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Advice needed regarding legacy Spine animations

zian

Hello,

We're reaching out for some advice regarding our Unity3D app for kids, which features thousands of Spine animations, some dating back to 2017. Our challenge is how to keep our legacy Spine content updated so that we can utilise the latest versions of Spine.

When we attempted to update the Spine software, it broke our legacy animations because the Spine export and Unity3D import versions needed to match; otherwise, the animations either failed to load or broke.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of animations (our app is filled with mini-games, touch books, etc.), manually updating each one is not feasible. The last time we tried updating, we had to revert to a previous version (3.7.94) to fix the broken animations.

We've heard Spine is incorporating AI into its software, and we are eager to use this new feature. However, updating to incorporate AI might again break our existing animations.

Are there any workarounds or best practices to help us manage this transition without disrupting our existing content? Any advice regarding our legacy animations will be much appreciated.

Misaki

zian First of all, regarding Spine incorporating AI into its software, there is no such additional functionality. The recent addition of physics allows you to set bones to move automatically based on their parent bone, but that is not what you would call AI.

Upgrading from 3.7 to 3.8 should be relatively easy, but unfortunately 3.8 to 4.0 may change animations, especially the rotation behavior, and should be done with caution. However, I don't think there should always be a problem with all animations, so it should only be some of the animations that need fixing. I'm not sure what the situation was when you tried to upgrade before, but I think you should be careful not to mistake it for a problem with the Spine editor or because your Unity project was not properly adjusted for the runtime upgrade. If you had a very large animation break at the time, it was probably not handled properly on the Unity project side.

I'm afraid my answer is vague, but I think there's very little advice that can be given in general for any Unity project. In some cases there is little or no problem with upgrading, while in other cases it can be complicated if you are customizing the runtime code itself.
If you notice major discrepancies in animation behavior when trying to upgrade, please contact us as suggested by Spinebot.

Spinebot

To manage the transition of your legacy Spine animations to newer versions without disrupting your existing content, here are some best practices and workarounds:

Batch Export and Import: Use the command line interface to batch export your animations from the older Spine version and re-import them into the newer version. This can significantly reduce manual effort. You can find more details on batch exporting here.
Version Matching: Ensure that the Spine Editor version used to export your skeleton files matches the Spine-Unity runtime version. For example, if you are using Spine 3.7, make sure your Unity runtime is also 3.7. This avoids compatibility issues. More information on version management can be found here.
Automate Workflow: Automate your workflow via scripting to copy animations at the Spine project level and ensure they are exported correctly for each skeleton project. This can be done using editor scripting in Unity to automatically create and assign each AnimationReferenceAsset for each imported skeleton according to a template. This approach saves manual repetitive work and ensures everything plays back correctly.
Minimal Project Testing: Before fully transitioning, create a minimal Unity project with a subset of your animations and test the update process. This helps identify potential issues without affecting your entire project.
Consultation and Support: If you encounter specific issues, consider sending a minimal version of your project to Esoteric Software for direct assistance. They can provide targeted help and ensure a smoother transition.

By following these practices, you can better manage the transition to newer Spine versions while minimizing disruptions to your existing content.