Back in June I posted about my tank rig; a fully real-time rig in Cinema 4D which controlled my 'Panzer 2' tank model, allowing for realistic movement and terrain deformation. Now, I have created a new rig - and it's a bit more detailed.
Much like last time, this rig is entirely driven by dynamics, and of course works in real-time. In addition, this rig uses soft body dynamics to allow for wheel deformation to create a better sense of realism. However, unlike last time, I've modeled all the 'connecting' parts which would control the wheel's movement in a real vehicle, as a continued practice of my hard-surface modelling skills.
The rig. Note the tire deformation.
The rig works in a fairly simple manner; the rubber part of the wheel is the only part actually utilizing any form of dynamics, by way of soft body deformation and a simple 'wheel suspension' connector. In turn, this rubber wheel then controls everything else via a fairly standard IK chain with some added aim constraints to allow for parts to properly connect to where the rest of the vehicle would be.
The spring works via a 'squash and stretch' deformer, which is then controlled by a very simple 'XPresso' script, which really just uses a distance function (between the 'base' and 'end' objects for the spring) to determine how much the spring should stretch of squash.
The squash and stretch deformer and it's XPresso script.
I hope you enjoyed this overview on the rig. There will be plenty more models/environments and possibly even rigs this year, so make sure to check back.