Make a dForce plane primitve stretch over objects: simulation parameters

pixelquack

I am currently traing to make my own footprint planes by this method: I first created out of primitives, gescon and dformers objects that resemble the foot rolling off in soft material such as snow.

The idea now is to cast a dForce plane over it, then invert the Y scaling, add snow shader, voila. 

Setup as in the attached image:

pixelquack

Well, the forum won't let me upload the image and the image inlining does not work so please have a look here:

https://pasteboard.co/7ieHKPc1YYqz.png

pixelquack

But the result of the simulated plane (10m x 10x with 1000 divisions, so rather fine) always gets me something with fine wrinkles as this:

https://pasteboard.co/KYNG6LrMiQQs.png

I tried tweaking Density for more weight, I tried variuous stiffness reduction and some others, can't get it right. Would appreciate some hints.

Richard Haseltine

Are you getting warnings about spring lengths? If so try lowering the dForce minumum offset value

TimberWolf

It's a neat idea but dForce is essentially a cloth simulator and the wrinkles are a property of the parameters of the cloth (plane) you have created. dForce can be used for many other things (dropping objects onto vehicles or other props can be great fun, ocean surfaces, ground planes, you name it) but it's still cloth as far as the engine is concerned. 

You're essentially dropping a bedsheet onto some hollow geometry and hoping it will fall without any wrinkles. You probably *can* do it, zeroing out friction and making sure there is no contraction or expansion of the mesh but I think you're attacking this from the wrong angle and going down a long, long path of constant tweaking that probably has no end.

What you need to do is push the footprints into the plane rather than trying to cut them out using your technique. Happily, someone else has previously posted a guide on how to get this working (scroll down about half way for the relevant piece):

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/3442961/#Comment_3442961

The whole thread is worth a read as it shows some very inventive ways of using dForce for wildly different scenarios.

 

crosswind

I love dForce and use it a lot but TBH it's not an optimal option for such a case in terms of cost-effectiveness...(experimented before), dForce is not all mighty... So firstly recommend just using Smoothing Modifier + Collision...and you can well shape the size, pose, paces etc. of the "footprints object" to make various subtle changes, even plus Morph Loader Pro and Mesh Grabber to further manipulate and shape the footprints.... Done in 10 mins as below:

In your simulation case, if you set a high Collision Offset value on that hi-Def. plane, I think it'll take a long time to simulate... Well, those wrinkles might've come from the dynamic surface settings and the collision with the existing land... Perhaps you may try 'negative gravity' + dForce weight node. But still, I suppose dForce won't bring you good and natural results...

pixelquack

I had a feel from the get-go of macgyverizing dForce way beyond its intention, so thanks for the confirmation and useful comments/links.

@crosswind: I tried collisions on a thick plane myself but got rather strange results, as if I just melted the top layer and immediately froze over, but not indenting the surface. Can you tell me what plane parameters you started with? 

crosswind

pixelquack said:

I had a feel from the get-go of macgyverizing dForce way beyond its intention, so thanks for the confirmation and useful comments/links.

@crosswind: I tried collisions on a thick plane myself but got rather strange results, as if I just melted the top layer and immediately froze over, but not indenting the surface. Can you tell me what plane parameters you started with? 

Just PM-ed you the scene file, for your ref. ..

pixelquack

Thanks crosswind, turned out my prop has to be leveled carefully to create the desired effect, and find the right spots around collision iteration / smoothing to have reasonable results against the high poly plane, works now.

crosswind

pixelquack said:

Thanks crosswind, turned out my prop has to be leveled carefully to create the desired effect, and find the right spots around collision iteration / smoothing to have reasonable results against the high poly plane, works now.

That's great! You're welcome.