In Place Mode

In Place mode allows you to display biped motion as if it were occurring on a treadmill. Regardless of the distance the biped covers under control of the current motion file, the biped stays within the active viewport when you've turned on In Place Mode.

• Create or select a biped. > Motion panel > Biped rollout > Expand the rollout. > Modes group > In Place flyout > (In Place)

In Place playback prevents lateral (XY) movement of the biped center of mass during animation playback; vertical motion along the Z-axis is preserved. Biped limbs, footsteps, and center of mass keys can be adjusted in this mode. When the center of mass is moved on the XY axes in this mode, the footsteps move.

Use this feature to view biped playback without requiring a follow camera. In this viewing mode, visible footsteps appear to slide under the biped.

For export to games, this feature is valuable, as many game engines intelligently move the character's center of mass laterally according to game play. In Place mode makes it easy to view, tune, and export animation in a manner that is complementary to game engine playback.

Note: Trajectories do not display using In Place mode.

In Place Mode Options

The In Place Mode button is the default button on a three-button flyout. There are two further options:

• In Place X Mode Locks center of mass X-axis motion. Use this for game export where the character stays in place but the swinging motion of the hips and upper body along the Y-axis is preserved.
• In Place Y Mode Locks center of mass Y-axis motion. Use this for game export where the character stays in place but the swinging motion of the hips and upper body along the X-axis is preserved.

Using In Place Mode to Adjust Keyframes

In Place Mode is a good way to adjust keys on a biped that already has animation applied to it. Rather than scrolling the view at different frames to keep a running biped visible, turn on In Place Mode. Now when you scrub the time slider, or use the Next Key and Previous Key buttons, the biped remains visible. A key that needs adjustment can be quickly spotted and corrected.

Tip: Judging lateral center-of-mass motion using In Place mode is difficult. In Place mode limits center-of-mass motion on the XY axes; all sense of body momentum on these axes is suspended during playback. You might want to turn off In Place playback to gain a sense of lateral momentum when setting or adjusting horizontal keys (Body Horizontal Track) for the center of mass.

Procedures

To use In Place mode to adjust keyframes:

1. Select a biped that has animation, and go to the Motion panel.
2. On the Biped rollout, click the bar at the bottom to expand the rollout.
   

   (If the rollout is already expanded, the bar shows a minus sign at the left, instead of a plus.)

3. In the Modes group, click (In Place Mode) to turn it on.
4. At the bottom of the 3ds Max window, turn on (Auto Key).
5. Find a frame where the biped needs adjustment, and modify or add keys.