{"id":1321,"date":"2026-02-21T10:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willkolb.com\/?p=1321"},"modified":"2026-02-21T10:44:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:44:10","slug":"10-months-of-no-physics-animations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willkolb.com\/?p=1321","title":{"rendered":"10 Months of No Physics Animations…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So I’ve been wanting to make the robots more of a physics simulations since I started the project. However, I’ve had a hard time of figuring out why I couldn’t get the physics-based-animation effect I was looking for (See https:\/\/willkolb.com\/?p=915<\/a>). I thought I had a decent method which made the ragdolls of the robots stable but I could never get the full on real-time physics simulation working. I have also had constant issues with control\/modular rigs and started ignoring this concept all together. However, in my infinite stubbornness I tried re-rigging the patrol bot again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New Skeleton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Old Skeleton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It’s hard to tell just from pictures but the big differences are: the Root bone under the robot, the tail and head portions, and the overall flow goes from tail to head rather than spine to each leg. It’s easier to see differences when looking at the hierarchy differences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Old Skeleton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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New Skeleton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now what this enables is that unreal can actually tell what’s going on for the bot. The biggest benefit is that physics simulations start to become much more stable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n