Unity Issue Tracker - Using multiple animation clips in Blender not all Animation clips are imported using a .blend file

Won't Fix

Votes

1

Found in

2019.3.0a12

2019.3.0b4

2020.1.0a1

Issue ID

1186253

Regression

Yes

Using multiple animation clips in Blender not all Animation clips are imported using a .blend file

Asset - Importers

Sep 23, 2019

To reproduce:
1. Create a new project
2. Import attached "28blender.blend" file
3. In Editor select the "28blender.blend" file
4. In Inspector window select Animation tab
5. Observe animation Clips list

Expected: all animation clips are imported
Actual: only one animation clip can be seen named "Scene"

Reproduced on:
2019.3.0a12 2020.1.0a1 2020.1.0a5

Not reproduced on:
2018.4.10f1 2019.2.7f2 2019.3.0a11

Notes:
- On 2017.4.32f1 getting an error in the console: "Blender could not convert the .blend file to FBX file."
- Exporting as .fbx file keeps all the animation clips
- Reproduces using Blender 2.79 and 2.8

Resolution Note (2020.1.X):

The issue is caused by the 'export all actions' setting set to false in the blender-to-FBX conversion script. This was done to fix the case 1117999 but causes an issue with this particular rig/animation setup. Reverting the change made earlier fixes the issue. We won't fix this because it's basically a matter of preference, this setting should be turned on or of depending on the imported file content. There's two easy workarounds :
1) Export to FBX with the 'export all actions' setting turned on. Exporting to .FBX is recommended over direct .blend import in the documentation for this reason but also because of collaborative workflow issues.
2) Go to the Unity installation folder and locate the Unity-BlenderToFBX.py file in Data/Tools/,
replace line 43 by bake_anim_use_all_actions=True
Blender file import actually just runs Blender in background and exports the file to FBX then imports it. The FBX exports settings can be changed in this file.

Comments (20)

jhentula

Nov 09, 2020 10:50

Echoing the other complaints on this issue - this is a clear regression that could be fixed by having the option to retain the old behaviour behind a checkbox.
LesserGatsby

Aug 20, 2020 15:52

How exactly are we supposed to import animations if we dont change that python file.

Because the only way I know/have been taught is to use the NLA strips, which this change disabled.
Flavelius

Jul 15, 2020 06:20

And as it's a matter of preference and the default behaviour is for most users to import separate actions, the default preference should match that expected behaviour.
Flavelius

Jul 07, 2020 10:16

This should be reverted/fixed; it breaks normal, expected behaviour.
myxolobe

Jun 02, 2020 02:39

The original issue mentioned in the resolution note is here: https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/import-errors-when-converting-from-blend-to-fbx

This issue was resolved without any notes, and nobody outside of Unity has access to the FBX file that supposedly caused the issue. But I'm about 99% sure that issue 1117999 is an edge-case scenario. Using individual animations (in the form of actions) from Blender is the 80% use-case, therefore should be the default behavior. Adding the ability to choose how animations are imported is the correct solution. Making a backwards-incompatible change to a feature of Unity that's been around since the dark ages, and forcing everyone to change their workflow (or some auto-generated script), is NOT.
ShadowOfEclipse

Apr 18, 2020 23:19

Agreed with others that this should be an interface option. It's a common workflow setup to have animations as actions, and requiring modification of internal Python files isn't a sound user experience.
JohngUK

Apr 09, 2020 19:52

I was having the same issue importing from blender 2.82a to Unity 2020.1.0b5. I modified the Python file as suggested and Bingo! I now have all the animations in Unity. Thank you for a really useful tip :)
Fritsl

Mar 27, 2020 08:11

At least provide a Unity checkbox, please..
craztad

Mar 12, 2020 02:52

Oh so this is why all the blender to unity tutorials I am following no longer work. Marking this as won't fix instead of providing an option in the ui to use the old way is a real crappy way to go about it. I just hope everyone else following tutorials can find this bug report so they know they need to change unity's own python script in order to fix their workflow. Real crappy move unity, real crappy move. Hoping this is fixed in a future version. I am on 2019.3.4f1 as of this writing.
zackblack

Jan 29, 2020 21:55

I'm hoping this issue can be revisited, because it's quite absurd to bury this breaking setting in a hidden text file. Why isn't this just a simple checkbox for each .blend asset?