Motivation
Currently, material properties are applied uniformly to an entire shell object and remain constant throughout the simulation. This makes it difficult to represent effects where only specific regions of a material change over time.
Animated per-vertex weight maps would allow localized material changes without splitting the mesh into separate objects, rebuilding the simulation between frames, or adding highly specialized systems to the solver.
This could enable use cases such as:
- progressive material hardening or softening;
- localized changes in mass or stiffness;
- animated reinforcement zones;
- damage and wear effects;
- temperature-dependent material behavior;
- spatially varying damping or friction.
A generic weight-map system would keep these use cases flexible.
Proposal
I would like to propose support for animated per-vertex weight maps that can modify material properties of shell objects over time.
Each map would contain one scalar value per vertex and could be updated for every logical simulation frame. The values could then blend between the object's existing material setting and a secondary target value or multiplier.
This could be used for parameters such as:
- density
- young-mod
- bend
- deformation-damping
- bending-damping
- friction
For example, a weight of 0.0 would use the base material value, while a weight of 1.0 would use the target value. Intermediate weights would blend between them.
Ideally, multiple animated maps could be assigned to the same shell object, with each map controlling a different parameter. Support for linear interpolation or constant values between frame samples would also be useful.
Alternatives Considered
No response
Additional Context
No response
Contribution Agreement
Community Reference
No response
Motivation
Currently, material properties are applied uniformly to an entire shell object and remain constant throughout the simulation. This makes it difficult to represent effects where only specific regions of a material change over time.
Animated per-vertex weight maps would allow localized material changes without splitting the mesh into separate objects, rebuilding the simulation between frames, or adding highly specialized systems to the solver.
This could enable use cases such as:
A generic weight-map system would keep these use cases flexible.
Proposal
I would like to propose support for animated per-vertex weight maps that can modify material properties of shell objects over time.
Each map would contain one scalar value per vertex and could be updated for every logical simulation frame. The values could then blend between the object's existing material setting and a secondary target value or multiplier.
This could be used for parameters such as:
For example, a weight of
0.0would use the base material value, while a weight of1.0would use the target value. Intermediate weights would blend between them.Ideally, multiple animated maps could be assigned to the same shell object, with each map controlling a different parameter. Support for linear interpolation or constant values between frame samples would also be useful.
Alternatives Considered
No response
Additional Context
No response
Contribution Agreement
Community Reference
No response