Hello! Happy holidays everyone. We hope you can relax, meet up and have good time together with your friends and family in this festive season.
Since now is the end of the year, we think that it is a good time for us to talk about the current state of Mannequin’s development and the plans for 2022. First, let us review the current state of development.
Art Polish Update Progress
The current art polish update is still moving along, albeit very slowly. The newly added body part switcher is ready, but we are still in the process of re-adding clothing templates that was cleaned up before. Here you can see some of the comparisons between the old/current art versus those that you will see in the art polish update:
You can try these out now in the latest nightly builds; clothing templates that shows thumbnails are ready to test with the female body template. Compatibility with the male body template will be re-added later after we have done with the female counterpart.
Our primary challenge for this update is the repeated trial and error needed to reach the art quality standard that we have set as a baseline. From the start, our aim with Mannequin is providing a different alternative to other character generators that is either 3D-based or pixel art-based. Mannequin should always aim to output assets as close as possible to the work of those anime/manga artists you can find on Pixiv/Skeb/Twitter. Artists who use digital painting apps such as Clip Studio Paint or Paint Tool SAI.
We can always try to rush and meet a specific deadline but doing so while sacrificing the final art quality will make the update pointless in the end. We are really sorry it has taken so long, and very grateful with your continued patience. Hopefully the decision to hold off will be compensated with great art that will make you happy in the end.
Now, time to talk about next year.
2022 Plans: 1.0 Release
The art polish update will be our last before 1.0 release. After it is done, we will clean up things outside the app itself (official website, documentation, store pages), split DLCs into proper separate downloads, and then release out of early access.
2022 Plans: Begin Development for 2.0
Immediately after 1.0 is released, we will set up development for 2.0. This version will be just another update, not a different product package that you have to pay again. The main reason why we use 2.0 is because of compatibility—there is a high chance that Mannequin 2.0 will no longer compatible with either character files or template configuration files created for prior versions.
Worst case scenario: You will need to recreate your character from scratch after updating to 2.0.
Best case scenario: You will be able to use old character files but still lose something in the process.
So, what is the changes that will be added in the 2.0 update?
[h2]Modular Pose Templates[/h2]
We will be splitting pose templates into three parts: Stance, Arm Gesture, and Head Gesture.
Stance will change how the overall body posed, whether it is standing straight, contrapposto, pigeon-toed, sitting or lying down. Arm gesture will include options such as crossed arms, akimbo, hand-on-hip or waving. Head gesture will include options such as straight, tilted, or turned.
We will also implement props, such as holding something that can be replaced by user. For example, holding a long stick prop which can be replaced with sword, club, or axe. Another example is sitting with prop that can either be a chair, sofa, or wheelchair.
[h2]Modular Clothing Templates[/h2]
We will implement more parameters into clothing templates, which will increase flexibility in creating your unique clothing design and reduce the listing of multiple items with minor differences in the library window.
For example, all T-Shirts will be consolidated into a single template, with parameters such as Neck, Left Sleeve and Right Sleeve.
[h2]Animation[/h2]
We have researched several possible file formats related to game engines or animation apps that is open (either not encrypted or has documentation regarding the file structure and contents), and as a result we now have some degree of confidence in adding animations to Mannequin.
For now, we are preparing for these export options: Adobe Animate CC’s XFL, Godot’s TSCN/ESCN, and Unity Asset Package. Unfortunately, Unreal has no official implementation for 2D bone animation yet; they only have flipbook animation for now.
In this first implementation, expect only simple animations: eye blink, idle breathing, and small hand gestures (waving, for example). Something that is geared towards visual novels or RPG dialogs, not platformers or fighting games.
Will There Any Other Updates Before 2.0?
We will still add new content to the default library and release more DLC packs while 2.0 is under development. 2.0 will use the same art assets that exists in prior versions, with very minor changes if necessary. Bugfixes and small feature tweak or addition are also still pretty much in the cards for 1.x releases.
Anyway, that’s it for now! As always, thank you very much for your continued support, stay safe, stay healthy and happy holidays!
