Meshes

In the Meshes tab you are able to tweak the objects for the collision engine. Select one or more objects from the right list to change the settings. Only objects that are assigned to Rodeo will be visible in this list.

Static Geometry

When objects contained in a simulation do not change their shape over time they are static geometry. When this option is enabled Rodeo will use a snapshot of the objects shape on the starting frame of the simulation and use it throughout the entire simulation. When an object changes its shape over time because it uses any deformations or morphs it is called dynamic geometry. When this option is disabled the geometry will be updated for each frame, taking deformations into account. To enable Rodeo to see dynamic geometry you need also to enable "Solve During Preview" in the Advanced tab.

This option is enabled by default for all added objects.

Center of Mass

The center of mass is recalculated based on the shape of an object when this option is enabled. This is necessary for real-looking simulations. For example, Ubershape will generate a teapot with its origin in the bottom. This is a good place for the pivot point to place a teapot on a table but not as a center to calculate physics for it. If the option is disabled Rodeo will use the Pivot point as the center of mass. The Center of Mass option does not change the pivot (rotation point) of the object. It is used only Rodeo internally.

This option is enabled by default for all added objects.

Convexify Object

A tough problem in physics simulations is collision between non-convex objects (objects with holes and dents). You can avoid this problem by "convexifying" the object, that is closing all holes and filling the dents. For example, when colliding with a face you can disregard the nostrils and the mouth. See also the image to the right.

Detect Convex Parts

Sometimes it can not be 100% determined whether 2 objects overlap by locally looking at only 2 triangles. This option determines which triangles are around each triangle in a convex manner. These triangles are then additionally referenced for collision detection. Use this option only if you are not satisfied with the simulation as it is very "expensive" in terms of computation time.

Mesh Reduction

To speed up the simulation you can reduce the number of polygons of active and passive objects. Since the slider is live you can watch the object disintegrate into a single dot by moving the slider from left to right. Set the slider until a rough representation of the object is reached. This option works for all objects except detected boxes and spheres (represented by a green cube and sphere icon). Mesh reduction is only used by Rodeo internally it will not reduce the mesh within Animator. See also the image to the right.

It is possible to change the options for more than one objects by shift-selecting multiple objects in the object list.