GS_Performer
GS_Performer is the character presentation layer for GS_Play. It handles the visual side of any entity that needs to look like a character — whether that is a fully-rigged 3D mesh swapping equipment, a sprite-based billboard character, or an animated unit whose blend parameters track real movement velocity. GS_Performer sits above GS_Unit and GS_Core, consuming movement and game state events to keep visual output in sync with gameplay.
For architecture details, component properties, and extending the system in C++, see the GS_Performer API.
Quick Navigation
| I want to… | Feature | API |
|---|---|---|
| Manage registered performers or query them by name | Performer Manager | API |
| Swap equipment visuals at runtime with modular slot-based assets | Skin Slots | API |
| Render billboard-style 2.5D characters that face the camera correctly | Paper Performer | API |
| Drive animation blend parameters from entity velocity automatically | Locomotion | API |
Installation
GS_Performer requires GS_Core. EMotionFX and GS_Unit are optional dependencies for animation and velocity-driven locomotion.
For a full guided walkthrough, follow the Simple Project Setup guide.
Quick Installation Summary
- Enable the GS_Performer gem in your project configuration.
- Create a Performer Manager prefab and add it to the Game Manager’s Managers list.
- Place PerformerSkinSlotComponent and SkinSlotHandlerComponent on character entities.
- For 2.5D characters, add a PaperFacingHandlerComponent.
Performer Manager
The Performer Manager is the singleton coordinator for all registered performers in the active scene. It follows the GS_Core manager pattern — spawned by the Game Manager, participates in standby, and is accessible globally via its request bus. Systems that need to enumerate or query active performers route through this component.
Skin Slots
The Skin Slot system is the modular equipment and appearance layer for characters. Each PerformerSkinSlotComponent represents an equipment slot holding an actor asset and material overrides. The SkinSlotHandlerComponent manages the full collection for one character, providing batch operations and appearance-changed notifications. This makes character visual configuration composable rather than monolithic.
Paper Performer
The Paper Performer system provides billboard-style 2.5D character rendering. The PaperFacingHandlerComponent rotates the entity’s mesh to face the active camera each frame, accounting for movement direction to prevent visual artifacts from naive always-face-camera implementations. Custom facing logic can be substituted without modifying the core component.
Locomotion
The Locomotion feature set connects an entity’s physical movement to its animation layer. The VelocityLocomotionHookComponent reads velocity from the physics system each tick and drives animation blend parameters — speed and direction — that EMotionFX or Simple Motion components consume. Animations stay tightly synchronized with gameplay movement without manual state machine scripts.
See Also
For the full API, component properties, and C++ extension guide:
For step-by-step project setup:
Get GS_Performer
GS_Performer — Explore this gem on the product page and add it to your project.