear them in which case your figure will be walking in place or modify the frames to make the hip move the amount required to make the foot fall and stay in place till the next foot falls.  A little bit of effort but makes for a nice clean effect.

1 - A Motion-building and layering system (like iClone) that works in the main viewport.
2 - The ability to slice, resize, and blend the edges of blocks of animation together (like iClone).
3 - The ability to smooth-out the motion by decimating the amount of keyframes.
4 - Adjustable inertia effect on the mouse to make movement recording smoother.

If we had this in a Poser plugin, I would buy a copy providing the price is realistic.

Pumeco can you give a better description of how you can not do these things in Poser?   Or how Iclone works better?  I watched a some IClone videos and they do not seem to be much different then Poser.

Best to visit the iClone5 online documentation and look at the Animation and Timeline sections (and the subsections of those sections).  That'll give some idea of what's possible.  There's so much stuff though, so even in the other sections you will find animation related stuff.

I'm not sure I'm allowed to link to it, so I won't, but I recommend reading the online documentation if you want an idea of how powerful it is and how it differs from Poser.

**"Currently there are 4 types of splines Spline, Linear, Constant and Spline Break.  I would like a fifth one which would be Spline AB.  It would only create a spline curve between points A & B.  If I add another keyframe after point B then it would be a spline Curve from B to C.  That way you will never have the over shoot caused by putting a third point in that is not on the natural curve of the spline.  It would in effect be like putting in a Keyframe Spline and one frame later a break spline."**

Well that is exactly what a Clamping function does.
it forces the spline to stay within the the actual values of the of the keyframes along its length with no "stretching" between them no matter how high or low those values are

"On the layers be able to select which objects that I want to be effected.  So I would like to have a layer that has just lights.  If I  am not on the light layer then any changes I make to the lights will not be recorded.  Should have a warning saying I am not on a layer that allows the changing of the lights.  Or better yet if I select a light then if there is only a single layer for the lights auto switch to that layer, if there are multiple layers then present a choice of which light layer I want. "

Actually that is what a MODERN graph editor & Dope Sheet will allow
it will only show you the tracks of the bodypart selected**( see pic)**
poser graph editor essentially does this but the Dopesheet( AKA animation pallette)
forces you to to sift through a massive list of every bodypart & Scene element
in tiny text on the left with no option to hide any of them from view.

"The IK chain:  Is really only a problem if you are trying to make a animation longer then a couple of seconds.  In a real work flow each scene should be limited to what action is required for that sceen and nothing else.  and each scene complied in a video editor. "

Strongly Disagree
a "Real WorkFlow" is  limited to what ever the animation sequence requires
LOL ...sorry but this is NOT 1993.

A skateboard curb trick or ramp jump is just "a few seconds"
but in that time my actor needs IK on to bend at the knees when he squats to jump
and IK off when he is "Catching big air" and spreading his legs for show boating effect
and IK back on when he lands and squats again to absorb the impact.

To tell me that That I should have break this 4.5 second sequence into separate IK/non IK scene files
Then render them separately and cobble them together in post editing is frankly ridiculous!!
and also assumes this is for fun and not an animation for a $$paying client$$
(example,personal injury attorney)
who wants it all in a continuous shot.

"Pumeco can you give a better description of how you can not do these things in Poser?   Or how Iclone works better? "

For starters Posers layer system has NO ability to speed up, slow down, or even mirror the actor,
or reorient the actors facing direction
all in a nonlinear fashion meaning I can rearrange the order in which multiple motion clips are applied just like
video clips in a timeline in Adobe premier or Apple final cut and and see it all happen instantly in the view port.

No ability to cull unneeded key frames from an imported mocap making the editing  of it nearly impossible.

"I am like an F-15.
Not a pound for air to ground.

Poser translation : LOL.
Not a dollar for animation. LOL."

yeah sort of like;
SM, why on earth would I buy your so called Game Dev"upgrade" version when
DAZ studio has the exact same mesh reduction/unification &  Game Export functions as a standard feature in their FREE PROGRAM..LOL indeed.

My : "I am like an F-15.
Not a pound for air to ground.

Poser translation : LOL.
**Not a dollar for animation. LOL."

That was only on a very personal level.
I am just having too much fun "as is".**

And to answer the question : What would you PAY for animation plug-in.
But I agree that the default animation tools can and should be improved.

Wolf359 stated "For starters Posers layer system has NO ability to speed up, slow down, or even mirror the actor, or reorient the actors facing direction"

 

This is just plain out wrong.  It may not work in Poser 6 but it has worked in Poser Pro 2012 and 2014 and that is the retime animation.  I use it all the time to speed up and slow down movements.  I also have no problems bring in a BVH file making it turn 90 degrees to the right and having it work.  The biggest thing to know about BVH files is that all motion is reletive to the hip and all you have to do is realigne the hip xyz axis and tranlations. 

Prior to the latest SR4 for Poser 10 2014 and GD You could not turn off the IK and back on.  Now you can.  however in the example you  posted why could you not keep IK on and just move the feet to where you wanted them?  Also you stated two very diferent reasons, one for a stateboarder and a lawyer.  For one you would want very detailed boring actions that played in "Real Time", for the other to keep peoples attention you have to make it quick and snappy or you risk putting them to sleep.  No on really wants to watch some one walking for 15 seconds.  Or if you have to have the 15 seconds of walking then there should be different angles and points of interest.