GDC08: Tech Demo - Havok cloth physics

Posted Feb 19th 2008 10:45PM by Terrence Stasse
Filed under: News, Videos

Already some of the most-used middleware around, Havok seems to be working on expanding their repertoire, adding cloth physics to their software. The video above showcases a tech demo from GDC08 and depicts a cape on a human figure who runs and jumps, with the cape reacting accordingly. The tech seems to be working well, with no evident clipping (at least to our eyes), and if there is any complaint to made it's that the cape's movements seem a bit exaggerated and unrealistic. With the tech delivering on it's end and Havok being used in a myriad of different games originating from a variety of genres and across many platforms, we can hope to see (mostly) accurate cloth physics appear in many more games going forward. (Also, what does this mean for cloaks, shrouds, togas, robes and all other in-game cloth?)

[Via 1UP]

Tags: gdc, gdc08, havok

Source
Permalink
Email this
Share
Comments [15]

Related Headlines

Go! Go! Break Steady site update and video (67 days ago - 3 Comments)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-19-2008 @ 11:28PM

Magic Whiskey said...

Hm. Don't get me wrong; I've been advocating the push towards more natural, free-flowing physics based fabric in gaming for years, and this IS better than what most games have offered so far, but it still feels rigid to me a bit.

In animation class at my undergrad art college, we studied fabric in different weights reacting to one constant force. Of course silk reacts totally different than say burlap. With this fabric tech demo I can't distinguish what type of fabric it's supposed to be. In one way its light because the near-shoulder areas act in accord to the bottom ends, but also like burlap, the fabric in total moves thickly. I hope you understand what I mean.

If this is to be believed to be 'cloak fabric', i.e heavy cotton or perhaps wool, the upper fabric near the figure's shoulders would not move as easily as the lower fabric does. Also the fabric would not fold in on itself as much; it would billow. I also had issues aesthetically with seeing the fabric catch the wind of the figure's movement as he walked or ran way too dramatically, like Terrence said. It wouldn't flap like that..it would lightly form an 'A' shape as it caught the air, much like a sail. It would not totally flip out and flap in the wind like this tech demo portrays.

I know I'm being a little critical, but to advance the technology, those that care should be so I feel.

2-19-2008 @ 11:35PM

Anticrawl said...

Well put, that's all that needs to be said in response to your comment.

2-19-2008 @ 11:38PM

ray42 said...

coulda nailed the framrate down a bit

2-19-2008 @ 11:40PM

ray42 said...

Shit my bad guys, it was some fff-ed up buffer :F

2-20-2008 @ 5:18AM

Boff said...

ray42: Ha ha that's exactly what I thought till I watched it the 2nd time!!

Magic Whiskey: At least it's a positive step in the right direction though, right?

2-19-2008 @ 11:36PM

Anticrawl said...

The real issue here is why Joystiq is using Game Videos. Their embedded videos are god awful.

2-19-2008 @ 11:55PM

flameofdoom666 said...

I may not be as trained as you Magic Whiskey, but I think it looks great!

2-20-2008 @ 1:54PM

Magic Whiskey said...

I'll say this: it's not Batman Begins. If you've played that you know right now what I mean. Poor Bats' cape was a wet Kleenex on his neck, didn't move well and was extremely tiny.

Think about all the games we already own (or have played) that could benefit from real cloth physics instead of NO cloth or stiff, cardboard sleds attached to necks of video game characters since time began.

To name a few just off the top of my head.. Soul Calibur (Remember when Spawn had a crappy axe instead of his cape? Physics.) Any dungeon crawler (Baldur's Gate, Diablo, etc), the LOTR games, countless superhero and Star Wars games, Crackdown (Imagine if your Agent had a nice big cloak or trenchcoat as he jumped building to building!), and games you might not immediately think about, like the GTA titles, Prince of Persia, any FPS you can name, ...hell, even flight games, (flags, banners), essentially ANY game you can think of that would benefit from fabric in any form.

The big talent when it comes to using an engine like this will be on the artistic side, I think. The manipulation of multiple fabrics and fabric-weights might be taxing on the system of course, but more importantly the artist has the task of portraying weight and fabric thickness correctly. Imagine an elf princess running. She might have a silk shawl, a cotton dress and a wool cloak. All of those separate clothing articles have to work independently, yet by the same external force or momentum (wind, movement), and still not clip at all with each other OR the model. That will be impressive when we finally see it all work in tandem, on the fly in our home consoles.
I'm kinda thinking, and I've BEEN thinking we won't see 'next-gen' until we can see something like that.

2-19-2008 @ 11:58PM

Adam said...

Its a cool concept but the cape flows to freely with little to no motion but its obviously something they could tweak.

2-20-2008 @ 12:05AM

Mikezula said...

UP! UP! AND AWAAAAY!!!

2-20-2008 @ 1:27AM

Brian said...

Meh... maybe it's just the poor resolution of this video, but this doesn't wow me.

Of course, I have no idea how this works, so it could be a revolution for all I know. >.>

2-20-2008 @ 1:43AM

Magic Whiskey said...

I don't deny this COULD BE a revolution; I want it to be, but so far this, in my opinion, is a stepping stone and one in the right direction.

If you want my take on decent, existing fabric physics in gameplay I'd have to only point you to Fable. That was pretty good for it's day.

2-20-2008 @ 4:24AM

Chase said...

Well, that's certainly lovely, but nonessential to actual gameplay. Appearance is nothing. Thirst is everything.

...

A licky boom boom down?

*flees*

2-20-2008 @ 12:16PM

Grant said...

i hope they aren't wasting too much time worrying about cloth physics, or that this is going to use up too much processing resources that could be used towards something more practical.

i have no problem with taking the next step towards realism, but i kinda feel like resources spent on something like this could be spent on greater interactivity in an environment or something more immersing.

2-20-2008 @ 3:23PM

malfunktion said...

Although rough, it looks better than anything I've seen before. Although the whole time i was more interested in seeing him sit down

Rock Band DLC for next week goes 80s Video Store update for the week ending August 16th Legendary officially out by end of September	Disengage and trap changes coming to Wrath Beta Phat Loot Phriday: Torch of the Damned Looking for the ladies in Outland
Need for Speed Undercover speeds to November Fanswag: Win Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 Major Nelson warns: Be careful with Fable II Pub Games	More awesome, inaccessible Mega Man 9 stuff Profit from a bounty of Dokapon video New Mario Kart tourney focuses on rings (and driving through them)
Guitar Hero returns with awesome multiplayer, underwhelming setlist Reminder: USA Today Crosswords is up for grabs New Moon trailer is short, but shows off plenty	Sony attempts to release at least 5 UMD movies each quarter, for less than $15 each It finally ends: PSP no longer top selling hardware in Japan Dungeon Maker II: The Hidden War reveals US release
New Everquest I and II expansions announced Trackmania United Forever on sale this weekend via Steam Dynasty Warriors 6 coming to PC, consoles this November	Pete Dye Who? You Can Design a Hole for the Pros (Yeah, Even You) A Reality Show to Fix Barkley's Golf Swing? Michelle Wie Continues to Bother People, Needs a Top-Two to Avoid Q-School

Xbox 360 Fanboy