Introduce a puppet vtable hook to preserve networked locomotion Speed and fix proxy cadence. Added F4TProxyPuppet (header + impl) which installs an Actor::Update hook that writes the desired graph Speed and calls UpdateNoAI for proxy actors so the engine does not recompute/zero Speed from controller velocity. Publish active proxy FormIDs and per-proxy desired speeds so the hook targets only proxy actors.
Wire animationGraphSpeed through networking: parse/send a new "animationGraphSpeed" field and store it on RemotePlayerState. Proxy animation sync now prefers the authoritative animationGraphSpeed when present, otherwise maps movementSpeed ~1:1 to graph Speed (with sprint floor and clamping). Added graph variables speedSampled/speedDamped alongside Speed and updated snapshot population and diagnostics. Removed character-controller velocity injection (was causing physics/animation conflicts) and adjusted proxy movement logic to rely on graph variables plus kinematic SetPosition.
Also: Publish puppet diagnostics from the controller, add sender-side local graph speed read diagnostic, update fake_player to compute and send animationGraphSpeed, and append detailed dev-log entries describing the root cause, diagnostics, and fixes. Build and runtime diagnostics added to verify hook behavior and cadence changes.
Add a short "moving" hold to reduce flicker when movement briefly stops. Introduces a 300ms stop-hold for both proxy animation sync and local player movement sampling: add chrono include and movingHoldUntil to ProxyAppliedAnimationState, a kProxyMovingStopHoldDuration constant, ApplyMovingHoldState and BuildDebouncedDesiredState in F4TProxyAnimationSync, and replace direct desired-state usage with the debounced version. In main.cpp add kMovementStopHoldDuration, ResolveMovementHoldState, refactor BuildPlayerMovementState, add an overloaded GetPlayerMovementState, and separate debug vs network sampling (with separate movingHoldUntil variables) so logging uses per-frame debug state while network sends use the debounced network state. Also gate diagnostic logging behind a flag. These changes aim to stabilize isMoving/isSprinting transitions and avoid rapid toggles between frames and network updates.
Investigation summary:
- Tested velocity-based animation triggering: graph variable writes, animation
events, character controller velocity manipulation, and Move() API calls
- All approaches failed: animations do not play on SetPosition-backed proxy actors
- Root cause: Fallout 4's animation system requires active AIProcess-driven
locomotion packages, which are incompatible with networked puppet actors
- Fallout 4's animation system fundamentally ties animation evaluation to the
character controller's actual velocity AND active AI-driven locomotion state
- PlaceAtMe proxies updated via SetPosition cannot provide either requirement
Proxy actors currently work correctly for:
- Smooth position synchronization
- Heading/rotation updates
- Jump animations (via Z-position)
- Network sync and lifecycle
What remains impossible without deep engine access:
- Walk/run/sneak animation playback
- Animation graph variable manipulation affecting behavior
- Character controller velocity synthesis for puppets
Recommendation: Accept this architectural limitation and provide alternative
visual feedback (particles, glows, state indicators) instead of animations.
Files changed:
- plugin/src/F4TProxyActorController.cpp: Reverted to SetPosition-only approach
- docs/dev-log.md: Added comprehensive investigation summary and conclusions
Co-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>
andrew
