Creating a Simple Animation Blueprint

An Animation Blueprint (ABP) is responsible for managing and processing all animation-related logic of a vehicle in SubwaySim 2.

It receives simulation data, calculates bone transformations, and forwards the final animation pose to the Vehicle Blueprint, which then applies it to the Skeletal Mesh.

This chapter focuses on creating a simple Animation Blueprint, which is sufficient for:

• Wheel rotation
• Bogie movement
• Basic vehicle motion

More advanced animations such as couplings, doors, or additional vehicle systems are handled separately.

To create an Animation Blueprint, navigate to the folder where your Skeletal Mesh is located.

• Right-click on the Skeletal Mesh
• Search for Animation Blueprint
• Select it from the menu

Name the Animation Blueprint following the same convention used for Control Rigs:

• Prefix: APB_
• Example: `APB_TestVehicle`

This ensures consistency and makes asset relationships easy to understand.

After creating the Animation Blueprint, open it.

Before adding any logic, we must set the correct parent class:

• Click Class Settings (top of the editor)
• Locate Parent Class
• Set it to Train Anim Instance

This step is mandatory. Without the correct parent class, required train-specific functions and data will not be available.

The simple Animation Blueprint is divided into two conceptual parts:

• Part 1: Core animation logic for axles and bogies (covered on this page)
• Part 2: Advanced animations (covered in a separate chapter)

This page focuses only on Part 1, which is all that is required for basic vehicle functionality.

Inside the Animation Blueprint graph:

• Right-click in the graph
• Search for Control Rig under *Misc*
• Add the node

Connect:

• The Output Pose of the Control Rig node
• To the Final Animation Pose (Output Pose)

This ensures that all animation logic coming from the Control Rig is applied to the Skeletal Mesh.

Select the Control Rig node.

In the Details panel on the right:

• Open the Input / Output section
• Enable all available input pins by checking their boxes

This exposes the variables previously created in the Control Rig:

• BogieRotation1
• BogieRotation2
• DeltaWay

These inputs must now be provided with data.

The DeltaWay value represents the distance the vehicle travels along the track and is required to calculate axle rotation.

To provide this value:

• Drag from the DeltaWay input pin
• Search for Get Delta Way
• Select the node
• Connect it to the Control Rig input

This automatically supplies the required movement data.

To animate bogies correctly, we need to retrieve their transforms from the simulation.

• Right-click in the graph
• Search for Get Bogie Transforms
• Add the node

This node outputs an array of transforms.

From the array output:

• Drag a connection
• Search for Get (a ref)
• Select the node

Repeat this for each bogie the vehicle has.

For a standard two-bogie vehicle:

• BogieRotation1 → Index 0
• BogieRotation2 → Index 1

Connect each output to the corresponding Control Rig input.

Once all connections are set up:

• Verify that all Control Rig inputs are connected
• Ensure the correct indices are used for bogie transforms
• Click Compile
• Click Save

At this point, the simple Animation Blueprint is complete and fully functional.

This Animation Blueprint covers only the minimal required setup for vehicle operation.

If your vehicle requires additional animated systems such as:

• Couplings
• Doors
• Advanced mechanical components

please continue with the dedicated chapter: Creating a Complex Animation Blueprint

That chapter builds upon the foundation established here.