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Requirements

• URP or HDRP is the active render pipeline.
• The character has a SkinnedMeshRenderer and an Animator, or an Animator Controller you can assign.
• Optimize Game Objects is off on the model import settings, Rig tab, so the bake can sample the bones.

Installation

1. In Unity, open Window → Package Manager and install the Vertex Animator package.
2. If the project uses HDRP, import Vertex Animator HDRP after the main package is installed: double-click Vertex Animator HDRP.unitypackage in the Assets\NOT_Lonely\Vertex Animator folder and import it.

Bake animations

1. Open Tools → NOT_Lonely → Vertex Animator → Vertex Animator Baker.

2. Assign Source: a project prefab with a SkinnedMeshRenderer. The Animator Controller fills in from Source when it can.

3. Set Character Name, Sample Rate, and Shared Material (Create one with the VAT Shader Graph Sample shader).

4. Leave Fill Controller, Create VAT Prefab, and Bake Vertex Normals on.

5. Click the Bake button at the bottom of the window and choose an output folder.

Now you can use the generated {Source}_VAT from the output folder in your scene.

The locomotion animations will be played automatically if you add a NavMeshAgent and your movement script on this object.

More details about the baking options see on the Baking page.

Set up a player (manual)

Skip this when Create VAT Prefab already made {Source}_VAT.

1. Create a GameObject with a MeshFilter and MeshRenderer using the same mesh that was baked.
2. Add Vertex Anim Player and assign the Vertex Anim Controller.
3. Assign Mesh Renderer and Mesh Filter if they stayed empty.
4. Add Vertex Anim Locomotion Driver when movement should drive Idle and the four directions.

Drive non-locomotion clips from code (optional)

Idle and walk already come from the locomotion driver. Use a trigger for attacks, hits, death, and other OneShot or Loop states. Fill Controller names each trigger after the state.

using NOT_Lonely.VertexAnimator.Runtime;
using UnityEngine;

public class SimpleVatDemo : MonoBehaviour
{
    static readonly int AttackHash = VertexAnimPlayer.StringToHash("Attack");

    [SerializeField] VertexAnimPlayer player;

    void Update()
    {
        if (Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Space))
            player.SetTrigger(AttackHash); // or player.SetTrigger("Attack")
    }
}

Playback API: Runtime. Who calls Tick: Manual Update. Crowds: Instanced Rendering.