Destructibleobjects {documentation artist guide tutorials}

Contents 1 Introduction to Destructible Objects 2 Setting Up Collision 3 Hierarchy For Meshes With Multiple LODs 4 Aligning the Pivot Points 5 Zero Transforms 6 Setting up the physicsShape.cs file 7 Building a destructible object with more than one damage states 8 Null LODs 9 Conclusion Introduction to Destructible Objects In Torque 3D 1.1, destructible objects are created by building multiple states of an object (unbroken and broken) and swapping between them when appropriate. Once swapped, the pieces of the broken mesh can become physical. The physicsShape.cs file is used to tell the engine how to swap out the undamaged and damaged states. Unlike previous methods, no special PhysX plug-in is needed for your modeling program. In this much simpler method, everything is set up in physicsShape.cs file. Damaged versions can be made of multiple meshes that become physical when broken. For instance, the crate below has a single mesh made of its undamaged state (left) and four physical meshes that make up its damaged state (right): (click to enlarge) The crate is made up of two separate mesh files. Both are set up like traditional Torque 3D files, with an exception for the children of the Start Node. In this example, the meshes only have a single LOD. The unbroken mesh: (click to enlarge) The broken mesh: (click to enlarge) Note: A destructible object can have just a single physical collision volume for the broken mesh. For example, you might want a destructible barrel that does not become multiple pieces after the explosion; just a single dented barrel. The same process would be used to swap between the unbroken and broken version of the barrel. Setting Up Collision Collision is set up in the traditional Torque fashion. Collision meshes are under the Start Node. Collision marker nodes are under the Base Node, using the standard prefix col- to represent a convex collision mesh. When creating destructible objects, collision volumes must be children of their mesh counterpart. Complicated collision volumes can be costly, so T3D now allows for some inexpensive primitives to be designated using naming conventions. These should be used whenever possible: colbox- is used for box collision shapes colsphere- is used for spherical collision shapes colcapsule- is used for capsule collision shapes (note that cylindrical is not an option) When using box, sphere, and capsule primitives in your modeling application, use the above prefixes in their name. Primitives are not always the best option for a shape, so the traditional convex mesh designation of col- can still be used for convex shapes, but at a less efficient performance cost. Each collision volume, convex mesh or primitive, must still have a corresponding Collision Marker. (click to enlarge) Export your two meshes (broken and unbroken) to COLLADA format. It may be a good idea to create a folder specifically for destructible Physics shapes. Hierarchy For Meshes With Multiple LODs Multiple LODs require a slightly different setup than the crate example above. To set up your mesh so that the broken (aka "debris") pieces, can LOD properly, an "LOD helper" must be a parent of the collision volume and meshes for all levels of detail for any given debris piece: (click to enlarge) The LOD helpers are dummy objects, which can be named anything as long as they do not end in a number. T3D would read this as an LOD level. None of the node names are critical, as long as they end in the proper detail level number and do not contain numbers otherwise. Aligning the Pivot Points The pivot points of any renderable mesh and its associated collision volume must share the same coordinates and orientation. An easy method to align these is setting the pivot points of all objects to 0,0,0 in world-space. The pivot points do not need to be in the center of the object they represent. Zero Transforms Shapes often need to have their transforms reset after being modeled so they align properly with their collision volume. Two approaches include using the traditional "box trick" method, or using modeling applications that have a native method for resetting transforms. Setting up the physicsShape.cs file The physicsShape.cs file goes in the same directory as the unbroken and broken meshes. For each destructible object, two datablocks are needed: datablock PhysicsDebrisData (contains information about the behavior of the broken mesh) datablock PhysicsShapeData (contains information about the behavior of the unbroken mesh) It is critical that the Debris Date precedes the Shape Data for any given destructible object. Example code for our square crate above: datablock PhysicsDebrisData( CrateSquareDebris ) { lifetime = 60.0; lifetimeVariance = 0.0; velocity = 0.1; velocityVariance = 0; shapeFile = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/crate_square_broken.DAE"; mass = 10; dynamicFriction = 0; staticFriction = 0.5; restitution = 0.0; linearDamping = 0.0; angularDamping = 0.0; linearSleepThreshold = 1.0; angularSleepThreshold = 1.0; waterDampingScale = 1.0; buoyancyDensity = 0.0; castShadows = "1"; friction = "0.4"; }; datablock PhysicsShapeData( PSCrateSquare ) { category = "PhysicsShape"; shapeName = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/crate_square_unbroken.DAE"; emap = 1; mass = 5; massCenter = "0 0 0"; // Center of mass for rigid body massBox = "0 0 0"; // Size of box used for moment of inertia, // if zero it defaults to object bounding