Body Physics?
by Edward Smith · in General Discussion · 12/20/2002 (5:37 pm) · 4 replies
When I played UT 2003 the main thing that I liked was the way the bodys went all limp. From what I can see the physics in Torque are pretty good. But how can you get the body to hold together etc, to be able to do this? or at least something like it?
I'm pretty sure that this must be hard, but I'm interested in it.
I'm pretty sure that this must be hard, but I'm interested in it.
About the author
Currently working on a WW2 FPS game.
#2
The "trick" used in UT2k3 is simply that that the player models use skeletal animation. Normally, the skeleton is set with information from an animation file (ie, bend elbow 40deg left, lift leg 8deg) without regard for how this might interact with reality (for instance, the elbow will happily go through a wall). In UT2k3, when you die, they just treat the skeleton as a set of (rigid) springs attached to one another, and let a simulation run over it. This lends a very realistic look to explosions and such, since the skeleton reacts to the environment.
www.gamasutra.com has some articles on this; look up Hecker's physics articles.
12/21/2002 (12:06 am)
Random babble:The "trick" used in UT2k3 is simply that that the player models use skeletal animation. Normally, the skeleton is set with information from an animation file (ie, bend elbow 40deg left, lift leg 8deg) without regard for how this might interact with reality (for instance, the elbow will happily go through a wall). In UT2k3, when you die, they just treat the skeleton as a set of (rigid) springs attached to one another, and let a simulation run over it. This lends a very realistic look to explosions and such, since the skeleton reacts to the environment.
www.gamasutra.com has some articles on this; look up Hecker's physics articles.
#3
Apparently the ragdoll effect were only used for client-side death animations because it is very difficult to blend canned animations (which UT2003 uses for all player animation other than death scenes) and Karma based animations (which can leave the player skeleton in odd positions). That is, once the Karma engine is allowed to take over the skeleton, it is difficult to return to the canned animations. The only time this isn't a problem is when the character dies.
In other words, it is a lot of work to achieve a simple gimmick. I got the impression that the development team had hoped to achieve more with Karma & in-game skeletal animations (like damage effects), but had to settle with death scene animations (especially since their schedule ran up against the XBox Live release date). The Karma based vehicles were also dropped from the retail release of UT2003 & Unreal Championship. I mention this just to give you some clue how difficult incorporating this effect might be.
In sum, I would apply my effort to other development tasks that actually affect gameplay. Unless you can actually work the ragdoll effects into your gameplay.
12/21/2002 (9:12 am)
Beware though that the 'ragdoll' effects don't buy much more than interesting looking death scenes. These death scenes are only played client side, and use the Karma physics engine to control the player's skeleton after death.Apparently the ragdoll effect were only used for client-side death animations because it is very difficult to blend canned animations (which UT2003 uses for all player animation other than death scenes) and Karma based animations (which can leave the player skeleton in odd positions). That is, once the Karma engine is allowed to take over the skeleton, it is difficult to return to the canned animations. The only time this isn't a problem is when the character dies.
In other words, it is a lot of work to achieve a simple gimmick. I got the impression that the development team had hoped to achieve more with Karma & in-game skeletal animations (like damage effects), but had to settle with death scene animations (especially since their schedule ran up against the XBox Live release date). The Karma based vehicles were also dropped from the retail release of UT2003 & Unreal Championship. I mention this just to give you some clue how difficult incorporating this effect might be.
In sum, I would apply my effort to other development tasks that actually affect gameplay. Unless you can actually work the ragdoll effects into your gameplay.
#4
Mike
12/21/2002 (11:59 am)
Kinda like the Hitman series of games. Now there's a good use of ragdoll physics.Mike
Torque 3D Owner Michael Cozzolino
Big Monk Games
Here is the link to the thread:
www.garagegames.com/index.php?sec=mg&mod=forums&page=result.thread&qt=8201