Clothing system info! (Happy holidays!)
Added 2020-12-21 17:38:04 +0000 UTCHi all!
We hope you're still surviving out there!
This past month, we've been hard at work implementing a custom clothing system. This system is coming along well, but there have been significant bumps along the way. There were many times when we were almost ready to give up and go with a different approach, but luckily we persevered.
We wanted to write something sooner to keep you guys updated, but at the same time, we also wanted to be sure that our ideas actually worked before hyping anything up. Now, we have finally reached that point where we feel confident in our tech.
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When we set out to create a custom clothing system, there were five key points we were trying to achieve:
Simplicity
We wanted to create a system that is easy to understand and create clothes for. It should be possible to create clothes in any external 3D software of your choice and bring it into FurryVNE without significant effort. Making clothes should be fun and easy!
Customizability
We wanted a system that supports many different kinds of clothing, and those clothes should be possible to configure inside the app the same way you've come to expect of FurryVNE.
Adaptability
We wanted a system that properly adapts to the body as it is affected by bone deformation, blend shapes and soft body dynamics (or any other deformer), without having to apply the same stack of operations on the clothing. Rather, clothes should get all of those things "for free" as a direct result of the custom skinning method used.
Performance
We wanted a system that operates on the GPU and thus hooks into the rest of our character pipeline (which also operates on the GPU). By utilizing the GPU and by completely bypassing the CPU, we could achieve excellent framerates.
Unique features
We wanted a system that is much more than just clothing. We wanted something that facilitates story creation - something that enables you to tell the kind of stories you want (once we actually get to implementing interactions). Without a custom skinning implementation, what we have in mind regarding clothing simply wouldn't be possible!
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We are happy to say that we have been able to achieve all of the key points listed above. There's quite a bit of work remaining still, since this system interacts with so many others and is quite complicated. The majority of the tech hurdles have all been solved though. All that remains is peripheral systems (like handling how fur works together with clothing), optimization, presentation and general fluff and polish.
Great things are coming, and we can't wait to show it to you.
Stay tuned for more information!
Picture above is teaser of outfit that Dogson quickly threw together in Blender for testing purposes.
Also, a big Happy holidays from all of us on the FurryVNE Team!
- odes
(P.S.
I want to point out that this is not a physical clothing simulation system, but rather a custom skinning method and set of tools. This system may be extended with physical properties at some point, but that's not what this system is at the moment.)
Comments
Just a few basic articles of clothing already built in, like test examples for folks to use in their own stuff. A few shirts, skirts. etc.
Anon Anonson
2021-01-08 08:33:35 +0000 UTCAs much as implementing our own modelling tool excites me, we couldn't compete with existing tools and it would not make much sense to try and do so. I think a better approach would be to offer a tutorial in how to do clothing in external software. What do you have in mind exactly when you say "basic clothing options"?
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-07 11:20:52 +0000 UTCWould it be at all possible to include tools to make and edit clothes IN the tool itself for those of us who don't know how to use any other external modeling software? or to at least include basic clothing options in the tool itself?
Anon Anonson
2021-01-07 06:40:06 +0000 UTCI can see what you mean, I have been able to reproduce this issue. I will add it todo and a fix will hopefully be part of the next release.
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-05 00:19:33 +0000 UTCYou mean if a part has a child part, the child part doesn't show in the mirrored copy? What version are you on? I remember there being a problem with this before but it should have been fixed. Otherwise, can you show a screenshot and share the character file with me?
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-05 00:17:28 +0000 UTCOne more thing XD When I create a complex part like horns and I create instance part, after enabling mirror it doesn't shows internal part.
John Vermer
2021-01-05 00:10:16 +0000 UTCHmm.... looks like I need find some other alternative for claws. Thanks anyway :)
John Vermer
2021-01-04 21:54:23 +0000 UTCPart instancing is essentially a way of rendering the same object multiple times. So it makes sense for paw pads, but not so much for tails! Still, just converting paw pads should be enough to reduce draw calls in your case.
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-04 21:48:04 +0000 UTCOk, I changed parts to instances and .... looks like everything is fine to my parts and others, like ears, but still nothing is change for dog tail :/
John Vermer
2021-01-04 21:08:05 +0000 UTCWell, yes, I observed that suggestion in information bar, but don't know really how to do it :/ Create some folder or something? :/ Edit: Ok, now i know XD Thanks.
John Vermer
2021-01-04 19:44:40 +0000 UTCAh, you need to start using part instancing. You can convert these to part instances. That way, they'll be drawn in a single draw call.
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-04 19:29:31 +0000 UTCRockse, Luxy, Rix... every character uploaded with enabled dog tails that I use as a claws :/ It is probably related to this parts :/
John Vermer
2021-01-04 08:31:03 +0000 UTCDraw calls were improperly calculated before. What character is it you're having trouble with?
FurryVNE Team
2021-01-04 03:03:28 +0000 UTCStrange situation: When I opened one of my first projects in a cloud and, out of curiosity, I entered the "Publish" tab, I was informed that it is over draw calls limit. You changed something, or it's a bug? :/
John Vermer
2021-01-04 00:31:04 +0000 UTCMany congrats on this advancement, guys. Thank you all for your hard work on making this quality project. 8D
2020-12-23 17:46:38 +0000 UTCHonestly, I did not expect you guys to even feature clothing at any point. But I think it will extend the possibilities of what we can do in a healthy way. Awesome that you guys managed this, I will now absolutely need to brush up in actual modelling.
Craket
2020-12-22 15:42:10 +0000 UTCTell stories and clothing... Oh yeah, that's so hype! >W<
Cass. Wyvern
2020-12-22 00:35:42 +0000 UTCThis particular tech is not a physics simulation, just a way of skinning a cloth mesh using another, underlying source mesh (body). It would however be theoretically possible to extend it with a physical component in the future. It's definitely something I am interested in, but the dynamic behavior of our characters (inflation) makes it more difficult to implement something that works in realtime. At the moment there is no VR motion capture planned, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be implemented at some point. One thing at the time though ...
FurryVNE Team
2020-12-21 22:50:20 +0000 UTCLooks so impressive! Seeing this update made me so happy!
Bored Coyote
2020-12-21 20:04:12 +0000 UTCWill any clothing have simulated physics options, or would that be too taxing on the system and potentially cause problems with scaling? Also, completely unrelated, I've been messing around with Virt-a-Mate recently, and I really like how they let you do basic motion capture animation with a VR headset and controllers. I know you're still a ways from having scene creation, let alone animation or VR support, but just thought it would be a cool feature to have when you eventually get there.
Mobius Scarf
2020-12-21 18:30:21 +0000 UTCOhhhh the potential....🥵 I love it!
addy
2020-12-21 18:23:41 +0000 UTCYou have no idea how much i have waited this! I just cannot wait to create clothes and everything. Keep up the good work!
Static_snowflake
2020-12-21 18:08:41 +0000 UTC
