Bug with walk cycle?

[PintoSixty]

As requested by Dave, I'm posting these video screen captures of a possible bug in the recording of a walk cycle in ChA.  In the video below, you'll see that I first record a normal walk cycle, choosing to begin the cycle using the arrow keys, without any change to the Arm Angle (yes, it is not the default arm angle created when rigging, but please don't assume that this in any way helped to create these problems.  My experiments showed that this didn't matter).  The playback of this first recording didn't show any problem.  Next recording, I hit the record button, then highlighted the clockface for the arm angle, then hit the arrow key.  I then changed the arm angle and left the clockface icon highlighted.  You will see that the arms begin to circle continuously.  But, strangely, upon playback, this circling behavior was not recorded.  In the third recording, I try to show how highlighting and de-highlighting the clockface affects recording and playback.  The issues only occur when the highlight is present.

But here is the biggest hassle:  when hitting the arrow key to begin a PREVIEW of the walk cycle, if the clockface is left highlighted after making a change to the arm angle, the arms will continue to circle until I stop the preview.  And I can't click on any portion of my screen to de-highlight the clockface.  This won't work.  I have to click on some other setting to accomplish this.  And, finally, please know that this problem exists for any attribute that has a clockface icon:  arm angle, elbow bend, or step phase (which will circle around but without any noticeable influence during the preview).

Thanks for your help!  I'm curious to learn a solution.  Oh ... a part B of this entry.  How do I keep the arms from stretching outward during a walk cycle?  I've tried a myriad of designs with sticks and handles and can't find a solution.

[oksamurai · Accepted solution]

Thanks for these videos, definitely helpful to see. We're going to replace the dials with numeric readouts in the next version, no one likes the dials and they lead to issues like this. I've added a note with a link to these videos to that task in our system.

Arms in general are going to stretch a little as they move - see Walkbot - but at default they shouldn't stretch that much. I do know some of the other tags - especially neck, hip, and body - can have an effect on this, so maybe play with their placement too? A hinge attach style helps too. Sometimes though, depending on the puppet, the arms just won't look well no matter what - Evans the Robot is a 3/4 view, for example, which doesn't work at all because his arms aren't in a profile setup where they're on top of each other.