unity-animationlisted

# Unity Animation ## Purpose Unity animation is three stacked systems: the `Animator` state machine (Mecanim) that most gameplay uses, the Playables graph underneath it that actually evaluates clips, and Timeline as an authoring layer on top of Playables. Most animation bugs come from not knowing which layer owns a value - a transform written by both a script and a clip, a state that will not exit because of Exit Time, or a pose that changes depending on which state you entered from because Write Defaults is inconsistent. This skill covers all three plus the performance characteristics of skinned meshes. ## When to use - Building or debugging an `AnimatorController`, its parameters and transitions. - Controls feel laggy or a state change is visibly delayed. - A pose differs depending on the path taken through the state machine. - Locomotion blending, aim offsets, or upper-body/lower-body layering. - Deciding between root motion and code-driven movement. - Authoring a cutscene, a scripted sequence, or a cinematic camera move. - `Animator.Update`, `MeshSkinning.Update` or `Animators.Update` is heavy in the profiler. ## When NOT to use - Rigidbody motion, character controllers and collision response - `unity-physics`. Root motion versus physics is covered here; the physics side is there. - UI transitions and tweens - `unity-ui-systems`. - Particle and VFX driven effects - `unity-shaders-vfx`. - The DOTS animation stack, which is a different evaluation model entirely.