[RELEASED] Rival - DOTS Character Controller

Couple of questions in this thread about ECS 1.0 support. I'm throwing my hat in the ring as someone eagerly waiting for ECS 1.0 support. Is there an official (or unofficial) response to this somewhere that I'm missing? I couldn't find anything on GitHub and the questions in this thread about it are suspiciously skipped over (despite your fantastic response times!)

I really want to get on ECS1.0 and I'm wondering if I should migrate Rival myself or if we can expect some info about this in the next month or so...

Thanks for your brilliant work, Cheers.

 

Amazing! Look forward to it!

 

I try to copy the whole scene, but it fails . The character not Spwan as normal.
To reproduce the process :
I create a right sample scene and than copy the scene. No Character Spwan and I find a lot of system not display in the System Debug Panle.

what I ture want is Add a new Character to my scene.I really can't help it. by the way , I succeed add threePersonCharacter to my Project.

 

Oh my god.I would spend my whole life on this if not for this post.Anyway thank you for such a quick reply.I can slove it.

 

I was able to modify the scripts and get them working in Unity 2022.2.0b13 with ECS and Physics 1.0.0-exp.12. I did not refactor for the 1.0 API improvements so it may not as performant as it could be, just enough to get it to run. I have not tested it thoroughly but if you are interested you can find my updates here: https://github.com/akbuehner/rival-ecs1.0

Thanks for making a great free asset.

I eagerly await the official 1.0 version

 

I just saw that Rival is now UCL! Thank you! I'm looking forward to being able to include it in samples now!

 

I'm removing this github as the official version has arrived and works great

 

Firstly, thank you for such a fantastic asset. As mentioned above, this has saved me a mammoth amount of polish. The Platformer sample in particular is beautifully handled, and I've already plugged it into my project to replace my earlier implementation derived from the Physics samples. Very slick.

This leads to my only issue. I've tried building and running both the platformer sample project without any modification, and my own project. In both standalone builds, the character only plays the sprint animation, for all other states the mesh stays in the t-pose. This is on OSX standalones, I haven't tested PC yet. Unity 2022.2.0f1, Entities 1.0.0-pre.15, latest Rival package and a fresh pull from github.

I'll replace the demo mesh with my own character later, but wanted to check it wasn't something on the DOTS side of things. Thanks!

 

have you tried disabling the Managed code stripping in Edit > Project Settings > Player ?

 

It's building to IL2CPP with 'minimal' stripping.

Edit: Implemented my own character mesh/animator and all works well. Even extended it a bit to handle various jump landings and an enter/exit system. Rival is a fantastic asset, thanks again!

 

Anyone done a netcode for entities sample demo for the platformer sample demo?

 

No, but I'm in the process of using the FPS Sample to get my character working and having some problems.

@philsa-unity I have a couple of questions as I'm struggling to get things working.

First of all, a curiosity that I suspect might be a problem and related to my main question.
On the character controller's ghost inspector, if I set the LocalTransform optimisation to 'Never Send', I kind of expected that to mean "my prediction will never be overwritten by snapshots". Is this the case? When I set this to Never Send, my character is going SUPER FAST on the client. I have verified that this is also the case in the FPS Sample. Does this imply the client-side prediction code is not matching what's occurring server-side?


That was a lead in to my main question.
In my game, I will be toggling between first and third person views, but let's focus on third person for now.
My character is fully visible, and there is a game object proxy whose translation is tracking the character entity.
Tracking this proxy is a cinemachine orbit camera.

I'm getting crazy amounts of jitter which disappears completely if I switch the character ghost from owner predicted (or just predicted) to interpolated.

So, I went into the OnlineFPS sample, added a capsule so I could see the player, created a GameObject proxy follower, and an orbit cam following it. I was able to reproduce the jitter.

I'm guessing the sample doesn't care about as in first person with a locked camera it just doesn't matter, and other characters are interpolated anyway. (I haven't tested, but I wonder if the jitter will show up on other players if they are predicted from their inputs.

Any thoughts on how I should approach removing owner predicted jitter? Cheers.

Jitter - Owner Predicted:

Non Jitter - Interpolated:

 

A couple of FYIs too.

In the Basic Sample demo scene, when I stand on this platform which rotates around in place, the platform jitters a lot.
This does not seem to be a problem with the moving platforms that are not rotating.

(Edit: I see this is addressed in a post above regarding baking limitations.)

