[WIP] The Newton Trampoline

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[WIP] The Newton Trampoline

Postby walaber » Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:42 pm

Just a quick look at my next game project, a trampoline simulation.

the game will be similar to the Tony Hawk games in feel, but of course on a trampoline. you will be able to do all possible tricks on a trampoline (I've been doing gymnastics and trampolining my whole life, so I'm determined to get it all in there). of course I'll probably focus less on realism and more on fun (which means quadruple flips, etc) :)

as far as I know trampoline games basically don't exist, searching on the web only lead to 2 simple flash-based games. so I think this is a new idea, and possibly the first full 3D trampoline simulation/game.

anyway, I have the trampoline physics pretty much nailed (thank you Newton!!), and now i'm working on character control using a custom joint I just started.

you can see in the video below the basic trampoline behavior, as well as a very early character control system.

:arrow: PREVIEW AVI - Divx avi, approx 1MB.

I have a bit of free time now while I am moving back to the US this month, so I hope to make lots of progress on this project. However I can only check my e-mail from internet cafes, so don't be annoyed if I don't reply soon to any comments.

I have wanted to make this game since the first time I used Newton. I now feel like I have the skills to do it right, so I'm going for it :)

so with that, any comments welcome!!
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Postby Slick » Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:23 am

That is very cool. The surface of the trampoline is very realistic.
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Postby Thomas » Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:49 am

wow, awesome! :) what will the player look like?
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Postby bal » Sat Jun 04, 2005 5:33 am

Wow, how did you make that trampoline surface with Newton :) ? It looks like a sort of cloth simulation! Great job.
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Postby Julio Jerez » Sat Jun 04, 2005 7:07 am

wahooaaaa. :D :D
Those are the kind of things apprentices of the dark site of the Newton side can do when they are granted the title of grand master.
First you learn to use the features then as you learn to master the feature then you learn to control the more awesome power of the universe, “The Newton Force” to create life, oh did a say life I meant new effects. Finally you take an apprentice.
The Newton site of the force is designed to work for you, and not the other way around.
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Postby walaber » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:31 pm

thanks for the comments :D

the trampoline is not as fancy as it looks, it's the animated mesh that makes it look cool. if you look at the collision geometry going on behind the scenes it's actually quite simple. it did take a bit of work, and help from other users to get to this point though.

now I'm working on a simple character model so I can develop the character control / animation system, which right now is running on a limited 2D joint that I've created. however what I want to do is a bit more complex so I've got some thinking to do.

in the meantime, modelling modelling modelling! :D
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Postby The unProfessional » Mon Jun 06, 2005 12:55 pm

Looking great, Walaber. Did you have to use alot of segments to construct the trampoline physically? Will small objects bouncing on the tramp falling in between them?

Awesome job.
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Postby walaber » Mon Jun 06, 2005 11:52 pm

I've implemented a few things to keep that from happening, but yes, there can be gaps in the geometry. for example a really heavy small object can fall through the trampoline. or something with a huge velocity can penetrate it as well. but overall I think it's pretty robust.

the biggest challenge right now is trying to create a control + animatino system for the character. pre-built animations don't really work, so I'm working on a simple blending solution right now. if it works I think the player will have very smooth, dynamic animation. :P
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Postby The unProfessional » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:01 am

Very cool... I'm looking forward to it :)

Where in the US are you moving to?
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Postby walaber » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:10 am

right now it's looking like Florida. but depending on job stuff, I might end up somewhere else eventually.
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Postby Spooky » Tue Jun 07, 2005 7:14 am

Heres something you may want to check out.
Character Animation

And if anyone makes use of those papers please post some code, would love to have a system like that.
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Postby Zacpod » Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:25 pm

Looks amazing Walaber!
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Postby walaber » Wed Jun 08, 2005 12:39 am

that website is really impressive. I doubt I'll do anything quite so crazy with my game, but it looks like some very interesting reading.
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Postby Julio Jerez » Wed Jun 08, 2005 1:44 am

yes those animation article are quite interesting. I will be definniliitly be looking very closely as reference material fo the Newton gran finally The Animation system.
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Postby MiggyE » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:13 pm

Was looking at these papers today and it reminded me of the trampoline demo. I wonder if there is a generalized way to handle deformable body simulations with Newton?

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~djames/research/
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