UMA in Godot Game Engine a PoC Part 4

Trying to get Supporting files to compile

This is a devlog to see if I can port the “Universal Multipurpose Avatar”(UMA) addon for Unity over to the Godot Engine. You can find Part 3 here.

Work continues as I try to get the original UMA code into a state where it will as least compile. I’ve removed all the compile errors on the file DynamicCharacterAvatar. Unfortunately, I had to bring in several support files to get it to work, and now those support files won’t compile. I’ve started going through them, which some require more support files, which in turn don’t compile, etc… I’m basically in a pattern where I’m trying to get several dozen files to compile.

When I first started, anytime the code referred to a Unity specific function I would comment it out. I’ve since changed strategies. Instead, I have created a list of empty UnityEngine classes for UMA to latch onto. While this requires a little more effort at the start, it often fixes several compilation errors at once — even in files that I haven’t worked on yet. Initially, this meant it took me a long time to get the first 3 or 4 files compilable, but I’m increasing speed with each file and new Mock class or function I create. I’m now at the point where there are UMA files that are compliable the first time I add them in. Really, I should’ve done this from the start. I think I underestimated how many individual files I’d have to import.

The status I’m at right now is I have about 20 files that are compilable, and at least that many that aren’t. I’ll keep adding and mocking until everything I have is working and then see what happens when I compile.

While working I found the asset files that describe an UMA slot. An UMA slot, as I recall, is a model that represents a body part(eyes, legs, torso, etc…). I opened one up to discover that it was a Json file(i.e. clear text file that is human-readable). Among other things, I found an array of vertices which I assume means that the body parts are described as a mesh array. If my assumption is correct, that’s great news. Because when it comes to rendering time, that means I should be able to use Godot’s Arraymesh to display an UMA in a scene.

The work I’ve been doing during this compilation part is long, but not particularly challenging. So my mind has started getting me to focus on what my goals are. So I’ve decided to layout milestones for my PoC and what I’ll do when done. That way I, and others, can judge how much work is left to do.

Hm… There’s a lot of work ahead, but when I lay it out like this, it doesn’t seem so bad. Well, back to work on Milestone 1.

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