No-Code Integration

Creature Kit includes a small no-code friendly bridge for Unity Events, Unity Animation Clips, Timeline, and Visual Scripting.

Use BeastAnimationBridge when you want simple actions and animatable pose values without writing C# gameplay code.

Keep the generated BeastAnimationBridge API reference nearby when authoring: it is the complete list of clip controls, animatable channel pose properties, setters, and reset methods exposed by the bridge.

Scope

The bridge is intentionally smaller than BeastAnimator.

Clip mode starts and stops Beast clips and changes clip parameters.
Channel mode sets pose values only.
Procedural channel animation remains part of the C# API.

Clip Mode

Clip methods are simple event targets:

PlayIdle()
PlayWalk()
PlayRush()
PlaySearchRun()
PlayWait()
PlayStunned()
PlayTakeoff()
PlayLanding()
StopClip()

Clip parameters are exposed as single-float setters so they are easy to call from Unity Events or Visual Scripting:

SetWalkSpeed(float value)
SetSearchRunSpeed(float value)
SetWalkCyclesPerSecond(float value)
SetWalkStrideLength(float value)
SetRushSpeed(float value)
SetRushCyclesPerSecond(float value)
SetRushStrideLength(float value)
SetWalkTailYawDegrees(float value)
SetRushMouthOpenDegrees(float value)
SetIdleNeckPitchDegrees(float value)

Channel Pose Mode

Channel methods do not start looping animation. They set a pose.

For pose methods, weight controls how strongly the manual pose is applied. 0 leaves the generated rest pose, 1 applies the full pose, and intermediate values interpolate between them. Applying a pose takes ownership of that channel until the pose is reset.

SetBodyPose(float weight, float bobHeight, float lungeLength, float pitchDegrees, float rollDegrees)
ResetBodyPose()
SetHeadPose(float weight, float bobHeight, float pitchDegrees, float yawDegrees, float rollDegrees)
ResetHeadPose()
SetEarPose(float weight, float flapDegrees, float pitchDegrees, float yawDegrees)
ResetEarPose()
SetEyeLookPose(float weight, float yawDegrees, float pitchDegrees)
ResetEyeLookPose()
SetEyeOpeningPose(float opening)
ResetEyeOpeningPose()
SetTailPose(float weight, float pitchDegrees, float yawDegrees, float rollDegrees)
ResetTailPose()
SetMouthOpeningPose(float openDegrees)
ResetMouthOpeningPose()
SetNeckPose(float weight, float bobHeight, float pitchDegrees, float yawDegrees)
ResetNeckPose()
SetLegPose(int legIndex, float weight, float upperPitchDegrees, float lowerPitchDegrees, float footPitchDegrees)
ResetLegPose()

opening uses 0 for closed eyelids and 1 for open eyelids.

For legs, legIndex uses the same stable order as the C# API: 0 applies the pose to all legs, 1 is front-left, 2 is front-right, then numbering continues by pair toward the rear.

The bridge inspector exposes conservative ranges for keyframing:

Pose group	Range
Pose weights	`0` to `1`
Body offsets	`-0.5` to `0.5`
Body angles	`-40` to `40` degrees
Head angles	`-60` to `60` degrees
Ear angles	`-90` to `90` degrees
Eye look angles	`-45` to `45` degrees
Eye opening	`0` closed to `1` open
Tail angles	`-70` to `70` degrees
Mouth opening	`0` to `70` degrees
Neck angles	`-40` to `40` degrees
Leg FK angles	`-120` to `120` degrees

Unity Animation Clips

For keyframed Unity Animation Clips, keyframe the pose fields exposed by BeastAnimationBridge.

This lets Unity animate the value while the bridge applies it to the Beast body, head, ears, eyes, eyelids, tail, mouth, neck, or legs.

The Apply ... Pose options decide which pose groups can be applied every frame. They are enabled by default for no-code workflows, but a neutral rest pose does not take ownership of a channel. When a keyed value moves away from rest, the bridge applies that pose; when it returns to rest, the channel is released so Beast clips can drive it again. The bridge inspector provides Enable All Poses and Disable All Poses buttons for quick tests.

The no-code bridge does not try to reproduce the procedural channel animation API. Instead, it exposes stable pose fields that Unity's Animator, Timeline, and Visual Scripting can animate directly.

The DemoNoCodeBeastChannelsAnimation scene demonstrates this workflow with a regular Unity Animator and Animation Clips that keyframe BeastAnimationBridge pose fields.

