# Project Baklava Planning

:::warning
This is **a draft of future changes** to the planning.

⇒ [The actual plan][plan]

[plan]: https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/120406
:::

## Phase 1: Multi data-block animation

Goals: ability to animate with the new `Animation` data-block, and having different data-blocks animated by the same `Animation`.

Non-goals: layers, strips on layers, animation-level constraints, bone pickers.

### ~~1.1: Existing code for the data model → `main`~~

~~#118677: Baklava Phase 1.1~~

### 1.2: Data Model access via existing UI

#119875: add Animation data-block to anim filtering code

Goal: minimal working state for animators to animate *anything*.

- [x] Hooking up to the existing animation filtering code
- [x] Research existing code
- [x] Add Animation datablock support
- [x] Dope Sheet
- [x] Graph Editor
- [ ] Key Insertion:
- [ ] From 3D Viewport ([#119669](https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/pulls/119669))
- [ ] From context menu on properties
- [ ] From Graph Editor
- [ ] From Dope Sheet Editor
- [ ] Key insertion (also via Python): XYZ-to-RGB

**End-of-phase goal:** Animators can animate with a file that has been set up for animation by the devs.

### 1.3: Creating & Assigning `Animation` data-blocks

- [ ] Animation data-block assigning UI
- [ ] Non-object/bone data-blocks (like materials)
- [ ] 'Animation' mode (copy of 'Action' mode) of Dope Sheet
- [ ] Animation data-block creation UI/UX (esp. when creating through inserting the first key)

**End-of-phase goal:** Animators can animate a file from scratch.

### 1.4: Organisation of animation channels

- [ ] FCurve Groups
- [ ] Manual grouping of FCurves
- [ ] Automatic creation of "manual" groups
- [ ] Automatic (implicit) grouping of FCurves?
- [ ] Automatic sorting of FCurves
- [ ] First location, then rotation, then scale, then the rest
- [ ] Keeping array elements sequential & in array order
- [ ] Manual reordering of Bindings within an Animation

**End-of-phase goal:** Animators don't get lost in their long lists of channels.

### 1.5: Feature Par with Actions

... but not the NLA (so no `Animation` strips in the NLA).

- [ ] Autokeying
- [ ] Selection syncing (objects/bones/otherthings vs. their animation channels).
- [ ] Cycle-aware keying?

**End-of-phase goal:** Animators can work with the new Animation data-block as comfortably as with (linear/non-NLA) Actions. They can replace Actions with Animation data-blocks.

### 1.x: Unplanned but related

**High prio** to add to the above (or a subphase by itself):

- [ ] Tools for (N Actions → 1 Animation) and (1 Animation → N Actions).
- [ ] Library Override support. Even when nothing should be overridable, there should be time to think about this and make clear decisions (+ document those).

Other things:

- [ ] Per-FCurve-group modifiers. But maybe those become 'modifier strips', and scoping of those is done on a per-layer level.
- [ ] Animation Filtering code replacement. Becomes a little more important when looking at FCurve groups. Those will likely be reimplemented from scratch to get rid of weird `ListBase` dependent stuff.
- [ ] Fine-grained dependency graph nodes. Currently the animation data-block can only be tagged for update as a whole, causing a full re-evaluation of all animated data-blocks. This should be more granular.