Sync per-pose index and locomotion state across the network

Add PlayerAnimationSync NetworkBehaviour with owner-authoritative
NetworkVariables for pose index and locomotion category (idle/walk/run/fall).
Remote avatars switch their PlayerPoseController into network-controlled mode,
skipping local input, sprint reset, capsule resize and camera framing, and
take pose index plus locomotion externally. Disable pose persistence on
network-driven remotes so foreign avatars can't overwrite the local save.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Assets/Prefabs/Player.prefab

@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ GameObject:
   - component: {fileID: 1557561356852236266}
   - component: {fileID: 6847253018511389861}
   - component: {fileID: 8574096554986372233}
+  - component: {fileID: 8646586982149381366}
   m_Layer: 0
   m_Name: Player
   m_TagString: Player
@@ -296,6 +297,19 @@ MonoBehaviour:
   m_Name: 
   m_EditorClassIdentifier: Assembly-CSharp::NetworkPlayerSetup
   ShowTopMostFoldoutHeaderGroup: 1
+--- !u!114 &8646586982149381366
+MonoBehaviour:
+  m_ObjectHideFlags: 0
+  m_CorrespondingSourceObject: {fileID: 0}
+  m_PrefabInstance: {fileID: 0}
+  m_PrefabAsset: {fileID: 0}
+  m_GameObject: {fileID: 5384024074013944205}
+  m_Enabled: 1
+  m_EditorHideFlags: 0
+  m_Script: {fileID: 11500000, guid: 8c52bb7282c319e4f8c1f956d17cbdca, type: 3}
+  m_Name: 
+  m_EditorClassIdentifier: Assembly-CSharp::PlayerAnimationSync
+  ShowTopMostFoldoutHeaderGroup: 1
 --- !u!1 &6840099669803454162
 GameObject:
   m_ObjectHideFlags: 0

Assets/Scripts/PlayerAnimationSync.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+using Unity.Netcode;
+using UnityEngine;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// Replicates the pose system's animation state across the network. The owner publishes its selected
+/// pose index and resolved locomotion category (idle / walk / run / fall); remote avatars switch their
+/// <see cref="PlayerPoseController"/> to network-driven mode and play the matching clip, so a remote
+/// player shows the same pose and walk/run/fall animation the owner sees — not just a sliding idle.
+///
+/// Position/rotation come from the NetworkTransform; this only carries the small animation state. Both
+/// values are owner-authoritative and change rarely (a pose cycle, a locomotion transition), so the
+/// NetworkVariables send a delta only when the value actually changes.
+///
+/// Runs after the PlayerPoseController (execution order 100) so the owner reads this frame's resolved
+/// state; remote avatars apply via OnValueChanged, independent of frame order.
+/// </summary>
+[RequireComponent(typeof(PlayerPoseController))]
+[DisallowMultipleComponent]
+[DefaultExecutionOrder(200)]
+public class PlayerAnimationSync : NetworkBehaviour
+{
+    private readonly NetworkVariable<int> _poseIndex =
+        new(0, NetworkVariableReadPermission.Everyone, NetworkVariableWritePermission.Owner);
+
+    // Locomotion category stored as a byte (PlayerPoseController.Locomotion has only a handful of values).
+    private readonly NetworkVariable<byte> _locomotion =
+        new(0, NetworkVariableReadPermission.Everyone, NetworkVariableWritePermission.Owner);
+
+    private PlayerPoseController _pose;
+
+    void Awake() => _pose = GetComponent<PlayerPoseController>();
+
+    public override void OnNetworkSpawn()
+    {
+        if (IsOwner)
+            return;
+
+        // Remote avatar: stop reading local input/physics and drive the pose from replicated state.
+        _pose.EnableNetworkDrive();
+        _poseIndex.OnValueChanged += OnPoseIndexChanged;
+        _locomotion.OnValueChanged += OnLocomotionChanged;
+        ApplyRemote(); // spawn-time values are already replicated
+    }
+
+    public override void OnNetworkDespawn()
+    {
+        _poseIndex.OnValueChanged -= OnPoseIndexChanged;
+        _locomotion.OnValueChanged -= OnLocomotionChanged;
+    }
+
+    void Update()
+    {
+        if (!IsOwner || !_pose)
+            return;
+
+        // Publish the owner's resolved animation state. Assigning the same value is a no-op for
+        // replication (the NetworkVariable dirties only on an actual change), but guard anyway to keep
+        // intent clear.
+        int index = _pose.CurrentIndex;
+        byte loco = (byte)_pose.CurrentLocomotion;
+        if (_poseIndex.Value != index) _poseIndex.Value = index;
+        if (_locomotion.Value != loco) _locomotion.Value = loco;
+    }
+
+    private void OnPoseIndexChanged(int previous, int current) => ApplyRemote();
+    private void OnLocomotionChanged(byte previous, byte current) => ApplyRemote();
+
+    private void ApplyRemote() =>
+        _pose.SetNetworkState(_poseIndex.Value, (PlayerPoseController.Locomotion)_locomotion.Value);
+}

