Dev Update 03.28.2021
Hello, friends! Today I am very excited to share an update on the ground-play physics model. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the air-play physics model in the past, but accurate ground-play physics has been a major challenge for me since starting on the physics model over a year ago. Finally, after months and months of researching, tinkering, and tweaking, I have something to show.
I am still hard at work building out the core gameplay mechanics to support Circle1’s first course: Canyon Lands. I am really excited by the progress and will be sharing an update on those mechanics very soon. I have received quite a few messages from supporters eager to try the first course. I know you’ve all been waiting for a course for quite some time, but trust me, the wait will be worth it!
With that - Let’s dive into the updates!
Ground-Play Physics: Skips
Today I am very excited to introduce the first phase of Circle1’s ground-play model: skips!
I’ve been working on the ground-play model for Circle1 off-and-on for over a year now. Although the air-play model has made steady progress, I’ve had a lot of trouble nailing the physics simulation for what happens when the disc hits the ground. Most Disc Golf games in the past seem to have given up on realistic ground-play, and have either chosen to simplify the model to basic inputs and output (e.g. if disc lands on edge, then reflect vertical velocity) or have chosen to “fantasy-fy” ground-play entirely by having disc features like “super skippy” which shoots the disc up in the air whenever it lands on the rim. These approaches work - but they’ve always felt a bit off - at least to me.
If you’ve played or watch Disc Golf, you know that realistic Disc Golf ground-play is pretty complex. Discs skip, spin, wobble, roll, and teeter. Sometimes a disc stays almost exactly where it first touches the ground and sometimes the disc goes shooting off another 50 feet from a skip or roll. In Disc Golf, we use the word “reaction” to describe what happens when a disc hits something, because often we just are not sure how exactly a disc will “react” when it has impact. That being said, the best professional Disc Golfers have the ability to minimize the range of reactions with their throws, as certain angles, materials, and velocities can limit the possible outcome. All this said - ground-play is complicated and has many variables.
Circle1’s ground-play model aims to reproduce realistic disc reactions on impact. It does this by combining Unity’s physics engine with a custom ground-play model that goes so-far as to model the actual mass distribution within each disc and characteristics of the disc profile and dimensions. The end result is a ground-play physics model that is not only fairly close to real-life expectations, but also exhibits high computational performance on mobile VR headsets - Circle1 continues to run at a consistent 90 FPS on the Oculus Quest 2.
Okay, I think I’ve done enough of a introduction! Let’s take a look at the first-draft of skips. Below you will find a few different demo GIFs that highlight the wide range of reactions produced based on various environment and disc conditions.
Skip Demo: Impact Angles
This demo highlights the different impact reactions based on how the same disc hits the ground. In each of the below scenarios, nothing is changing except the angle at which the disc is thrown.
Skip Demo: Disc Air-Play, Profile, and Mass Distribution
This demo shows how different disc types (driver, mid-range, putter, etc) and mass distributions change the outcome of an impact with the ground. The only thing changing in these demos is the disc.
Skip Demo: Ground Materials
This demo demonstrates how different ground materials impact the resulting reaction from an impact. The only thing changing in these scenarios is the ground material.
…and that’s not all!
The above demos don’t even begin to cover the wide-range of impact variables being taken into account for the ground-play model. Things like disc velocity, spin rate, wind, and ground-effect all come into play. I can’t wait for testers to try this out. I’m sure it’s not perfect and will require tweaking, but I’m thrilled with this first draft.
Putting Circle
Last but not least, I want to introduce a new training area: the Putting Circle. The Putting Circle allows players to practice their putting with a variety of wind conditions and distances. The first release of the Putting Circle is very basic for now, but in future releases I will build out an environment on-par with the environment of the Training Dome. In addition to this, I will also be adding obstacles to putt over, under, and around.
In the meantime, however, testers can try out the new PuttLine that I introduced in the last update as well as the target physics introduced in an earlier post.
Additional Changes
For transparency, I’ll include a full list of changes made since the last update here:
Fixed bug that cut the fade-in/fade-out transitions short. Players will now experience smooth fading between scenes.
Updated the forehand ThrowLine alignment to be more comfortable and consistent with real-life grip.
As always, please share your thoughts or questions at hello@hitlabs.co.
That’s all for now!
