Fully Procedural Catenary Curves Generator In Maya
No simulation is involved.
In this demo, Mohammad Taha showcased a custom tool he developed for his current game project. Aiming to streamline and speed up the set dressing process for the team, he created a fully procedural, node-based catenary curve system within Maya.
The tool is lightweight, stable, and fast, achieving results without the need for simulation. The game team uses it to place cables, wires, ropes, and other hanging elements throughout complex environments, as well as for interactive cables with animated parts for robotic characters.
Fixed Length Curves here are suitable for rigging and animation. They maintain a consistent length, allowing the curve to behave realistically as control points move. Fixed Sag Curves are good for set dressing and environment design since they let you control the amount of sag, even when the endpoints are moved.
However, the current curves are based on a parabolic approximation. In the future, Mohammad will include the option to switch between parabolic and true catenary curve formulas for more precision.
Mohammad also plans to release this tool for sale in the future, but in the meantime, check out his detailed mecha animation and follow him on LinkedIn for more updates:
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