Subject: Re: Hypernauts...
From: [email-masked] (Andrew Weiler)
To: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 1996 16:02:53 -0800

>In a LWPro artical on the new IK features, someone mentioned this- it could 
>be fixed by having the size of an object determin how much IK infulenced an 
>object.  For instance, a leg attacked to a large body would take-on more 
>movement as a result of the foot being moved.  Perhaps the ideal solution 
>would be you could set the "mass" of an object, either based on its size or 
>just input a number- humm, maybe I'll send it to [email-masked], I'm 
>assuming that movement constraints have alradyt been suggested (along with 
>rotational constraints)

Constraints would definately be a welcome adition, along with dynamics for
this sort of stuff. Rather than calculating weight by the size of the model,
you'd have to be able to input an arbitrary gravity. Don't talk to me about
plugins, I want to see this in LightWave!! 

>Perhaps, another thing was the way they quickly bounced around, if they 
>had walked slower, plus had a bit more give when the guns swung around (i.e. 
>something that heavy, moving that fast would not come to a dead stop without 
>affecting the whole mech: IMHO).  Check out The Empire Strikes Back & Return 
>of the Jedi, on the ATATs (4 legged things) for a good example of something 
>heavy walking, the Mechs in Hypernaughts are smaller, like ATSTs, but even 
>these moved like big metal things as opposed to plastic kits.
>
>Zoltan
>

The Foundation team seems to be making a transition from zero-gravity space
effects to the more complicated realm of true weight simulation, and I'm
sure they'll get better at it with time.

Andrew Weiler
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Active Images
          3D Graphic Design and Animation
        http://www.mindspring.com/~aweiler/
                 [email-masked]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------