OK, seems a bit clearer now. However .eani files can be (and most of the time are) directly imported into the scene not being referenced outside of the scene. Even though they have the ability to be.
I'm guessing .preset files can't store constraints and expressions from reading the docs as well so this may be another advantage to using .preset files for animation only to ensure that no extra data that an animator may have put on the controls goes with it. -------------------------------------------- Eric Thivierge http://www.ethivierge.com On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 10:45 PM, Matt Lind <[email protected]> wrote: > .presets has been around longer than .eani, so that’s probably why > Animal Logic used .preset files. > > To look at the the difference between .preset and .eani, you’ll need to > pay attention to the minutae of the docs wording, plus consult the next > page about .eani files and compare the two. > > > To look at it from another perspective, .preset files are simply property > set data recorded to a binary file. In the case of action sources, the > .preset includes animation data if it’s FCurve data. The .preset file is > essentially a mechanism to transport the animation data between models > and/or scenes. Once imported, the data is always local to the scene. > > In constrast, .eani files are the equivalent of referenced models for > action sources. They can be used over and over again across many scenes, > and across many models in those scenes which the parameters in the action > source can be remapped. The animation data is not considered part of the > scene and therefore not saved with the scene file (.scn), but is still > recorded as an entry in the .scntoc. This also enables lazy loading which > can be handy on large scenes or systems where memory has limitations. Only > data for the active frame range is loaded and when it is needed. Once > loaded, it stays loaded until you close the scene. Downside is seek time > may increase depending on variables such as scene complexity, hardware > performance, amount of data in the .eani file, etc... > If you need the ability to modify the animation data from outside of > Softimage, then you’ll need to use .xsi files instead of .eani files as > only .xsi files are compatible with the FTK and Crosswalk SDK. > > > How’s that? > > > Matt > > >
