Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the BlazerTech Character Management System!
This guide will get you on your feet and teach you the basics of setting up the core for all your characters along with creating and rendering your first character.

This guide will cover the setup process for both Unified and Layered Characters.

Tip

It's recommended to read through the Basic Concepts before reading the Quick Start Guide.

Video Guides

Prefer video guides? I've got you covered!

Covers:

• Layered Character Type Setup.
• Layered Character Template Setup.
• Rendering a layered character from a template.

Covers:

• Unified Character Type Setup.
• Unified Character Template Setup.
• Rendering a unified character from a template.

Note

These videos will become dated fast as I continue to improve the Character Managemnt System.
Finalized versions of these videos will be created close to the full release.

1️⃣Create a Character Type

If you only plan to use the built-in characters you can skip straight to Creating a Character Template.

Create a Character Type asset:

Right click the Project window and navigate to
Create > BlazerTech > Character Management System
and select either Layered Character Type or Unified Character Type.

You can name this asset whatever you'd like.

Tip

Unsure which Character Type to create? Read more about the difference between them here

Character Type Core Fields

The following fields are required regardless of the Character Type you choose.

Character Type ID

A unique identifier for this Character Type. Must not be the same any other Character Types.

Base Spritesheet

The core spritesheet that defines all animations & individual frames that characters of this type will include.
All characters will need to have a spritesheet that is the exact same size as the Base Spritesheet.

The Base Spritesheet will represent all characters of the same type. It's Recommended to make this spritesheet include your most barebones character.

Set Sprite Mode of the spritesheet to Multiple (to slice frames individually).

• Read More → Base Spritesheet

Character Controller (Optional)

You can optionally assign an Animator Controller for characters of this type.
Animations should only use sprites from the Base Spritesheet otherwise they won't be renderered correctly with the Character Shader.

If you’re using your own movement or animator handling scripts, you can configure the Animator Controller however best fits your system. However the Character Management System also includes built-in movement and animator handler scripts Which require the Animator Controller be setup with specific parameters

• Read More → Character Animation Setup

Later in this guide when you learn how to render your character, you’ll see how the Character Controller can be automatically applied when the character is used.

• Read More → Character Shader
• Read More → Character Controller

Important

No further setup is required for Unified Character Types.

Layered Character Type Setup

Layered Characters are composed of multiple layers (eg: Body, Outfit, Hairstyle, Accessory), we need to define what those layers are.
Each layer must be defined as it's own Character Layer Definition Asset.

To create a new layer:

Right click the Project window and navigate to
Create > BlazerTech > Character Management System > Layered Character Type > Character Layer.

Each Character Layer Definition represents a single visual layer and contains a list of possible spritesheets (Called Layer Options)

• Read Character Layers to learn how to properly setup each layer and add Layer Options.

2️⃣Create a Character Template

Once your Character Type is setup, it's time to create a character.
There are many ways to create a character but for this guide we'll be using the simplest one, a Character Template.

You can think of a Character Template as a blueprint that lets you create a character from it later during runtime.

Right click the Project window and navigate to
Create > BlazerTech > Character Management System > Character Templates
and select either Layered Character Template or Unified Character Template.

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Unified Character Template Setup

A Unified Character Template requires:

1. A reference to it's Unified Character Type.
2. A name for the character when it gets created.
3. A reference to the spritesheet of the character.

Spritesheet Requirements:

• Must be the exact same size as the Base Spritesheet assigned in the Character Type and contain the same animations.
• Sprite Mode: Single — We won't be using the spritesheet directly. it'll be passed to the Character Shader.
• Filter Mode: Point (No Filter).
• (Optionally) Compression: None (Generally not needed for pixel art).

That's it! Now go to Character Usage to see it in action.

• Read Also → Unified Character Templates

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Layered Character Template Setup

A Layered Character Template requires a reference to the Layered Character Type. As well as a name for the character when it gets created.

Once the Character Type has been assigned, a list of layers will appear. These are the same layers you setup in the Layered Character Type.

Each entry lets you select a Layer Option through a dropdown.
Additionally the search bar can be used to narrow down the list.

Tip

If the layers list ever appears incorrect or invalid, click Recreate List at the bottom to refresh the list.
(Note: This will reset any selected options)

• Read Also → Layered Character Templates

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3️⃣Character Usage

The easiest way to use a character is with a Character Renderer component.

If you're using a Unified Character Type add the Unified Character Template Renderer component.
If you're using a Layered Character Type add the Layered Character Template Renderer component.

Character Renderer Fields

The following fields are required for all Character Renderers.

References

Field	Description
Renderer	Typically a Sprite Renderer. The Character Shader will be applied to this.
Set Animator Controller	Toggles whether to use the Character Controller from the Character Type.
Animator	The Animator component to assign the controller to.

Loading Settings

Field	Description
Loading Mode	Asynchronous: loads in the background without freezing gameplay. Synchronous: loads immediately but may briefly freeze the game.
Load Character On Start	Automatically loads the character in Start(). If disabled, GetAndShowCharacter() must be called manually.

Template Reference

At the bottom of the component, assign your Character Template (Unified or Layered).
This defines which character is created at runtime.

4️⃣Test Your Character

Now enter Play Mode.
If Load Character On Start is enabled then you'll see your character in-gama.

Congrats!
You now have your first working character! Creating more is as easy as creating and setting up a new Character Template.

Happy game making!