Mollo → R2

The pipeline

Every step is a script, so changing a pose or a frame count rebuilds everything in about a minute. Green is done; orange needs the Mod Kit.

flowchart LR
  A[R1 key art
Steam Workshop] --> B[Grok concept
front + back A-pose]
  B --> C[TRELLIS
image to 3D]
  C --> D[rig_mollo.py
weld, skeleton, heat weights,
cape split by raycast]
  D --> E[props_mollo.py
4 props on own bones]
  E --> F[animer.py
poses, leg IK, visual bake]
  F --> G[spec_attaques.py
hitbox check renders + JSON]
  F --> H[exporter.py
SK + AN FBX]
  F --> I[textures.py
BC, N, ORMS]
  H --> J[Unreal Mod Kit
import, materials, HB_ capsules]
  G --> K[ATT_ assets
windows, hitboxes, on-hit]
  J --> K
  K --> L[Lua
bombs, fuse, flare aim,
jab spray, aerial charge]
  L --> M[Playtest]
  classDef done fill:#1f3326,stroke:#8fd19e,color:#efe4dc;
  classDef todo fill:#3a2a14,stroke:#ffb347,color:#efe4dc;
  class A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I done;
  class J,K,L,M todo;

Model

The concept was generated from the R1 key art, front and back in A-pose, in the stylized toon look of Rivals 2. TRELLIS built the textured mesh from both views. The result is turned 180° to face −Y as the docs require, scaled in Blender at unit scale 0.01, and stands on z = 0.

Rig

The skeleton copies the naming of the official reference rigs (Wrastor, Zetterburn): Root_M, Spine1_M, Shoulder_L, Hip_L, a free-floating Grab_M. Mollo adds three-segment antennae, a bandana tail, a 3×4 cape chain and one bone per prop. Getting clean deformation took four rounds; the problems are listed below.

Animation

Poses are written as data in axes anyone can read (X = his left, Y = his back, Z = up). The right side is mirrored from the left, grounded states run through leg IK so the feet stay planted, then everything is baked to plain bone curves for Unreal. This is the docs' "gameplay quality" pass: clear key poses and correct timing, not polished animation yet.

Covered: all the R2 movement states from the docs (ground, air, shield, dodges, hitstun, knockdown, ledge, getups, grabbed, items), the 4 bomb-strong variants, grabs, pummels and 4 throws. Mollo never had a grab in R1, so the throws are new designs.

Attacks

Frame data comes straight from the Rivals Academy YAML (patch 2.1.5.6): every animation lasts exactly the R1 frame count. The strike pose lands on the first active frame. Each hitbox sits on a bone with a radius in cm, then gets checked in a render from both sides.

The full entry sheet with every hitbox, offset, radius, BKB/KBS and hitpause is in export/ATTAQUES.md, and as data in export/attaques_mollo.json. Knockback values are R1's as-is; they will need balancing in R2.

What went wrong, and how it was fixed

Phase 2: in the Mod Kit

1. Install the Rivals of Aether II Mod Kit near a drive root (G:\R2ModKit), launch with Steam running, let shaders compile (up to an hour).
2. Create a new 3D Character Mod named Mollo, open the content folder.
3. Reimport SK_Mol_Default.fbx over the template skeletal mesh, then AN_Mol_Default.fbx; import the 4 textures with their suffixes, make MI_ instances of MAT_Cha_Standard.
4. Rebuild the HB_ physics asset with capsules only, assign animation states in the character data.
5. Fill the ATT_ assets from the entry sheet. If the editor's Python plugin is available, I can script this from the JSON.
6. Create the articles: 4 bomb types (holdable), the flare, then write the Lua for fuse timers, bomb selection, flare aim, spray can and aerial charge, using the in-editor Lua docs.

Files

Sources: Rivals 2 Workshop docs · Rivals Academy, Mollo · Mollo on the R1 Steam Workshop