In this article:
The new Smartsuit Pro II locomotion engine introduces a foundational upgrade to Rokoko Studio, delivering significantly smoother and more natural motion capture results. This article explains how the update works, highlights what’s improved, and guides users on enabling or reverting the new engine, as well as best practices for high-quality recording.
Important
Update Rokoko Studio to 2.5.0 to gain access to the NEW Locomotion filter. See Release notes
Overview of the Locomotion Engine Upgrade
Rokoko’s latest update for the Smartsuit Pro II fundamentally changes how the locomotion engine interprets user movements, resulting in more lifelike and accurate mocap data. The upgrade incorporates new pose calculations and improved algorithms for interpreting walking, running, and complex movement. These improvements aim to eliminate previous issues like unwanted hip dipping, knee popping, or artifacts that could diminish the subtlety of actor performance.
Key Benefits of the Update
- Smoother and More Natural Motion: The update delivers noticeably clearer motion, especially in real time and during recordings involving running, walking, and rapid direction changes.
- Improved Footlock: Footlock calculations are now more precise by default, helping actors achieve better results right from the start, although manual adjustment is recommended for peak precision.
- Real-Time and Recorded Enhancements: While improvements are visible in real time, maximum quality is achieved when reviewing and processing recorded clips, due to advanced post-recording algorithms.
- Seamless Transition: The new locomotion engine becomes the default in Rokoko Studio automatically. No manual action is needed to activate it, although it’s possible to revert to the previous engine if needed.
How to Access and Adjust the Locomotion Engine
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Default Setting: Once the latest Rokoko Studio update is installed, the new engine is activated automatically for all users.
- Reverting to the Legacy Engine: Users who prefer the older system or have specific animation needs can select Legacy Locomotion from the Details panel. For certain actions, the previous engine may still be preferable, though the new version should outperform it in most cases.
Attention: If you want to return to Legacy Locomotion after a recording using the new version, you must reset footlocks to their original values. This will result in the loss of any cleanup work you have done. All previous clips will be loaded with Legacy Locomotion enabled because they were recorded with that engine.
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Split Segment: You can now split a segment in the middle. Right click on top of a segment and choose the "Split Segment" option.
- Fill Segment: You can fill spaces between segments. Right click on an empty space and choose the "Fill Segment" option. This will merge the segments left and right of the selected space by filling the in-between empty space.
Best Practices
- Record for Best Quality: Recording mocap data permits Rokoko Studio to perform additional advanced processing for higher animation fidelity. This step is essential for extracting the full advantages of the new engine.
- Manual Footlock Pass/Cleanup Process: Even with more delicate footlock calculations, a brief manual review ensures top-tier results for professional-quality mocap.
- Post-Processing Tools: Users are encouraged to use Rokoko Studio Preview’s* smoothing and looping features to fine-tune results further before exporting.
For a visual demonstration of the new engine and its benefits, watch the official overview video.
* The new Locomotion engine-created clips cannot be loaded into Rokoko Studio Preview. An update is in the works. :)