What is the difference between SKM_Manny and SKM_Manny_Simple?

Development Character & Animation
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1

I am learning how to animate in Unreal 5.7.1 and a lot of videos show how to animate using the SKM_Manny skeletal mesh.

However in 5.7.1 all the example content appears to only have SKM_Manny_Simple. Which appears to not have some IK controls.

I don’t understand these extra features yet, so here are some questions:

  1. Why is the non-simple skeletal mesh not included in the default templates?
  2. Attempting to add sample content (mannequins) does not work because it shows as incompatible with 5.7.1
  3. How to get the complete skeletal mesh, is it part of a specific sample project?
2

I’d love to know this as well.

3

The non-simple skeletal mesh contains extra bones that are used by the ABP_Manny_PostProcess Animation Blueprint to give better deformations as certain bones move. If you have seen the “candy-wrapper” wrist, that’s the kind of thing it’s used to fix.

Why epic seems to have removed it is beyond me.

UPDATE:

The way this is now being done is using the simple skeleton and driving additional deformations on the twist bones with generic bipedal pose assets rather than mesh-specific pose assets. For more info, check out how echo is done in the Animation Sample.