In order to map our exported animation to our character we will need to create a Character Parameters file (chrparams). The chrparams XML file is where we can define the animation set our character will use in the engine. There are also other definitions you can add to the chrparams file of your character, such as the level of detail (LOD), Look and Aim IK definitions, and more. For a full list of all the available definitions you can add to the chrparams file, please refer to the CRYENGINE documentation at http://docs.cryengine.com/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1310814.

There are a couple of rules we need to follow when creating the chrparams file. First, the file needs to be saved where the CHR of the character is located. Second, the name of the file needs to match the name of the character CHR. In our case, that would be boris_skel.chrparams. Since we can't export chrparams files from the engine, we will create the file manually. Using any text editor, add these few lines of code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Params>
 <AnimationList>
   <Animation name="#Filepath" path="animationsBoris"/>
   <Animation name="*" path="**.caf"/>
 </AnimationList>
</Params>

The #Filepath command points the engine to the folder where the animations of this character are exported to. In Animation name, you can assign any game name to your animation file. Using the asterisk symbol (*) to represent the animation name will allow you to use your animation file names in the game. Otherwise, you would have to add every animation in the animation folder or its subfolders and give each one of them a unique name. If we are going to use this method for our walk cycle, then the code would look like this:

<Animation name="walkCycle01" path="boris_walkCycle01.caf"/>

Here we assigned an in-game name walkCycle01 to the boris_walkCycle01.caf file. Although in our case it is not a big deal to add our animation and give it an in-game name in the engine, you can imagine how much time you can save using the wildcard mapping if you have lots of animation files for your character. Adding line by line each animation you have can lead to an unnecessarily long and messy chrparams file.

Setting the path parameter to **.caf will include all the animations in the animationsanimationsBoris folder and also its subfolders if you decided to have any. Finally save the file as boris_skel.chrparams in our Boris folder in Objects. As mentioned before the chrparams file needs to be saved in the same location as the character's CHR file.

As you have probably noticed, we are loading CAF files in our chrparams file, which are simply the compressed i_caf files. Our final step to be able to load the boris_walkCycle01 animation in the engine is to compress it using the Animation Import pane. In Sandbox, go to View | Open View Pane | Animation Import. On the right-hand side of the Animation Import window, you will see a list of CHR skeletons in-game and on the top-left side you can see our boris_walkCycle01.i_caf file.

The skeletons section is simply a representation of the SkeletonList.xml file that you can find in the Animations folder. We will need to add our boris_skel.chr skeleton to the SkeletonList file as well so we can compress our character's animations. You can add CHR skeletons to the file manually, but we will use the Animation Import window instead. Make sure the SkeletonList.xml file is writable. At the bottom of the Skeletons section, in the Animation Import pane, click on the Add button. Browse to our boris_skel.chr file in the Boris folder in Objects and select it.

Now, you should see our skeleton added to the list, as shown in the following screenshot:

Select our animation in the Animations section on the right and double-click on boris_skel entry in the skeletons list. You should see our skeleton added to the Skeleton field in the Animation Settings panel, as shown in the following screenshot.

Now, click on the Save button at the bottom of the panel to save our settings and we should be done compressing our animation. If everything goes correctly, you should see these lines in the console:

Task Completed: Compression of 'Animations/Animations/Boris/boris_walkCycle01.caf'
Task Completed: Reload CHRPARAMS

In our Boris animation folder, you should now see the boris_walkCycle01.caf file and the boris_walkCycle01.animsettings file. The animation settings file is created for each animation and holds its compression settings that we saved in the Animation Import pane. To see the animation, open the Character Editor and load our boris.cdf file from the Boris folder in Objects. In the Animation panel on the right-hand side of the Character Editor window, you should see our boris animation folder and our boris_walkCycle01.caf file inside, as shown in the following screenshot: