Animation FX
SDX's native Animation FX engine uses Sequencer to play item and event effects. Bundled presets cover spells, weapons, common NPC attacks, equipped weapon sprites, torches, and level-up indicators.
- Sequencer is required by the current module manifest.
- A JB2A pack supplies the visual database entries used by most bundled presets.
- psfx is optional and supplies sound files. Missing psfx audio should fail silent, not stop the visual.
- Automated Animations is optional.
Go to Configure Settings → Shadowdark Extras → Configure Animations.
The manager groups presets into:
| Category | Matches |
|---|---|
| Spells / Scrolls / Wands | Spell-like item names |
| Weapons | Attack effects for weapon names |
| NPC Attacks | Natural and named monster attacks |
| Equipped Weapon Sprites | Persistent art attached to equipped weapons |
| Ambient & Events | Torch/light types and level-up animation |
Each category can be enabled independently.
A master preset contains a name pattern. One preset can therefore cover normal, magic, or suffixed variants of an item name. When more than one pattern matches, the most specific match wins.
Resolution order:
- enabled per-item override;
- most-specific master-list name match;
- category default.
The item Activity panel deliberately reports No preset when only a generic category fallback exists; it does not imply that a named preset was inherited.
An active GM seeds the bundled defaults once in a new world. Seeding merges missing keys. After that:
- editing a preset preserves the edit;
- deleting a preset preserves the deletion;
- a later module update does not continuously overwrite world choices.
Use Seed Default Presets when you explicitly want to merge defaults again. Review the result if you maintain custom patterns.
A typical preset defines:
- label and name-match pattern;
- effect type, such as projectile, cone, on-token, or persistent;
- hit file;
- optional miss file;
- sound;
- scale/geometry appropriate to the type.
The Sequencer Database browser helps select registered entries. A thumbnail previews image/video media; hovering a video can play it inline. Select a token before using the canvas preview.
Some database paths are prefixes. Distance-aware projectile paths may intentionally resolve a suitable leaf, while a prefix containing unrelated shapes should be pinned to a specific entry.
Open a Spell, Scroll, or Wand and expand Animation FX on the Activity tab.
With the override off:
- the panel shows inherited master values read-only;
- its badge names the inherited preset or says No preset;
- opening the sheet does not copy world values into the item.
Turn the override on to capture/edit item-specific values. Turn it off to clear the override and resume live inheritance.
The panel supports:
- effect and miss files;
- sound with audition;
- media thumbnail;
- canvas preview;
- inherited/override status.
Hold Shift while previewing where supported to test the miss variant.
Equipped Weapon Sprites display a weapon or shield image on the token:
- bundled art/presets cover common weapon categories;
- per-item configuration can override the master match;
- offset, scale, rotation, anchor, and PIXI filters control placement;
- idle wobble/bob/float/rotation can animate the sprite;
- an item can be configured to appear only during an attack.
The per-item weapon animation configuration takes precedence over the master sprite match.
The Ambient & Events section controls the animation file for:
- torch;
- lantern;
- oil;
- candle;
- light-spell variants;
- level-up readiness.
Torch geometry such as per-light offset/scale remains part of the torch system; the master manager owns the chosen animation file.
Sound enablement, volume, and animation scale are per-client controls in the manager. A GM can define a sound path in the world preset without forcing every client to hear it at the same volume.
When AA is active and SDX integration is enabled:
- AA is filtered to successful workflows;
- targetless utility spells can be allowed separately;
- AA is suppressed for an item already animated by SDX;
- one attack/cast should produce one owned effect, not two.
If you prefer AA for a particular item, remove/disable the SDX match or item override and configure AA normally.
Every spell preview is blank. Check whether JB2A registered its Sequencer database namespace. Current SDX versions repair the common load-order failure, but JB2A must still be installed and active.
Animation shape changes randomly. The preset probably points to a database prefix with multiple shapes. Select a concrete leaf in the browser.
Visual plays but no audio. Enable sound for this client, raise volume, and install the source sound pack if the preset uses psfx.
Effect plays twice. Confirm SDX's Automated Animations integration is on and that another workflow module is not independently listening to the same chat message.
Historical messages replay after refresh. Hard-refresh after updating; current versions ignore messages created before the client load epoch.
Cleanup logs a Sequencer ticker error. Update SDX. Current cleanup guards half-initialized effects so one bad effect cannot strand the rest.
Related: Spell Automation · Combat & Damage · Settings Reference