Vehicle Deformations and Vehicle System for The Matrix Awakens
Introduction
Speaker: Jacob Buck, Senior Technical Artist at Epic Games
Topic: Vehicle deformation and the vehicle system for The Matrix Awakens
Objectives
Create a dynamic and unique player experience through vehicle crashes.
Achieve physically based and unique crashes in each playthrough.
Vehicle Crash Dynamics
Utilize Control Rig and Chaos's vehicle system for dynamic crashes.
Highway Shooting Sequence Goals:
Explosive crashes with vehicles flipping.
Cascade effect when agents' cars interact with non-agent vehicles.
Modifications to vehicle's center of mass affect crash behavior.
Prototype crashes in test maps for quick iteration.
Timeline Node: Controls steering and center of mass adjustments.
Crash Behavior
Testing vehicle behavior at 70 mph for chase sequences.
Raising the center of mass helps achieve desired crash outcomes.
Use of debug view to visualize center of mass and steering input timing.
Adjust timing and amplitude for different crash feels.
Physics and Deformation of Vehicles
14 physics bodies around vehicles act as sensors, connected via prismatic joints.
Unreal 5 Features:
Introduction of linear and angular plasticity attributes for deformation.
Permanent deformation upon exceeding specified limits.
Bumper Mechanics:
Bumpers break off when a force threshold is exceeded.
New capabilities to query and set constraint attributes in Blueprints.
Damage and Effects Mechanism
Vehicle Blueprints weaken attributes based on deformation and weapon damage.
Handling Dynamic Physics: Set All Bodies Below Physics Disabled node used for optimizing performance.
A skeletal mesh driven by physics asset handles environment interactions.
Control Rig Component
Mapping: Bones of root skeletal mesh are sources; Control Rig controls are targets.
Designed to accommodate different vehicle types using booleans and branch nodes.
Yellow spherical controls mapped to physics skeletons for visual deformations.
Safeguards for driver safety by limiting intrusions from deformations.
Data-Driven Approach
Data assets define vehicle types and behaviors for unique reactions on collision.
Features like crumple zones and vehicle interactions are easily tunable via data assets.
Events triggered based on physics body travel distance.
Vehicle Appearance and Optimization
Geometry Collections: Exchange between skeletal meshes and Nanite for performance.
Efficient management of the skin cache for ray tracing effects.
Use of separate LODs for exterior and interior vehicle meshes.
Visual Effects in Vehicle System
Jonathan Lindquist's Presentation
Focused on vehicle destruction, character dissolves, etc.
Leveraged UE5's effects editor (Niagara) for surface simulation and wear effects.
**Methodologies:
Vehicle Surface Simulation:**
Point sampling over mesh surfaces to track wear and tear.
Collision detection via bounding volume hierarchy.
Tension Mapping
Used for displaying deformation and wear over time.
Achieved through a topology-agnostic approach.
Real-Time Effects and Performance Optimization
Explored GPU raycasting for collision detection.
Runtime adjustments via material parameter collections for visual fidelity.
Bridge Destruction Sequence Overview
Jack Oakman's Presentation
Objective: Create a cinematic-scale bridge destruction sequence.
Techniques Used:
Cached simulations for deterministic results in a dynamic environment.
Structured bridge components for staggered collapse.
Use of modeling tools to create fracture patterns and internal structures.
Effects Animation
Matt Radford's Presentation
Focus on pyrotechnics and explosions within the game.
Techniques Used:
Real-time fluid simulation and GPU Pyro solver for effects.
Camera-facing quads for smoke and fire effects.
Weapon Effects
Realistic weapon effects with data-driven systems for flexibility in weapon design.
Emphasis on satisfying player feedback when interacted with vehicles and environments.
Conclusion
The Matrix Awakens showcases innovations in vehicle dynamics, destruction sequences, and visual effects, made possible via Unreal Engine 5's capabilities.
Collaboration among a talented team helped bring unique gameplay experiences to life.