Is it possible to make the Animate script a local script?

[zezegooglekid (Sunglocto)]

We currently have NPCs in our game.
The Animate script is using the most resources and causing the most lag by far:

Is there any way to make this script a local script without animations breaking?

[Chaos_Geo]

Looping through nearby NPCs and running animations for them seems like the best way to do this.
If you need an example, just let me know

[zezegooglekid (Sunglocto)]

Yes, an example would be useful

[Chaos_Geo]

Okay!
Keep in mind this is just an example, you will obviously have to edit it for your game
It’s also not finished, you will need to add based on what your npcs can do
(I also haven’t tested it, so I don’t know if it works. Don’t remove your server sided animate until you have verified this works!)

local npcs = workspace.NPCs -- Replace with wherever your NPCs are stored
local char = game:GetService("Players").LocalPlayer.Character -- Get the player character (for LoD)

local animsTable = {
	runAnim = "rbxassetid:something", -- lol don't actually use this assetid
}
local setupAnims = {} -- Create the table of set up animations for animators
local distanceToRender = 128 -- How far away should animations be rendered (client-side)?

local function setupNPC(npc : Model?)
	if npc:IsA("Model") then -- This specific technique will only work if the NPC is a model
		local pp = npc.PrimaryPart -- Get the primaryPart
		if char.PrimaryPart.Position - pp.Position < distanceToRender then -- Make sure NPCs are close enough
			local humanoid = npc:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Humanoid") -- Get the humanoid
			if humanoid then -- Make sure we have a humanoid, we can't animate without one (animators are usually in humanoids)
				local animator = humanoid:FindFirstChildWhichIsA("Animator") -- Get the animator
				if animator then -- We can't animate without an animator
					setupAnims[animator] = {} -- Set up the table for this specific animator
					local runAnimation = Instance.new("Animation") -- Create the animation instance for loading later
					runAnimation.AnimationId = animsTable.runAnim -- Set the animation id
					local runAnimTrack = animator:LoadAnimation(runAnimation) -- Load the animation
					runAnimTrack.Looped = true -- Loop the run animation
					setupAnims[animator].Run = runAnimTrack -- Store the animation in the dictionary for future reference
					humanoid.Running:Connect(function(speed) -- Try to run the animation whenever the humanoid moves
						if humanoid.FloorMaterial and humanoid.FloorMaterial ~= Enum.Material.Air and speed > humanoid.WalkSpeed / 2 then -- Make sure the humanoid is on the ground to load the run animation. Also make sure we are actually moving.
							setupAnims[animator].Run:Play() -- Play the animation
						else
							setupAnims[animator].Run:Stop() -- Stop the animation
						end
					end)
				end
			end
		end
	end
end

for i, npc in ipairs(npcs:GetChildren()) do
	setupNPC(npc)
end
npcs.ChildAdded:Connect(function(npc)
	setupNPC(npc)
end)

[zezegooglekid (Sunglocto)]

Had to add magnitude the distance calculation, but works fine. Thanks!

[Chaos_Geo]

No problem!
I’d also like to say that if you have custom animations that load in (for example, a punch animation), you can create a remote event that loads in the animation (if needed) on the client and plays it, and the server would fire that remote whenever you need to play that animation.