Secondly, in the Rival Runtime, the

CharacterInterpolation

IComponentData has attribute

[WriteGroup(typeof(LocalToWorld))]

. This is preventing the TransformSystem from copying LocalTransform to WorldTransform on root entities. I have written a little system to copy this myself after the

CharacterInterpolationSystem

runs.

Cheers

 

For other rival users, this came up for myself and another user, so figure it might come up for more of you.
If you find that your character's WorldTransform is not updating despite your LocalTransform updating, there is a little issue with WorldTransforms not updating. Here is a system you can add that will fix it for you until the next Rival update.

Code (CSharp):

1. using Rival;
2. using Unity.Burst;
3. using Unity.Entities;
4. using Unity.Transforms;
5.  
6. namespace YourNamespace
7. {
8.     /// <summary>
9.     /// Rival has a WriteGroup on component <see cref="Rival.CharacterInterpolation"/> that prevents the
10.     /// TransformSystem from updating the WorldTransform. This system copies LocalTransform to WorldTransform
11.     /// for any root objects with the CharacterInterpolation component.
12.     /// </summary>
13.     [UpdateInGroup(typeof(TransformSystemGroup))]
14.     [UpdateBefore(typeof(LocalToWorldSystem))]
15.     [UpdateAfter(typeof(CharacterInterpolationSystem))]
16.     [WorldSystemFilter(WorldSystemFilterFlags.LocalSimulation | WorldSystemFilterFlags.ClientSimulation)]
17.     [BurstCompile]
18.     public partial struct CharacterInterpolationWorldTransformFixSystem : ISystem
19.     {
20.         public void OnCreate(ref SystemState state) { }
21.  
22.         public void OnDestroy(ref SystemState state) { }
23.  
24.         [BurstCompile]
25.         public void OnUpdate(ref SystemState state)
26.         {
27.             new CopyTransformJob().Schedule();
28.         }
29.  
30.         [BurstCompile]
31.         [WithAll(typeof(CharacterInterpolation))]
32.         [WithNone(typeof(Parent))]
33.         private partial struct CopyTransformJob : IJobEntity
34.         {
35.             private void Execute(ref WorldTransform worldTransform, in LocalTransform localTransform)
36.             {
37.                 worldTransform = (WorldTransform)localTransform;
38.             }
39.         }
40.     }
41. }
42.  

 

No, it didn't, although I didn't apply that fix to the sample scene to check there.

 

Is Rival compatible with Unity 2022.x? I'm getting a lot of missing namespaces after importing it into a new empty project (i.e. ColliderCastHit, DistanceHit, PhysicsMass, etc.). I wasn't sure if it was something I did.

 

Those are members of the unity physics package which rival depends on. You need to make sure you have imported all of the dependencies too via the package manager.

 

This completely fixed the issue. I copied LocalToWorld to WorldTransform instead of LocalTransform in my 'fix' system above. Thanks for the help.

 

Hello, a new question now. With netcode wanting to run the prediction group multiple times per frame, and each time running the physics systems like BuildPhysicsWorld, Simulate, Resolve Jacobians etc, CPU time can get out of hand very easily when a bit of lag is introduced.

I figured for my project, I don't really need physics, so I'd like to disable the physics simulation if possible.
But then I realised the whole moving platform system depends on it.
Although I'm not sure if I will use moving platforms or not yet, I'd like to get some understanding up front.

Is it possible to write a moving platform system that doesn't require the physics simulation to be running? I understand the character requires platform velocity to resolve its own position correctly, but is that something I can do without having physics move the transforms? Perhaps I can write velocity, and then use it myself to update transforms?

Assume all I need is kinematic platforms.

Cheers.

 

Brilliant this is perfect thank you

 

Hello,
I am currently experimenting a lot with Rival, nice job so far !

1)
Though, I am wondering how to properly handle the raise of CollisionEvents. As Rival's character controller is using Decollision (DecollideFromOverlaps) or projection of movement to restrict movement (DetectMovementCollisions), the physic system does not trigger CollisionEvents if the resolution is done in a single frame.

How to properly handle CollisionEvents then ?

2)
On an other topic, I found some discrepencies between manual phisic collision requests and collisions handled directly by Unity.Physics that might interest you.
https://forum.unity.com/threads/inc...n-detections-using-calculatedistance.1388943/

 

Exactly what I needed. Thanks for pointing this up !

 

I love this asset and am building on it for my own controller. However, I wonder if anyone knows a more DRY way to represent the multiple switch statements in the state machine for the platformer sample?
I have tried writing a function that returns the current state but this apparently cannot be used in a burst context. It seems shamefully verbose to have to write out the same switch statement for every method in the state machine, but is this simply the price for using burst?

