Hello and thank you for the invite to the Sansar Beta! I'm excited to create and explore the software. So far, I have an idea/request, should it not be in the works already: Will/can Sansar offer vegetation physics in the building mode, then output a baked geometry animation, so that a server does not have to calculate real-time physics? A pre-animated plant/moving geometry?
To expand: My request comes to benefit Sansar so that it is forward moving, competitive to video game industry's present and future quality/capabilities. We're dealing with virtual realities-- including immersive natural-like environments. The best games out there have it (like how seamlessly Witcher 3 does it), and for us to build natural landscapes without vegetation physics will come across as generic or cartoony. The environment's believability would be a bit off.
A possible technology solution (in theory): How about if there were a building mode where we can draw curve splines inside objects and the points (knots) on the spline receive the dynamic weighting? We can draw the spline on our objects and place the physical attributes on the knots? And then we can bake the dynamic simulation onto the object-- thus, subtract the real-time physics calculations necessary for a server. Or we can do all this in Maya, and export out the baked dynamic simulation into Sansar?
***In essence, in the building vacuum, we build a plant model, apply a spline to it, apply a physic simulation, then lastly, bake out the model deformation from the simulation. In final output, and presentation, present an animated plant model (no real-time physics calculations).
Now this can be applied to a portion of an object. Say like an oak tree: the trunk doesn't move, the big branches might not move, but the smaller branches with leaves would (so one could theoretically still climb the tree or hang things from it).
With Maya, the tech is there-- we can create the baked geometry in there, and it can create the baked geometry sequence. Sansar just needs to be able to import it and display it.
As far as a possible export format, it's been a few years but I believe fbx carries animation curves, which Sansar likes.
Any thoughts? Insights?