Demo Clips

The no-code demo includes reusable Unity Animation Clips in:

Assets/CreatureKit/Beasts/Demos/NoCode/BeastClipChannelAnimation

The demo clips include:

BeastBlink.anim
BeastBodyBob.anim
BeastTailSway.anim
BeastMouthOpen.anim

These files are shipped demo assets. They are not generated by a Creature Kit editor command.

Use them as starting points: duplicate a demo clip into your own project folder, drag it into an Animator Controller, then adjust its keyframes in Unity's Animation window.

Creating an Animation Clip

Select the Beast GameObject, then use:
```
Tools > Creature Kit > Beasts > Add Beast Bridge (no-code) To Selected Beast
```
This adds BeastAnimationBridge and also adds BeastAnimator if it is missing.
Add an Animator component to the Beast GameObject if it does not already have one.

The Beast GameObject should now contain:
```
BeastStructure
BeastAnimator
BeastAnimationBridge
Animator
```
Create an Animator Controller in the Project window.
Assign that controller to the Beast Animator component.
Create an Animation Clip in the Project window.
Drag the Animation Clip into the Animator Controller. This creates an Animator state that uses the clip.
Select the Beast GameObject in the Hierarchy.
Open Window > Animation > Animation (see note below).
Select the clip from the Animation window clip list.
Use Add Property > BeastAnimationBridge and add the pose fields you want to keyframe.

Note: to keyframe bridge values, select the Beast GameObject first, then open Window > Animation > Animation. Do not double-click the .anim asset in the Project window, because Unity will not have the GameObject context needed to show BeastAnimationBridge properties.

For a first eyelid blink test:

Keep Apply Eye Opening Pose enabled on BeastAnimationBridge.
Add Eye Opening Pose to the Animation Clip.
Keyframe Eye Opening Pose from 1 to 0 and back to 1.

1 keeps the eyelids open. 0 closes them.

If the Animation window does not show BeastAnimationBridge, make sure the selected object is the GameObject that owns both the Animator and the BeastAnimationBridge. Opening the .anim file directly from the Project window does not give Unity that GameObject context, so component properties may not appear.

Animator State Clips

For high-level Beast clips such as Idle, Walk, Rush, Search Run, Wait, Stunned, Takeoff, and Landing, prefer BeastClipStateBehaviour instead of Animation Events.

Add BeastClipStateBehaviour to a state in a Unity Animator Controller, then choose the Beast clip in the state behaviour inspector:

Clip: Idle / Walk / Rush / SearchRun / Wait / Stunned / Takeoff / Landing / None
Stop On State Exit: optional

When the Unity Animator enters that state, the behaviour finds BeastAnimationBridge on the animated GameObject and plays the selected Beast clip. This keeps clip selection in the Animator state graph instead of hiding it inside Animation Event markers.

Typical setup:

Animator Controller
  State Idle
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = Idle
  State Walk
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = Walk
  State Rush
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = Rush
  State Search
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = SearchRun
  State Takeoff
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = Takeoff
  State Landing
    BeastClipStateBehaviour Clip = Landing

Animation Events

Unity Animation Events can call methods on components attached to the animated GameObject.

Animation Events are useful for one-shot commands at a specific frame. For Beast clip commands inside Animation Events, use the bridge methods whose names start with AnimationEvent:

AnimationEventPlayIdle()
AnimationEventPlayWalk()
AnimationEventPlayRush()
AnimationEventPlaySearchRun()
AnimationEventPlayWait()
AnimationEventPlayStunned()
AnimationEventPlayTakeoff()
AnimationEventPlayLanding()
AnimationEventStopClip()

These methods are simple wrappers around the regular bridge clip methods. Their names are intentionally unique because Unity Animation Events resolve functions by name across components on the same GameObject. If both BeastAnimator and BeastAnimationBridge expose a method named PlayRush, Unity can show a duplicated function warning.

To use one:

Select the Beast GameObject in the Hierarchy.
Open Window > Animation > Animation.
Select the Animation Clip.
Add an Event at the desired frame.
In Function, choose BeastAnimationBridge.AnimationEventPlayRush or another AnimationEvent... method.

Visual Scripting

Visual Scripting can call the bridge methods directly. Prefer the bridge over the full BeastAnimator API when building no-code graphs, because it avoids overloaded methods and long multi-parameter channel animation calls.