 

Hey guys, I'm putting together a game prototype with a heavy focus on characters freely walking/jumping around on large moving "ships". I'm loving the movement system as it reacts to static geometry, but understandably so, it doesn't seem so robust on moving platforms:

(Note: "Interpolate Position" was disabled under "Character Properties", and "Smoothing" was set to "None" under Physics Body component of the moving platform)

See the above gif and notice how character movement direction is not consistent with the spinning platform's current rotation. I'm only pressing W and S to move back and forth, but the character movement trajectory (relative to the platform) changes once the platform begins to rotate. Also less obvious, the character's rotation will slowly lag behind the platform rotation as time goes on, in a jittery fashion.

I apologize if this question is too general, but is there an elegant solution for this? I'm wondering if I need to rework the character controller such that data components like 'characterPosition' and 'characterRotation' are replaced with 'characterLocalPosition' and 'characterLocalRotation'. Then, have the movement system set the final character transform based on the current parent transform. I'd at least like to know if I'm on the right track...

Right now, I see that the TrackedTransform system simply tries to match the velocity of the character to the parent entity, but I'd like the character to behave as if each moving platform were its own "world" so-to-speak with its own local coordinate system that the character moves within.

 

Thank you for the swift reply! I truly didn't expect for you to get so far into the weeds of the moving platform logic, but it illuminated well the solutions that I need try next. Very good explanation on the interpolation issue
I understood interpolation was part of my problem, but didn't know exactly how and why..

I'll first say that adding the code snippet for updating the character MoveVector after the platform rotates during the frame worked like a charm! The character now moves in the expected direction while the platform is spinning.

I enabled "Synchronize Collision World" under the PhysicsStep component as well. I didn't notice any significant change, but I can see where this should help. There are still cases where the character will seem to bump downwards and detach from the parent at the leading edge ("front") of platforms as they move at very high speed, but it's no big deal to me because I plan to have a custom 'attach/detach' logic. See gif below if you're curious what the 'bumping' looks like:

I tried to add your updated "OrbitCameraSystem", but ran into a snag as it appears the TrySetToWorldTransformUnscaled() method is missing from the
WorldTransformsHelper struct in "TransformUtilities"?

I haven't yet tried to update character rotation on the PhysicsUpdate rather than VariableUpdate, but honestly I'm starting to think I need to do that custom solution after all. I would prefer to have smooth interpolation enabled for at least the character and camera, instead of being locked to whatever the physics fixed timestep is (50 ticks per second by default?). Also, if I want to implement fast-paced multiplayer, interpolation is quite an important feature I feel.

I'll be sure to give an update on my journey if I manage to figure this out
Thanks for the help!

 

@philsa-unity
I'm having some issues using Unity 2022.2.5f1 and Entities 1.0.0-pre.15

after importing the Rival asset I immediately had errors

first one is there are multiple .asmdef files in the Runtime folder:

Rival.Runtime.asmdef and Rival.asmdef

After deleting the Rival.Runtime.asmdef I had some compiler issues with

KinematicCharacterDeferredImpulsesJob.cs

- It didn't properly implement IJobBatch interface. parameter "in v128 chunkEnabledMask" was missing.
- it was still using older Translation and Rotation instead of the new combined LocalTransform.
- it was trying to access deferredImpulse.Impulse from KinematicCharacterDeferredImpulse but there is no Impulse field. so i tried substituting with what was available: .LinearVelocityChange and .Displacement

i made sure to update the package before importing it
any ideas?

 

Appreciate the reply. Deleting Rival and re-importing it again made it work for whatever reason
Previously I tried just re-importing it without any luck

However, following the Tutorial I simply cannot get the Character to move or even respond to physics.
I follow the tutorial step by step.
Make a subscene, add the third person characters/camera to it. assign the components to the cameras, wire up the Controlled Character/Camera.
Press play and nothing happens.
I see in the Entities Hierarchy that the subscene has (not loaded). This is so frustrating

 

nope
i tried closing / opening / unloading / loading
if i set the conversion to Runtime for the subscene I can see the gameObjects as entities with their respective components. But when I hit play the subscene is says (not loaded) and i don't see any entities in the Entities Hierarchy

edit:
i fixed the issue by creating an entire new project and now everything works.

not to be a jerk but i cannot fathom what is going on with Unity lately. adding to the list of frustration and confusion, i notice that Rival has [deprecated] prepended to its name in the Packager Manager. The deprecation notice says Rival is now its own package at

com.unity.charactercontroller

trying to add it by that package name will fail to find it.
the documentation link from the package:
https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/c.../index.html?subfolder=/manual/get-started.htm
takes you to a "Sorry page is missing"

 

@StayThirsty it works if you manually add the package to the manifest.json:

"com.unity.charactercontroller": "1.0.0-exp.2"

Keep in mind, they changed the asmdef file so make sure you replace the previous "Rival" asmdef reference with the new "Unity.CharacterController" and do the same for the using namespace references inside your code.

