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Quick Start Guide

Get your first Motion Matching character up and running in 30 minutes.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • Unity 2020.3 LTS or newer (2022.3 LTS recommended)
  • MxM installed - See Installation Guide
  • Humanoid or Generic rigged character with animation clips
  • 10-20 animation clips minimum (locomotion recommended for first test)

First Time with Motion Matching?

Motion Matching works differently than traditional animators. Instead of setting up state machines and transitions, you'll be creating an animation database that the system searches in real-time.

Step 1: Prepare Your Animation Clips

What You Need

For a basic locomotion setup, gather these animation types:

Animation Type Quantity Examples
Idle 1-2 clips Standing idle, breathing
Walk 2-4 clips Walk forward, walk strafe left/right
Run 2-4 clips Run forward, run strafe left/right
Turns 2-4 clips (optional) Turn 90°, turn 180°
Starts/Stops 2-4 clips (optional) Start from idle, stop to idle

Animation Requirements

  • All clips must use the same rig/skeleton
  • Clips should have consistent FPS (30 or 60 recommended)
  • Root motion should be baked into the animations
  • Motion capture data produces the best results

Import Settings

For each animation clip:

  1. Select the animation file in Unity
  2. In the Inspector, set:
  3. Rig: Humanoid (or Generic if appropriate)
  4. Root Transform Rotation: Bake Into Pose
  5. Root Transform Position (Y): Bake Into Pose
  6. Root Transform Position (XZ): Based Upon → Original
  7. Click Apply

Step 2: Create the MxM Anim Data Asset

The Anim Data asset is the heart of MxM - it's your pre-processed animation database.

Create the Asset

  1. Right-click in your Project window
  2. Create → MxM → Anim Data
  3. Name it descriptively (e.g., PlayerLocomotion_AnimData)

Configure Basic Settings

Select your new Anim Data asset and configure:

General Settings

Setting Value Notes
Pose Interval 0.1 seconds Lower = more poses = smoother but slower
Blending Mode Inertial Blending Standard for most characters

Skeleton Configuration

  1. Click "Configure Skeleton"
  2. Select key joints for matching:

Minimum Setup: - Hips (root) - Left Foot - Right Foot

Recommended Setup (better quality): - Hips (root) - Left Foot / Right Foot - Left Hand / Right Hand - Head (optional)

  1. Set Joint Weights:
  2. Feet: 1.0 (critical for foot placement)
  3. Hands: 0.7 (important for upper body)
  4. Hips: 0.8 (critical for root motion)
  5. Head: 0.5 (less critical)

Trajectory Configuration

Configure how far the system looks ahead:

Trajectory Point Time Offset Recommended Weight
Point 1 0.2s ahead 1.0
Point 2 0.4s ahead 0.8
Point 3 0.6s ahead 0.6

Trajectory Points

More trajectory points = better prediction but slower search. 3 points is a good starting balance.

Step 3: Add Animation Clips

Now add your animation clips to the database:

Create a Composite

Composites group related animations together.

  1. In your Anim Data asset, click "Add Composite"
  2. Name it (e.g., "Locomotion")
  3. Set Type: Standard Composite

Add Clips to Composite

  1. Click "Add Clips" in the composite section
  2. Select all your locomotion animation clips
  3. Click "Add"

Configure Clips

For each clip in the list:

  1. Review settings - Most defaults are fine
  2. Tag clips (optional but recommended):
  3. Add tag "Walk" to walk clips
  4. Add tag "Run" to run clips
  5. Add tag "Idle" to idle clips

Tags are powerful

Tags let you control which animations are available at runtime. For example, you can disable "Run" animations when the character is crouching.

Step 4: Pre-Process the Database

This is where MxM analyzes your animations and builds the searchable database.

Start Processing

  1. Scroll to the bottom of your Anim Data inspector
  2. Click "Pre-Process"
  3. Wait - This can take 5-30 minutes depending on:
  4. Number of clips
  5. Clip lengths
  6. Pose interval setting
  7. Your computer's performance

What's Happening

During pre-processing, MxM:

  1. Samples poses at the specified interval (every 0.1s)
  2. Calculates trajectories for each pose
  3. Builds feature vectors for fast searching
  4. Creates acceleration structures (KD-trees)

Processing Time

  • 10 clips @ 0.1s interval: ~5 minutes
  • 50 clips @ 0.1s interval: ~15-20 minutes
  • 100 clips @ 0.05s interval: ~30+ minutes

Go grab coffee - this is a one-time setup!

Verify Success

After processing:

  • Green clips: Successfully processed
  • Red clips: Errors (check console for details)
  • Pose count: Should show total poses extracted

Step 5: Set Up Your Character

Now let's apply MxM to your character in the scene.

