How to stiffen surfaces for dforce?

DefaultName

Hi, I'm currently using this product: https://www.daz3d.com/sy-dforce-capes-for-genesis-8

And I want to simulate the cape to fall down, but not scrunch inward like it does. I tried experimenting with parameters in the surfaces tab that could maybe give me different results, and it blew things up, basically. I have no clue what I'm doing in this regard.

Any advice? Thank you!

Richard Haseltine

You may need to increase the iterations/sub-frames in Simulation Settings to get a good simualtion after adjusting the surface settings

DefaultName

Richard Haseltine said:

You may need to increase the iterations/sub-frames in Simulation Settings to get a good simualtion after adjusting the surface settings

Okay, thanks. I'm also curious which parameters you might know of that are likely to get what I want. There's "stretch stiffness", "bend stiffness", "buckling stiffness", etc and for now it all just feels like a guessing game.

Phatmartino

@DefaultName Hey! When you say "fall down", do you mean just drape on the character, or fall to the floor/onto another object?

Something you can try playing around with that I believe is meant to simplify the use of the Parameters you mentioned (the different Stiffnesses, etc) is:

1. Select the Cape in the Scene Tab

2. In the Surfaces Tab, Select the main entry for the Cape in the hierarchy on the left, then while it's Selected, Right Click on it and choose "dForce Surface Adjuster"

3. This brings up a small interface with 3 options: 

Stiffer / Silkier

Shrink / Expand

Stretch- / +Stretch

4. Stiffer / Silkier is probably what you'd want to play with for your current purpose... These buttons "Nudge" several of the Parameters you mentioned to move the whole one way or the other.

Whenever I use them, I'll try "nudging" the direction I want by 3-5 for a moderate affect or up to 8 or 10 for more severe. You might be able to go even further and/or that may depend on the specific Garment, or Weight Maps that might be involved, etc...

 

Other general things to consider:

 

 1. Like Richard mentioned, in Simulation Settings, you can up the Subframes and/or Iterations (Per Subframe)... I can't remember why I think this, but you might try increasing in multiples of 2 or 4...

2. Under Environment in Simulation Settings, Gravity is set to 1 by default, going to 2 makes things fall faster, etc, going down to anywhere just above Zero will have the opposite effect, obviously below Zero will make things "float" as if gravity were reversed.

3. If it matters at all in your particular situation, in Simulation Settings, The Collision Mode can make a big difference depending on whether the Cape touches anything throughout the Simulation. "Good" will allow the dForce Cloth to slip quickly off of objects where Better and Best will grab on more and want to "Hang" from the object.

4. As far as Explosions go, you're probably aware, but of course making sure the Cape isn't intersecting with anything (a Figure wearing it, or anything else), before starting the Simulation makes a big difference. For some items I'll find I have to use whatever Parameters >Actor Morphs are available (or even add Fit Controls if there's not enough natively) to expand things quite a bit further from the figure than I really think should be necessary so that the Simulation doesn't inadvertantly create an intersection right away if I've really tweaked Simulation Settings to get a particular effect.

5. You can always load the Cape (or any dForce item), and with it Selected in the Scene Tab, go to the Simulation Tab and Left Click the Three Line "Hamburger" Button, and choose:

dForce >Remove dForce Modifier, then immediately hit that Three Line Button again and choose dForce >Add dForce Modifier: Dynamic Surface. This can be useful if the Item natively had a dForce Weight Map that was making some parts Stiffer than others, or some parts Static, etc. and see what your working with if the whole Item is fully dynamic.

 

You may very well be aware of all the above, just thought I'd toss out some of the things I look at when trying to Simulate just in case... If you can post a bit more about exactly what you're trying to acheive, we could maybe narrow down even further what you might want to try...

DefaultName

phatmartino said:

@DefaultName Hey! When you say "fall down", do you mean just drape on the character, or fall to the floor/onto another object?

Something you can try playing around with that I believe is meant to simplify the use of the Parameters you mentioned (the different Stiffnesses, etc) is:

1. Select the Cape in the Scene Tab

2. In the Surfaces Tab, Select the main entry for the Cape in the hierarchy on the left, then while it's Selected, Right Click on it and choose "dForce Surface Adjuster"

3. This brings up a small interface with 3 options: 

Stiffer / Silkier

Shrink / Expand

Stretch- / +Stretch

4. Stiffer / Silkier is probably what you'd want to play with for your current purpose... These buttons "Nudge" several of the Parameters you mentioned to move the whole one way or the other.

Whenever I use them, I'll try "nudging" the direction I want by 3-5 for a moderate affect or up to 8 or 10 for more severe. You might be able to go even further and/or that may depend on the specific Garment, or Weight Maps that might be involved, etc...

 

Other general things to consider:

 

 1. Like Richard mentioned, in Simulation Settings, you can up the Subframes and/or Iterations (Per Subframe)... I can't remember why I think this, but you might try increasing in multiples of 2 or 4...

2. Under Environment in Simulation Settings, Gravity is set to 1 by default, going to 2 makes things fall faster, etc, going down to anywhere just above Zero will have the opposite effect, obviously below Zero will make things "float" as if gravity were reversed.

3. If it matters at all in your particular situation, in Simulation Settings, The Collision Mode can make a big difference depending on whether the Cape touches anything throughout the Simulation. "Good" will allow the dForce Cloth to slip quickly off of objects where Better and Best will grab on more and want to "Hang" from the object.

4. As far as Explosions go, you're probably aware, but of course making sure the Cape isn't intersecting with anything (a Figure wearing it, or anything else), before starting the Simulation makes a big difference. For some items I'll find I have to use whatever Parameters >Actor Morphs are available (or even add Fit Controls if there's not enough natively) to expand things quite a bit further from the figure than I really think should be necessary so that the Simulation doesn't inadvertantly create an intersection right away if I've really tweaked Simulation Settings to get a particular effect.

5. You can always load the Cape (or any dForce item), and with it Selected in the Scene Tab, go to the Simulation Tab and Left Click the Three Line "Hamburger" Button, and choose:

dForce >Remove dForce Modifier, then immediately hit that Three Line Button again and choose dForce >Add dForce Modifier: Dynamic Surface. This can be useful if the Item natively had a dForce Weight Map that was making some parts Stiffer than others, or some parts Static, etc. and see what your working with if the whole Item is fully dynamic.

 

You may very well be aware of all the above, just thought I'd toss out some of the things I look at when trying to Simulate just in case... If you can post a bit more about exactly what you're trying to acheive, we could maybe narrow down even further what you might want to try...

Thank you very much, for such a detailed and informative reply!

For this scene, the cape doesn't drape on anything. I just keep the character wearing it on so it doesn't fall, I even have the hair off during simulation to avoid problems. I'm trying to get the cape to crinkle less, because I want to put a visible logo on it, like a Superman S, but currently it crinkles so much, you wouldn't be able to tell.

All your info sounds great, I'm going to give it a try and report back when I can.