 

interesting. still it should work via add package by name

hi, yes i tried via add package by name but still in Unity 2022.2.5f1


as for the link you're right. the missing 'l' was the culprit. to catch the missing 'l' i have to select the trailing `)`. my mistake

 

@philsa-unity
Are there any plans to have this working with Netcode for Entities?

I'm trying to make changes to get Rival to work with Netcode but I am having some problems with jittering
(see attached files) with moving and jumping

I am looking thru the OnlineFPS example and trying to copy what was done there to the Rival character controller but I am not having much success yet.

Could you tell me what I need to change to get Rival to work with Netcode without jittering? I have the whole client/server and input working. My main issue is the jittering

The jittering doesn't seem to happen in the Scene View (it used to, but I must have fixed this when copying over stuff from the OnlineFPS sample) so it must be related to the OrbitCameraSystem?

Also my character occasionally jumps 2 or 3 times instead of just once. Any idea what could cause this?

I have done:

• Copying GhostVarient.cs from OnlineFPS to remove Server side Client Interpolation
• Changed the UpdateGroups to the appropriate ones (copied these from OnlineFPS so I hope this is correct)

Thank you
@Shinyclef hi, have you managed to solve the jittering problem?

 

Thanks! I completely missed this documentation
So I had went through it, this is what I've done:

Ghost component setup

• Right now I have 1 entity with both the ThirdPersonPlayer and ThirdPersonCharacter components, is that a problem?
• Otherwise they are Owner Predicted and Has Owner.
• AutoCommandTarget is enabled
• I assume Track Interpolation Delay is CommandDataInterpolationDelay. I added those and set it to 0 on client, 6 on server

What to synchronize on the character and
Character interpolation

I believe I have both of these taken care of using this GhostVariant script:

Code (CSharp):

1. public class DefaultVariantSystem : DefaultVariantSystemBase {
2.     protected override void RegisterDefaultVariants(Dictionary<ComponentType, Rule> defaultVariants) {
3.         defaultVariants.Add(typeof(LocalTransform), Rule.ForAll(typeof(TransformDefaultVariant)));
4.         defaultVariants.Add(typeof(KinematicCharacterBody), Rule.ForAll(typeof(KinematicCharacterBody_GhostVariant)));
5.     }
6. }
7.  
8. [GhostComponentVariation(typeof(KinematicCharacterBody))]
9. [GhostComponent()]
10. public struct KinematicCharacterBody_GhostVariant {
11.     [GhostField()]
12.     public float3 RelativeVelocity;
13.     [GhostField()]
14.     public bool IsGrounded;
15. }
16.  
17. // Character interpolation must be Client-only, because it would prevent proper LocalToWorld updates on server otherwise
18. [GhostComponentVariation(typeof(CharacterInterpolation))]
19. [GhostComponent(PrefabType = GhostPrefabType.PredictedClient)]
20. public struct CharacterInterpolation_GhostVariant {
21. }
22.  
23. [GhostComponentVariation(typeof(LocalTransform))]
24. [GhostComponent()]
25. public struct LocalTransform_Character {
26.     [GhostField(Smoothing = SmoothingAction.InterpolateAndExtrapolate)]
27.     public float3 Position;
28. }

Prediction
I have double-checked everything here to make sure I have these changes

Player commands
I am using the netcode references here so I believe its fine, the character does move after all

Third Person Character synchronization

Does this mean I must spawn a Camera on the server to get it to work?

I can't use subscenes/baking/authoring with WebGL, so I'm manually spawning prefabs using GhostPrefabCreation. Not sure how to unsync Physics Velocity

Any ideas? Sorry for the long post

 

Hello,

I bought this asset and have been using it on entities 0.5.0 no problem.

Today I wanted to update to entities 1.0, and I found that the asset is deprecated on the store?

Where can I get this asset that is compatible with entities 1.0?

Thanks for the help

 

Nevermind, I just read the last few posts and understand that is a new separate package. I will update to the latest 2022.2 version and download it like that.