Ragdoll Physics - Approaches

Approaches

Ragdolls have been implemented using Featherstone's algorithm and spring-damper contacts. An alternative approach uses constraint solvers and idealized contacts. While the constrained-rigid-body approach to ragdolls is the most common, other "pseudo-ragdoll" techniques have been used:

• Verlet integration: used by Hitman: Codename 47 and popularized by Thomas Jakobsen, this technique models each character bone as a point connected to an arbitrary number of other points via simple constraints. Verlet constraints are much simpler and faster to solve than most of those in a fully modelled rigid body system, resulting in much less CPU consumption for characters.

• Inverse kinematics post-processing: used in Halo: Combat Evolved and Half-Life, this technique relies on playing a pre-set death animation and then using inverse kinematics to force the character into a possible position after the animation has completed. This means that, during an animation, a character could wind up clipping through world geometry, but after it has come to rest, all of its bones will be in valid space.

• Blended ragdoll: this technique was used in Halo 2, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Left 4 Dead, Medal of Honor: Airborne, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It works by playing a pre-made animation, but constraining the output of that animation to what a physical system would allow. This helps alleviate the ragdoll feeling of characters suddenly going limp, offering correct environmental interaction as well. This requires both animation processing and physics processing, thus making it even slower than traditional ragdoll alone, though the benefits of the extra realism seem to overshadow the reduction in processing speed. Occasionally the ragdolling player model will appear to stretch out and spin around in multiple directions, as though the character were made of rubber. This erratic behavior has been observed to occur in games that use certain versions of the Havok engine, such as Halo 2 and Fable II.

• Procedural animation: traditionally used in non-realtime media (film/TV/etc), this technique (used in the Medal of Honor series starting from European Assault onward) employs the use of multi-layered physical models in non-playing characters (bones / muscle / nervous systems), and deformable scenic elements from "simulated materials" in vehicles, etc. By removing the use of pre-made animation, each reaction seen by the player is unique, whilst still deterministic. Rather than detract from gameplay through overstimulation, the "natural" qualities of movement provide for a more immersive experience, and extended replayability.