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Author Topic: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
outtoplay
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Posts: 8
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Post Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 6, 2012, 16:54
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Hi Spooky,

Good luck with the new forum! It's great that you provide a dedicated outlet for questions and support for your monstrously big tool-set. This is a prepurchase question, but hopefully useful for others.

I have a Mobile project that I want to do with a 2D ocean for. I saw your MegaShape (even the basic ) and think it might be perfect. I'm also on a really...really tight budget (or total lack of one). I don't want to hit a fly with a piano (monetarily speaking), unless I'm sure I'm in the right place. Here's what I'd like to pull off:

- a 2d ocean for a side-scroller type game, that could appear to tile horizontally
- the waves are smooth, animated rising and falling maybe some variation in shape, amplitude, frequency.
- they have colliders, and could be animated between pretty calm water and really wavy.

I've considered making shapes in Max or Maya, and morphing, but I really like the smoothness of your MegaShapes. I figure I'd need to be able to animate the points up and down, possibly the tangents? Any thoughts as to how I would implement your product to achieve this would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Image
spookycat
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Posts: 148
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Post Re: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 6, 2012, 17:53
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Hi There
Actually to do that I think you would be best served by using a modifier on a rectangular mesh. Shapes would do it and you could animate the spline points but you would be paying for the overhead of the triangulator computing the faces every frame, if you applied a wave modifier or two even with even a noise on top to make it uneven you would get a better result I think in less CPU time. Or if you did want to have more control over the shapes the Curve Deform could be used and you could then control the curve points how you like to get the shape you desire.

There is also the option to use point cache if you came up with something you liked the look of in Max/Maya. Actually if you have Max or Maya you can have a play in there to see if you can produce what you need.

I think though for you to get the best performance it wouldn't take much to write a custom mesh builder that has wave params, it is basically a box builder with a height function for the top verts, that would be the fastest solution for you. I am quite busy getting MegaShapes together for release but if you let me know exactly what is needed (video example maybe) I might be able to find time to add it in to the system.
Chris
outtoplay
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Posts: 8
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Post Re: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 6, 2012, 18:17
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Quote from spookycat on May 6, 2012, 17:53

...I think though for you to get the best performance it wouldn't take much to write a custom mesh builder that has wave params, it is basically a box builder with a height function for the top verts, that would be the fastest solution for you. I am quite busy getting MegaShapes together for release but if you let me know exactly what is needed (video example maybe) I might be able to find time to add it in to the system.
Chris

Chris... Somethign like you describe here sounds absolutely perfect! I can only imagine how busy you are with stuff, but If it's at all possible, I will do a quick screen cap movie ASAP. Obviously not holding you to your kind suggestion, but if it were something that would be doable, I'd be eternally grateful and a avid customer for as long as you counted us valuable.

I'll make a quick vid, stick it up on my Drop box and send you the link (as I'd prefer not to layout the game idea here).

Best,
B.
outtoplay
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Posts: 8
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Post Re: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 6, 2012, 18:50
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Send link to your mail at: megafiers@west-racing.com

thanks!
spookycat
Administrator
Posts: 148
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Post Re: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 7, 2012, 13:55
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Had a quick play.
outtoplay
Newbie
Posts: 8
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Post Re: Shape animation for 2d wave motion?
on: May 7, 2012, 14:29
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Holy crap....... This is beautiful! You're a total maniac (and I mean that as a compliment!)
Amazing Chris...simply Amazing.
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