Customizable spine object

Yimec

Hello everyone!

I’ve started a new project and I’d like to know the best way to approach this challenge:

The game involves a customizable character (starting from a base and allowing the player to choose from three parts: pants, torso, and head). This customizable character can also have three different body types: small, medium, or large.

The project will allow the player to unlock new appearances as they progress with their character (these appearances need to be created three times to fit each body type).

I was thinking of creating a project with all possible skins, three skeletons (one for each body type), and the skins for each skeleton, but maybe this isn’t the most efficient approach, and there’s probably a better way to do it.

Maybe having a “database” of accessories and using it to fill in “gaps” in Spine? I’m not sure; I’m open to suggestions on the best way to approach this project.

Of course, this project will be developed in Unity with phone and handhelds in mind, where optimization is key.

Thank you very much for your help!

Misaki

Yimec As Spinebot has already recommended, characters with different proportions can be realized with the same skeleton by using skin-constraints. You may find our blog post below helpful:
https://esotericsoftware.com/blog/Skin-constraints-for-different-proportions

Spinebot

To achieve a customizable character system in Spine with three different body types (small, medium, large) and various interchangeable parts (pants, torso, head), you can follow these best practices:

Single Skeleton with Skins: Use a single skeleton for each body type and create skins for each customizable part. This allows you to reuse animations across different appearances. For example, you can have a "small" skeleton with skins for different pants, torsos, and heads.
Skin Bones and Constraints: Utilize skin bones and constraints to handle different proportions and unique animations for specific body parts. This ensures that only the relevant bones and constraints are active for the selected skin, optimizing performance.
Runtime Repacking: Instead of loading all images at once, use runtime repacking to load only the images needed for the selected skin. This can significantly reduce memory usage and improve performance. Refer to the Runtime Repacking section of the spine-unity documentation for more details.
Mix and Match: Implement a mix-and-match system where you can combine different skins programmatically. This allows you to create a variety of appearances without cluttering the project with numerous predefined skins. Check out the spine-unity Mix and Match documentation for guidance.
Organize Skins by Theme: Group skins by theme or style to keep the project organized. For example, you can have a set of skins for "casual" outfits, "armor" outfits, etc. This makes it easier to manage and load the necessary assets.
Optimize Performance: Test the performance on target devices and apply common optimization techniques such as reducing the number of bones, using point bones, and minimizing the number of active attachments. Refer to the Spine User Guide on performance for more tips.

By following these practices, you can create a flexible and efficient system for customizable characters in your game.

rr-reinhart

This gets really complicated very quickly.

How would you handle modders adding new parts? Let's say we ship with 3 heads and a modder adds 3 more?

In my case, I'm not working with Unity. Repacking doesn't seem to be a thing in spine-c.

Harald

rr-reinhart How would you handle modders adding new parts? Let's say we ship with 3 heads and a modder adds 3 more?

On what level does a modder add 3 more heads? Does he have the Spine project available? If not, how does he specify the size, name, etc of a head attachment? Or will you just support Texture-replacement with requirements of being of equal size like the original, and provide templates for each body part or attachment?