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Author a Voxel Animation Test Case

Scaffold a new asset-generation test case that asks a model to sculpt a rigged voxel model (named parts + joints it invents) with the voxel-anim tool and author its required animations (asset_kind = "voxel-animation"). This is the short version; Authoring a Voxel Animation Test Case covers it in full, and Manifests is the authoritative schema.

A static voxel model instead? Author a Voxel Model Test Case. A meshed (SDF/CSG) animated model? Author a Mesh Animation Test Case.

Layout

Section titled “Layout”

A version lives at test-cases/<type>/<difficulty>/<slug>/<version>/ and is immutable once runs reference it — revise by adding a new version, not by editing a published one.

test-cases/<type>/<difficulty>/<slug>/<version>/
  test-case.toml    # manifest: type, asset_kind, [voxel], [tool], [output], [model]
  variants/         # one standalone TOML file per variant (listed in `variants`)
  prompt.hbs        # rendered into the harness instruction (NOT seeded)
  description.md    # site blurb (NOT seeded); README.md — human overview (NOT seeded)
  specs/brief.md    # what to sculpt + how it moves + how the tool behaves — SEEDED

A run receives only the seeded brief, the voxel-anim binary (--help is the op + rig-subcommand contract), and a pre-seeded rig.json holding just the required animation declarations (empty tracks, parts: [], joints: []) — no target model.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

  1. Pick a catalog slug (e.g. ironward) and an articulated subject — one with distinct movable components a game would want to see move.

  2. Decide the required animations only: each is a name a game plays it by, a loop flag, and an auto_play flag (true = self-playing idle, false = game-triggered playable). Do not design parts, joints, pivots, ranges, or pose angles — the model invents the skeleton.

  3. Write specs/brief.md: the subject and silhouette, the exact #rrggbb palette, the [voxel] volume framing (which axis is up/forward), the key features that must read, how the tool behaves (--part on every op; a sculpting op only records; voxel-anim render draws each parts/<part>.png and the assembled scene/{iso,front,side,top}.png), and the behaviour each required animation must show. Keep it self-contained.

  4. Write prompt.hbs using only the documented template variables ({{variant.*}}, {{#each specs}}) — it renders in strict mode — pointing the model at voxel-anim --help and requiring it to render before finishing.

  5. Write test-case.toml: metadata (name, difficulty, tags including 3d/voxel/rig), type = "asset-generation", asset_kind = "voxel-animation", a variants list (root key before the first table; first = default), and:

    • [voxel] — fixed width/height/depth + background; no [canvas]. Size from real dimensions: 10 voxels/m for smaller units (longest side ≤ ~8 m), 5 voxels/m for larger units/structures; largest dimension ~40–150.
    • [tool] (binary = "voxel-anim", preview) and [output] (actions) — each path must carry {part} (parts/{part}.png, parts/{part}.actions.json).
    • [model] — required, carrying ONLY [[model.animation]] entries (each just name + loop + auto_play). No [[model.part]]/[[model.joint]], no period_ms, no joints — period, joints, and F-curves are the model’s.
    • the single [[domain]] (overall) and no [[review_item]]s — the rig and its produced animations are judged as a whole against the brief, on one rating.

    Declare no [[reference]], no [build], no [[check]].

The worked example is the ironward siege tank (one required animation, turret_sweep); for a multi-animation reference (march, self-playing radar_spin) see aegis-mc-anim.

Validate

Section titled “Validate”
Terminal window
npm run lint:specs   # markdownlint-cli2 + cspell over test-cases/**

Then render and seed for every variant:

Terminal window
tcab prompt --test-case <slug> --version <version> --variant <variant>
tcab seed   --test-case <slug> --version <version> --variant <variant>

prompt catches strict-mode + manifest errors (unique animation names; no declared parts/joints); seed writes the seeded set (brief, voxel-anim.config.json, pre-seeded rig.json) to confirm it is self-contained. After editing, force a re-ingest so the backend picks up the new tables — see Running the Local Service Stack.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”