How to use the Combat animation standard agent skill

What the skill makes the agent do

The skill does not generate animations by itself. It gives the agent a workflow: write a numbered standard for the move before touching keys, design each key from upper-arm, forearm and blade directions, measure the rigged character before looking at it, capture frames from each camera the player sees, and judge the result with blind reviews.

The skill was distilled from one specific game project, Thornvigil, and its file paths and tools are tied to that project. Treat it as a detailed reference method for animation pipelines with skinned humanoid rigs, rather than a general-purpose animation tool.

• Writes or extends a per-move standard with numbered rules, each marked as a measured test or a reviewed check
• Designs keys from intents and flags poses that exceed joint limits
• Runs measurements on the real skinned mesh for joint ranges and skin stretch or crush
• Scores frames with two blind critics and a blind A/B against the last release, then verifies every critic claim

What you need before installing

The skill's measuring tools are Node.js scripts (.mjs) and a Python 3 script (ab-pack.py), so both runtimes must be available. The bundled checks also expect a checkout of the Thornvigil project with its src/ and tests/ folders, a .gitignore entry for .dream-loop/, and Three.js and GLTF loader modules.

For screenshots, the skill refers to a local dev server (the install script mentions preview_start thornwake-dev) and a capture receiver on port 6163. Reference motion comes only from Tripo Studio motion-capture presets, which the skill names as the only allowed source.

• Node.js for the .mjs measuring scripts
• Python 3 for ab-pack.py
• A Thornvigil checkout with src/ and tests/
• A .gitignore entry for .dream-loop/
• Three.js and GLTF loader modules
• A local dev server and a capture receiver on port 6163 for screenshots
• Tripo Studio motion-capture presets as the reference source

Install the skill from a ZIP file

Download the ZIP of the game-dev-combat-animation skill from this page and unzip it. For a personal install, place the folder in ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder.

You can also upload the skill in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the ZIP there.

The package includes scripts/install.sh. Its job, according to the skill, is to install the review and capture tools into a Thornvigil checkout, so run it only inside that project and read it first.

• Personal install: ~/.claude/skills/
• Project install: .claude/skills/ inside your project
• Claude apps: Settings, Capabilities, Skills, then upload the ZIP

Trigger the skill with natural requests

The skill loads when your request matches its description. You do not need special syntax. Ask in plain language about the kind of work involved.

The skill is designed to activate for creating or reworking any attack, skill or move set; for reports that arms, hands, wrists, elbows or weapons look stretched, weird, broken or wrong; for requests for a standard, rules or tests; and for requests to score animations or get them to a number out of 10.

• Rework the sword combo so the arms stop looking stretched in the heavy cut.
• The bow draw elbow looks broken from the game camera. Fix it and show me the frames.
• Write a standard and tests for our spell cast animations.
• Score the knight's light attack out of 10 using blind critics.

How the agent works through a task

The agent follows a loop. It starts by writing or extending the standard for the move, so each rule has a clear phase and a measured or reviewed test. Then it captures a baseline, designs keys from anatomy, bakes and measures, runs tests, captures both cameras, and judges the result.

A key rule of the process is that numbers come before captures. The agent fixes any measurement that breaks a rule before spending a capture, and it checks every critic claim against full-resolution frames and live-rig numbers before acting on it.

• Write the standard first, with phases on the game's clock
• Measure before looking, using the arm-range and skin checks
• Test, and when adding a test for a bug, confirm the test fails on the old behaviour
• Capture from the Characters page and in play, then judge blind
• Ship by the project's own rules

Arm and hand limits the skill enforces

The skill sets numeric limits for the rig, which has no twist or corrective bones. Examples include elbow flexion between 10 and 152 degrees, a wrist bend of 50 degrees or less, forearm and upper-arm roll of 52 degrees or less, and a raise of 105 degrees or less from hanging. Hands must always sit in a pose such as a fist on a grip or a hook on a string, never splayed or clawed.

These limits belong to the Thornvigil rig. If your character uses a different rig, the skill's numbers will not transfer directly, and you would need to write your own standard.

• Elbow flexion 10 to 152 degrees
• Wrist bend 50 degrees or less, roll 45 degrees or less
• Forearm and upper-arm twist 52 degrees or less
• Raise 105 degrees or less from hanging

Safety notes: scripts and network access

This skill runs scripts and uses the network. The install script, the measuring tools and the capture steps run on your machine, and the capture workflow uses a local dev server and a receiver on port 6163. Read scripts/install.sh and the tool files before you run anything, and run them in a project you can restore from version control.

The skill says the agent should avoid editing source files while a capture runs, and that the .dream-loop/ folder should be ignored by git. Confirm both before you start.

• Read scripts/install.sh before running it
• Keep the project under version control
• Add .dream-loop/ to .gitignore
• Do not edit src while a capture runs
• Use Tripo Studio presets only as reference motion