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[keeperofstars]

So lets say I have shop keepers, blacksmiths, guards, etc.

For the most part they are just standing around, but are doing something. For example the blacksmith will be pounding away on an anvil making something. When a player approaches or interacts with him he will shift to a more idle animation, while the interaction happens. Then he will start back up with his work.

Should I make him an animated asset or an animated character?

With that question. What do you guys think of making him a dynamic character so at different times or locations, I could change up the gear.
This would be really helpful for the guards. Some would need polearms, others sword and shield.

Thoughts?

[Thazager]

If the NPC is an out of the way place and there would not be large groups of players in the general area most of the time, making the NPC a dynamic character might be ok. Especially if they are a type that has a unique name and special role in the game.

[keeperofstars]

Is there a huge difference though, in performance? outside the fact it will try and grab some AI elements and run those?

Which probably would help make things more life like.
 

[FI-ScottZ]

There is also the overhead of the fact that characters use character controllers, whereas static assets do not.  So there is some extra processing going on there.  But with static assets, even if they are animated, you are very limited in how they can move.  I think it might only be one animation, though I have not worked with that directly.

So, you may need to use characters if you want multiple animations to be available.

[Amanda_Brooks]

If you instance your stores/service buildings, you'd be able to control how many players could be in an instance at any one time, and adjust it until you got a performance level that you were happy with.

[keeperofstars]

I know there will be extra overhead on aspects that it does have a character controller. I need like 4-8 different animations, and that I think will require them to be at least static characters, possibly dynamic for some efficiencies in loading them. For ones that will have different gear. Better to have 15 different shop keepers being the same dynamic character, just in different slot setups than to have 15 different characters to control.

I'm not worried about them overloading an area though cause I will build a custom controller for them, that has them being stripped down to nothing, beyond their animations, and interactions.

Even with a base setup with the default controller, it shouldn't be much cause they aren't passing data around beyond spatial awareness. Since you can't engage in combat.