Add the Character

  1. Drag your character into the scene
  2. Ensure it has an Animator component
  3. The Animator Controller can be empty or basic

Add MxMAnimator Component

  1. Select your character in the Hierarchy
  2. Click Add Component
  3. Search for "MxMAnimator"
  4. Click to add

Configure MxMAnimator

In the MxMAnimator component:

References

  1. Anim Data: Drag your PlayerLocomotion_AnimData asset here
  2. Animator: Auto-assigned (or drag your Animator)
  3. Transform: Auto-assigned (root transform)

Runtime Settings

Setting Recommended Value Description
Update Mode Normal Standard update timing
Blend Time 0.3 seconds Transition smoothness
Playback Speed 1.0 Normal speed
Search Frequency Every Frame Best quality (can optimize later)

Step 6: Set Up Input and Trajectory

MxM needs to know where the character wants to go.

Add Trajectory Generator

  1. Select your character
  2. Click Add Component
  3. Search for "MxMTrajectoryGenerator"
  4. Click to add

Create Input Profile

  1. Right-click in Project window
  2. Create → MxM → Input Profile
  3. Name it (e.g., PlayerInputProfile)

Configure Input Profile

Select your Input Profile:

  1. Input Type: Choose based on your project:
  2. Unity Input System (new Input System)
  3. Legacy Input Manager (old Input.GetAxis)

  4. Custom (scripted input)

  5. Movement Bindings:

  6. Horizontal Axis: "Horizontal" (A/D or Left/Right)

  7. Vertical Axis: "Vertical" (W/S or Up/Down)

  8. Trajectory Settings:

Setting Value Description
Max Speed 5.0 Maximum movement speed
Acceleration 10.0 How quickly speed ramps up
Responsiveness 0.8 Path prediction smoothness
  1. Select your character
  2. In MxMTrajectoryGenerator:
  3. Input Profile: Drag your PlayerInputProfile
  4. MxM Animator: Drag the MxMAnimator (or auto-link)

Step 7: Test Your Character

Time to see motion matching in action!

Enter Play Mode

  1. Click Play in Unity
  2. Use WASD or arrow keys to move

What to Expect

If working correctly: - Character smoothly blends between animations - Movement feels responsive to input - Transitions happen automatically without setup - Foot placement looks natural

If something's wrong: - Character frozen: Check Anim Data is assigned - Jerky movement: Increase Blend Time - No response to input: Verify Input Profile settings - Sliding feet: Re-check root motion settings on clips

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Character Doesn't Move

Check: - Is Anim Data assigned to MxMAnimator? - Is Anim Data fully pre-processed (no red clips)? - Is Input Profile assigned to Trajectory Generator? - Do animation clips have root motion enabled?

Animations Look Jerky

Solutions: - Increase Blend Time (try 0.4-0.5s) - Decrease Pose Interval (more poses = smoother) - Check animation FPS consistency

Character Slides/Doesn't Follow Trajectory

Check: - Root motion settings on animation clips - Trajectory Generator Max Speed matches animation speeds - Character Controller or Rigidbody isn't conflicting

Poor Performance / Low FPS

Optimize: - Increase Pose Interval (fewer poses = faster) - Reduce Trajectory Points - Lower Search Frequency (every 2-3 frames) - Reduce number of joints in skeleton setup

Next Steps

Expand Your Setup

Now that you have basic locomotion working:

  1. Add more animations - Jumps, attacks, interactions
  2. Use Tags - Create contextual animation sets
  3. Create Events - Trigger gameplay events from animations
  4. Tune quality - Adjust weights and timings

Learn More

Quick Reference Checklist

Use this checklist for future characters:

  • Import animation clips with correct settings
  • Create Anim Data asset
  • Configure skeleton (joints + weights)
  • Configure trajectory points
  • Add clips to composite
  • Pre-process database (wait for completion)
  • Add MxMAnimator to character
  • Assign Anim Data reference
  • Add MxMTrajectoryGenerator
  • Create and assign Input Profile
  • Test in Play mode
  • Tune blend time and responsiveness

Performance Tips

For Desktop/Console Games

  • Pose Interval: 0.05 - 0.1 seconds
  • Search Frequency: Every frame
  • Trajectory Points: 4-5 points
  • Joints: 8-12 joints (full body)

For Mobile Games

  • Pose Interval: 0.15 - 0.2 seconds
  • Search Frequency: Every 2-3 frames
  • Trajectory Points: 2-3 points
  • Joints: 4-6 joints (lower body focus)

For VR Games

  • Pose Interval: 0.08 - 0.12 seconds
  • Search Frequency: Every frame (90fps target)
  • Trajectory Points: 3-4 points
  • Blend Time: 0.2s (snappier for responsiveness)

You're Ready!

You now have a working motion matching character! Experiment with different settings, add more animations, and explore the advanced features in the Technical Reference.

Additional Resources