There is an overview of the action life cycle here:
https://hutonggames.fogbugz.com/default.asp?W174I sort of understand Every Frame to be the equivalent of putting code in the Update loop - is this correct or flawed?
This is basically correct. An action has discretion to interpret the Every Frame setting differently (e.g. run in FixedUpdate), but most of the time it means run the action in Update.
Many actions don't have the Every Frame option - so what really happens when I have a state with multiple actions and only one action has the Every Frame checked?
Hopefully the action life cycle document helps answers this.
An action does not have an Every Frame option if:
- It only makes sense that it should run once (in OnEnter) then finish.
- The lifetime of the action is implicit in the parameters (e.g., Time in the Wait Action) or the action itself (e.g., Move Towards).
- The action needs to run every frame to be useful (e.g., Any Key)
- We forgot to add one
When I'm developing in playmaker I don't really think in terms of update loops etc, so what is the rule of thumb or guidance on when to use Every Frame.
Usually the context makes it clear if an action needs to run Every Frame. Does the action need to update continuously, or can it run once when the State is entered?
Do you have a scenario where the Every Frame flag is confusing? We could work through an example...
