Use Mecanim in conjunction with props

Wow, it's been a while since I've been on here. It's nice to be back, especially since I have managed to round up a team of four other people and can actually bring something to the table now.

I've taken on the role of animator/level designer for the game(s).

We know what game we're working on (Octane, for anyone who remembers me from several months ago. Everyone is on board for it).

Our plan is to make two small one-level FPSs, just to test out the mechanics/AI/Scripted events, then to move on to the full game. Think the Bots demo.

I've decided to see what I can do in Mecanim in place of standard animations, mainly because I like the raw power of Mecanim. If the website doesn't lie, it's a pure beast.

Anyways, my question is this, and forgive me if it's been answered before: Can you make animations with props, and if so, how?

Like, say I have a character running with a gun in his hands. How do I go about making that happen. Can I do it all in Mecanim? Or do I have to use the old animator for the guns? And what about reload animations, etc.

Basically, is Mecanim capable of using props or is it restricted to just the character?

Sorry if this is unclear; I'm tired.

Thanks!

 

You can use it with props by setting your props and their animations to "Generic" instead of "Humanoid". However, your props need to have bones to use mecanim. Animating non-rigged props with mecanim is very tedious...at least for the moment.

 

So I don't have to put them in separate animations? I can animate the gun along with the running character?