Assets/Scripts/PlayerAnimationSync.cs.meta

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+fileFormatVersion: 2
+guid: 8c52bb7282c319e4f8c1f956d17cbdca

Assets/Scripts/PlayerPoseController.Persistence.cs

@@ -62,7 +62,9 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController
     /// <summary>Writes the current pose index to disk.</summary>
     public void SavePoseState()
     {
-        if (!persistPose) return;
+        // A network-driven remote avatar shares the local "Player(Clone)" save key with the owned avatar;
+        // persisting it would clobber the local player's saved pose with a replicated one.
+        if (_networkControlled || !persistPose) return;
 
         try
         {
@@ -79,7 +81,9 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController
     /// <summary>Restores the saved pose index, or does nothing if there is no save.</summary>
     private void RestorePoseState()
     {
-        if (!persistPose) return;
+        // Skip on a network-driven remote avatar: its pose is replicated from the owner, and reading the
+        // local save would briefly show the wrong pose before the first network update arrives.
+        if (_networkControlled || !persistPose) return;
 
         var state = LoadPoseState();
         if (state == null) return;

Assets/Scripts/PlayerPoseController.cs

@@ -80,6 +80,18 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController : MonoBehaviour
 
     private int _currentIndex;
 
+    /// <summary>Locomotion category that selects which clip the active pose plays.</summary>
+    public enum Locomotion { Idle, Walk, Run, Fall }
+
+    // Network drive: a remote avatar's PlayerCharacterController and CharacterController are disabled
+    // (NetworkTransform owns its transform), so its movement-state flags are dead. Instead of reading
+    // local input/physics, such an avatar takes its pose index and locomotion category from the owner
+    // via SetNetworkState (pushed by PlayerAnimationSync). _currentLocomotion is the category resolved
+    // this frame, published by the owner for replication.
+    private bool _networkControlled;
+    private Locomotion _networkLoco;
+    private Locomotion _currentLocomotion;
+
     // Playables: a 2-input AnimationMixerPlayable that overrides the Animator Controller. Input 1 holds
     // the current ("to") pose; input 0 holds the outgoing ("from") pose during a crossfade and is empty
     // once the blend completes. Blending both inputs over a per-frame rest baseline (see below) makes
@@ -121,6 +133,26 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController : MonoBehaviour
     /// <summary>Index of the currently selected pose.</summary>
     public int CurrentIndex => _currentIndex;
 
+    /// <summary>Locomotion category resolved this frame (which clip the active pose is playing). The owner publishes it for network sync.</summary>
+    public Locomotion CurrentLocomotion => _currentLocomotion;
+
+    /// <summary>True once this avatar is driven by replicated network state instead of local input/physics.</summary>
+    public bool NetworkControlled => _networkControlled;
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Switches this avatar to network-driven animation: local input, the sprint-reset, the per-pose
+    /// collision capsule and camera framing are all skipped; pose index and locomotion are supplied by
+    /// <see cref="SetNetworkState"/>. Called on a remote avatar by <see cref="PlayerAnimationSync"/>.
+    /// </summary>
+    public void EnableNetworkDrive() => _networkControlled = true;
+
+    /// <summary>Pushes the replicated pose index and locomotion category onto a network-driven avatar.</summary>
+    public void SetNetworkState(int poseIndex, Locomotion loco)
+    {
+        _currentIndex = WrapIndex(poseIndex);
+        _networkLoco = loco;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Eased per-pose y-offset for the first-person eye, applied on top of the camera target by the FirstPersonController.</summary>
     public float FirstPersonCameraYOffset => _firstPersonCameraOffset;
 
@@ -137,40 +169,36 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController : MonoBehaviour
 
     void Update()
     {
-        if (CycleKeyPressed())
-            NextPose();
+        // Local control: the cycle key and the sprint reset choose the pose. A network-driven (remote)
+        // avatar skips this — its pose index is pushed in from the owner via SetNetworkState.
+        if (!_networkControlled)
+        {
+            if (CycleKeyPressed())
+                NextPose();
 