box drag = 0.2; // Drag coefficient bodyFriction = 0.2; bodyRestitution = 0.1; minImpactSpeed = 5; // Impacts over this invoke the script callback softImpactSpeed = 5; // Play SoftImpact Sound hardImpactSpeed = 15; // Play HardImpact Sound integration = 4; // Physics integration: TickSec/Rate collisionTol = 0.1; // Collision distance tolerance contactTol = 0.1; // Contact velocity tolerance minRollSpeed = 10; maxDrag = 0.5; minDrag = 0.01; triggerDustHeight = 1; dustHeight = 10; dragForce = 0.05; vertFactor = 0.05; normalForce = 0.05; restorativeForce = 0.05; rollForce = 0.05; pitchForce = 0.05; debris = CrateSquareDebris; friction = "0.4"; linearDamping = "0.1"; angularDamping = "0.2"; buoyancyDensity = "0.9"; staticFriction = "0.5"; explosion = WoodMinorExplosion; radiusDamage = 0; damageRadius = 0; areaImpulse = 0; restitution = "0.3"; invulnerable = "0"; waterDampingScale = "10"; }; Building a destructible object with more than one damage states A destructible object can be built with multiple successive damage states. This way the player can slightly damage an object, then fully damage an object: (click to enlarge) In this example, we will also use a combination of physical and non-physical meshes to make up the three "states" of destruction: State One: A single, non-physical mesh with a single collision volume. When this is fired upon, the mesh swaps out and state two replaces it. State Two: This state is made up of a non-physical lower portion and a number of physical debris pieces for the upper portion. When this state replaces the first state, the physical "debris" pieces will go flying, giving the impression that the top half of state one has been blown to pieces. When the non-physical mesh is fired upon, its mesh swaps out and state three replaces it. The physical parts of this mesh (the "debris") will not be swapped out. State Three: The final state. It is constructed like state two, with a non-physical lower portion and a number of physical debris pieces for the upper portion. (click to enlarge) The three different states are exported separately into five different files: Unbroken Mesh State One base State One physical pieces State Two base State Two physical pieces And the individual mesh hierarchies end up looking something like this: (click to see full image) The meshes are built either like traditional static Torque meshes, or as physical pieces setup as described in the Introduction, Collision, and LOD sections above. It may be easier to build all of the shapes in one hierarchy and only export the parts needed for any given mesh by hiding unneeded layers before export. In this case, the physicsShape.cs file should look something like this: // fence 1 broken state A datablock PhysicsDebrisData( PSfence1Adebris ) { lifetime = 60.0; lifetimeVariance = 0.0; velocity = 0.1; velocityVariance = 0; shapeFile = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/fence_1_bkstate_a.DAE"; mass = 1.5; dynamicFriction = 0; staticFriction = 0.3; restitution = 0.0; linearDamping = 0.1; angularDamping = 0.1; linearSleepThreshold = 1.0; angularSleepThreshold = 1.0; waterDampingScale = 10; buoyancyDensity = 0.8; friction = "0.2"; }; datablock PhysicsShapeData( PSfence1A ) { category = "PhysicsShape"; shapeName = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/fence_1_unbk.DAE"; mass = 0; debris =PSfence1Adebris; explosion = "SplinterExplosion"; friction = "0.1"; linearDamping = "0.1"; angularDamping = "0.1"; buoyancyDensity = "0.2"; staticFriction = "0.1"; restitution = "0.3"; invulnerable = "0"; minDamageAmount = "0.5"; destroyedShape = "PSfence1B"; }; // fence 1 broken state B datablock PhysicsDebrisData( PSfence1Bdebris ) { lifetime = 60.0; lifetimeVariance = 0.0; velocity = 0.1; velocityVariance = 0; shapeFile = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/fence_1_bkstate_b.DAE"; mass = 1.5; dynamicFriction = 0; staticFriction = 0.3; restitution = 0.0; linearDamping = 0.1; angularDamping = 0.1; linearSleepThreshold = 1.0; angularSleepThreshold = 1.0; waterDampingScale = 10; buoyancyDensity = 0.8; friction = "0.2"; }; datablock PhysicsShapeData( PSfence1baseB ) { category = "PhysicsShape"; shapeName = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/fence_1_bkbase_b.DAE"; mass = 0; invulnerable = "1"; }; datablock PhysicsShapeData( PSfence1B ) { category = "PhysicsShape"; shapeName = "art/shapes/physicsShapes/fence_1_bkbase_a.DAE"; mass = 0; debris =PSfence1Bdebris; explosion = "SplinterExplosion"; friction = "0.1"; linearDamping = "0.1"; angularDamping = "0.1"; buoyancyDensity = "0.2"; staticFriction = "0.1"; restitution = "0.3"; invulnerable = "0"; minDamageAmount = "1.25"; destroyedShape = "PSfence1baseB"; }; In the Datablock Editor you will need to specify the "destroyedShape" for each state: To place the shape in the level, choose the 1st state physics shape in the inspector and add it to your scene. Null LODs To minimize performance overhead of having a large number of physical shapes, any hierarchy can be given a "Null LOD" detail marker. The detail number of the next LOD marker will denote when the meshes should disappear. Conclusion This tutorial covered the process of adding destructible objects to your T3D game by building multiple states of an object. This feature greatly enhances interaction and immersion, so plan ahead when creating your art and designing levels. You can download the sample 3DS Max files shown in this guide by clicking HERE.

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