blob things

Is it possible to make a blob like object like in locoroco?

I tried this a long time ago and didn't have much luck. But there have been some new features added since then that might help so I think I might give it another shot.

The basic idea behind it would be to link several physics objects together with hinges/springs in order to form a blob mesh in such a way that it won't collapse on itself. You can see the general theory on blob construction here:

http://cowboyprogramming.com/2007/01/05/blob-physics/

So I'd basically make little ball things, then attach them together with hinges?

I think spring force is the way to go on this.

There's a couple people in chat right now trying to figure it out. Well, me mainly. But some others are looking at it too.

I bet Quazi has something to say about this

Quazi was the guy who made the orange-shooting-jelly thing right?

Quazi was the guy who made the orange-shooting-jelly thing right?

Quaziblobs� are made by Quazi.

This thread is not about Quaziblobs . It's about Loco Roco style blobs that move and deform with physics.

I got close last night but I have a feeling I'm not using physics spring force correctly. David has a Tower of Goo example that shows spring force in action, and the structures are pretty sound. But my blob loses cohesion very quickly.

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/529356/Semi% ... t/blob.cap

If you run it the nodes just spaz out all over the place. If you bump up the mass on the nodes to 200 or more, they stick together better, but a mass of 200 is much too high for the springs to support the weight and the blob sags into a pile of mush. But at least then you can see they are connected properly.

ive done this with springs, and sprite distortion.

God, just how did you people learn this awesome physics

Well I'm getting closer:

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/529356/Semi% ... markII.cap

David informed me the trick is to set the spring dampening to 0, for whatever reason. As it is the blob can still fold over on itself though, so I need to get this structure working:

http://cowboyprogramming.com/images/blob/Fig-3.gif

But at least it's not spazzing out everywhere now.

Excelent progress Deadeye I played with your first version for quite some time seeing how things went together, but it's all well over my head.

i edited deadeyes cap to show you guys what i had done when i made this (cause i couldnt find the old one i had made)

i think you could fix the flopping into itself if you made the center ball big, i dunno why but its just a hunch i have, since its the main hub, it should be equal in mass to the balls which surround it

adding buffer nodes, might also help

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?gmwdyjd1zyd

Oh? Did you forget the link or something?

Okay, new version:

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/529356/Semi% ... arkIII.cap

A larger blob with more nodes and a more structurally sound skin. You can see the spring force connections here, they're indicated by the green spokes.

<img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/2zfmis4.jpg">

You can push itaround with the big red circle, just be gentle with it . It's quite easy to break (and sometimes it even starts off broken, with the 1 node below the 17 node, but you can nudge it back out if you're careful).

I think it needs a more solid skin, so the next step is to make the nodes themselves have no collision, and instead hinge some slender, solid spoke objects around the outside of the blob. That might do the trick. Still, this is the closest I've come to making a decent blob, if anyone else wants to mess around with it, feel free.