-        // Sprinting in any state (ground, air, wall, ceiling) snaps the selection back to the default
-        // pose. Held continuously below, so the reset shows up immediately, not only once back on the floor.
-        if (_player.IsSprinting)
-            _currentIndex = WrapIndex(defaultPoseIndex);
+            // Sprinting in any state (ground, air, wall, ceiling) snaps the selection back to the default
+            // pose. Held continuously, so the reset shows up immediately, not only once back on the floor.
+            if (_player.IsSprinting)
+                _currentIndex = WrapIndex(defaultPoseIndex);
+        }
 
         PlayerPose pose = ActivePose();
 
-        // Pick the clip for the current locomotion state. Standing still, on a wall or on the ceiling
-        // holds the idle pose; moving on the ground plays the run clip while sprinting or the walk clip
-        // otherwise; falling (airborne and descending past the controller's threshold) plays the fall
-        // clip. All three extra clips are optional — a null one falls back to the idle pose, so an unset
-        // clip keeps the held-pose behaviour. PlayPose crossfades on any change and hands the rig back
+        // Resolve the locomotion category (idle / walk / run / fall) and pick its clip. Locally the
+        // category comes from the controller's movement state; on a remote avatar it is the replicated
+        // value. It is stored so the owner's PlayerAnimationSync can publish it. ClipFor falls back to
+        // the idle clip for an unset optional clip, so a remote avatar (same pose asset) resolves to
+        // exactly the clip the owner shows; PlayPose crossfades on any change and hands the rig back
         // only when there is no clip at all (empty list / null idle clip).
-        AnimationClip clip = pose ? pose.Clip : null;
-        float speed = pose ? pose.ClipSpeed : 1f;
-        if (pose && _player.IsMovingOnGround)
-        {
-            AnimationClip locomotion = _player.IsSprinting ? pose.RunClip : pose.WalkClip;
-            if (locomotion)
-            {
-                clip = locomotion;
-                speed = _player.IsSprinting ? pose.RunClipSpeed : pose.WalkClipSpeed;
-            }
-        }
-        else if (pose && _player.IsFalling && pose.FallClip)
-        {
-            clip = pose.FallClip;
-            speed = pose.FallClipSpeed;
-        }
+        _currentLocomotion = _networkControlled ? _networkLoco : ResolveLocalLocomotion();
+        AnimationClip clip = ClipFor(pose, _currentLocomotion, out float speed);
         PlayPose(clip, speed);
 
+        // Collision capsule and camera framing are local-owner concerns: a remote avatar's controller and
+        // CharacterController are disabled and no camera tracks it, so a network-driven avatar stops here.
+        if (_networkControlled)
+            return;
+
         // CharacterController capsule: each pose carries its own center Y / radius / height so a low pose
         // (ball, star) can crawl where the default standing capsule is too tall. Eased toward the active
         // pose's dimensions when the pose changes so the collider resizes smoothly instead of popping; a
@@ -235,6 +263,45 @@ public partial class PlayerPoseController : MonoBehaviour
         return poses[Mathf.Clamp(_currentIndex, 0, poses.Count - 1)];
     }
 
+    /// <summary>Maps the controller's current movement state to a locomotion category for clip selection.</summary>
+    private Locomotion ResolveLocalLocomotion()
+    {
+        if (_player.IsMovingOnGround)
+            return _player.IsSprinting ? Locomotion.Run : Locomotion.Walk;
+        if (_player.IsFalling)
+            return Locomotion.Fall;
+        return Locomotion.Idle;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Returns the clip (and its <paramref name="speed"/>) for <paramref name="pose"/> in the given
+    /// locomotion category. The walk/run/fall clips are optional: an unset one falls back to the pose's
+    /// idle clip, so an unauthored category keeps the held-pose behaviour identically on the owner and on
+    /// a network-driven remote avatar. A null pose hands the rig back (no clip).
+    /// </summary>
+    private AnimationClip ClipFor(PlayerPose pose, Locomotion loco, out float speed)
+    {
+        if (pose)
+        {
+            switch (loco)
+            {
+                case Locomotion.Walk when pose.WalkClip:
+                    speed = pose.WalkClipSpeed;
+                    return pose.WalkClip;
+                case Locomotion.Run when pose.RunClip:
+                    speed = pose.RunClipSpeed;
+                    return pose.RunClip;
+                case Locomotion.Fall when pose.FallClip:
+                    speed = pose.FallClipSpeed;
+                    return pose.FallClip;
+            }
+            speed = pose.ClipSpeed;
+            return pose.Clip;
+        }
+        speed = 1f;
+        return null;
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Eases the CharacterController capsule toward the given target dimensions and writes them through
     /// the controller. A single normalized blend drives all three values together, so the capsule stays a