To address the issue of color/alpha animations not playing correctly at runtime, there are several potential solutions and considerations based on the context provided:

1. Premultiplied Alpha: Ensure that your images are exported with premultiplied alpha if your runtime requires it. This is a common requirement for proper blending, as seen in the cocos2d-x 3.1 runtime example. If premultiplied alpha is used, make sure it is also enabled in the runtime settings.

2. Runtime Settings: Check if the runtime you are using supports color/alpha animations and if there are specific settings that need to be enabled. For example, in some cases, you might need to disable options like "Cull Transparent Mesh" in Unity to ensure that transparent attachments are rendered correctly, as mentioned in the Default animation doesn't work context.

3. Animation Keys: Verify that color/alpha keys are correctly set in your animations. Sometimes, keys might be inadvertently removed during export if "Animation Cleanup" is enabled, which removes keys identical to the setup pose. Disabling this option might help, as suggested in the Mix duration not working context.

4. Shader and Rendering Pipeline: Ensure that the shaders and rendering pipeline used in your runtime are compatible with the color/alpha animations. Issues with shaders not being set correctly can lead to blending problems, as noted in the Blending issues context.

5. Debugging and Testing: If the problem persists, consider debugging the runtime to verify that alpha values are being applied correctly. This can involve checking the animation timelines and ensuring that the correct values are being used, as mentioned in the Monogame - Alpha not working context.

By addressing these areas, you should be able to overcome the limitations and ensure that color/alpha animations play correctly at runtime.

warmanw

Which runtimes are your clients using?
In general, simple color tinting is supported by all runtimes, while dark color tinting is not universally supported.
For example, spine-pixi supports all Spine features, whereas spine-haxe does not support premultiplied alpha atlases or tint black.
This information is usually outlined in the initial section of the runtime documentation page.

It should work on those runtimes. Can you send a repro project?

warmanw There are quite a few runtimes that we publish, and the support status of the same runtime can also vary depending on how it is implemented. For example, in the case of spine-phaser, all Spine features are supported if you are using the Phaser WebGL renderer, but if you are using the Canvas renderer, meshes, tint black and blend modes are not supported. It is recommended that you check the documentation for the runtime you intend to use.

warmanw

Thanks for your quick reply!

I’m glad you resolved the black edge issue. Generally, "black edge issues" occur when PMA textures aren’t interpreted as PMA by the runtime. If your clients are using a runtime that doesn’t support PMA, you can export assets with straight alpha (PMA off); this will prevent black edges from appearing too. The only limitation in this case is that blend modes won’t be available.

As for the alpha issue with the Phaser runtime, that’s unusual. The spine-phaser (and spine-player) runtimes rely on spine-webgl, which supports all Spine features and has no known issues. If your client is interested in addressing this, they’re welcome to reach out on the forum or by email. We’d be more than happy to ensure you’re both able to use all Spine features.

@warmanw you can also always redirect your clients directly to us either here on the forum or via email (contact@esotericsoftware.com). It doesn't make sense for you to try and figure out technical issues for them.