A New IK System
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- Longtime WolfQuest players (or at least, longtime followers of this devblog) may remember the trouble we had getting the wolf's IK system to work well. IK (Inverse Kinematics) refers to the mechanics of a chain of objects, such as bones and joints in a leg or arm, and how their positions are calculated when interacting with other objects. One of our challenging tasks in the development of the Anniversary Edition was creating an IK system for wolves, so they would interact more naturally with their environment - both the ground and other objects such as elk who were fleeing for their lives from the wolves.
Inverse Kinematics is hard -- and Inverse Kinematics for quadrupeds is really hard. So we decided to use a software plugin called Final IK, which is considered the very best IK system available for Unity. It was designed for bipeds, but the FinalIK developer added some modifications for quadrupeds, so it worked well to some degree but by no means in all the ways we wanted it to work. But it sufficed.
Since then, Mikko joined the WolfQuest team, and after focusing mainly on multiplayer for several years, he was available and interested in a new challenge, so he took on the challenge of creating a custom quadruped IK system. I asked him to explain the process:
Mikko says:
The original motivation for the new IK system was to avoiding 'space legs' (where the wolf stood perpendicular to the slope, like walking around the exterior of a spaceship). FinalIK's quadrupedal grounder is just two bipedal grounders glued together and it can't handle the pose modifications necessary for making a quadrupedal animal behave sensibly on slopes. I also had improvements to bite IK in mind, given all the trouble we had with it in FinalIK - particularly how forelegs were often not positioned sensibly. I don't recall if a simpler interface was one of my original goals, but it's certainly become apparent as a benefit along the way. FinalIK is comprised of many separate IK components (we used fullbody IK, look at IK, grounder IK and aim IK) which partially affected the same bones. This not only necessitated assigning references at multiple places but also made it hard to reason about which part or parameter of it was responsible for what aspects of the overall pose. Something that definitely came up during implementation was tail IK. Without space legs, the tail pose on slopes was obviously wrong so I had to do something about it. Fortunately it was pretty simple, probably the simplest part in all this.
Some of the biggest and so far unresolved challenges are related to some advanced features. I've had to shelve a lot of code because it was taking too long and I wanted to get the basic features done first. But it may be better to concentrate on ones pertaining to currently present features. One challenge has been dealing with all the different animations with different features. I've identified five kinds of foot motions which have meaningful differences (stationary, sliding, gait, acyclic and airborne). Then there's root motion (animation making the animal actually move) which required some additional work. I can't make many assumptions about how different bones are positioned, so the IK has to be flexible and deduce a bunch of parameters from the state of bones after animation is applied. Another challenge is detecting at which points during a gait the animal's feet touch the ground. Again I can't assume anything about foot height or velocity during the step, so I need to analyze the animation frames in a generic way. There are at least some cases currently where grounding is detected incorrectly and I need to improve it at some point. Lack of animation is also its own challenge. If no animation is playing, nothing will reset the positions of the bones between frames. Since the IK has to take cues from the animation, there's a risk that without an animation a feedback loop will form when it instead acts on its own result from the previous frame.
Bite IK is the most complex type of IK in use here and it took a while to arrive at a good algorithm for it….
Mikko’s full explanation is too long for UA-cam, so please go here to read it:
www.wolfquest.org/bb/
and click on the Developer’s Blog category, then “A New IK System
___________________
The WolfQuest saga will continue! Stay tuned for more news in upcoming devblogs about it and other new features!
We do not announce specific release dates. We will release them when they are ready. - Ігри
WAKE UP! WOLFQUEST HAS JUST UPLOADED!
IM UP
I flew up
PRESENT
Here!
YAAAS I GOT SNACKS TOO
I love that almost always the top comment on these videos is “wake up everyone wolfquest posted!” I don’t know why, but there is something about the familiarity and consistency that is comforting to me.
I agree. It's a great catchphrase for this channel!
It's called bots or fishing for likes 🤣 either way, excited for saga
@@Rubberband19I mean even if so, it's so fun to see just wholesome excitement in the comments every time they post. Even when people don't have constructive things to say, they still show their support and happiness for this amazing passion project
Ikr!
exactly, like our little community 🫶🏻
"Well, I won't repeat it, because this is a family-friendly DevBlog-" IS IT THAT BAD!?!?!?!?
Yes it probably involved cursing.
Oh yes. From experience, quadruped IK is, in a single word, pain. In two words, excrutiating pain. A lot of folks take one look at it, and decide they have other callings in life besides quadruped IK, and I don't blame them at all. It's horrifically complex to get working well, and there's a reason it's just not that common in game dev (not least of which being that it's very heavy on processing compared to a biped IK). Space legs is sort of the quick and dirty way to do it for those occasions where devs don't have a choice, they need quadruped IK, and when you start looking at a lot of quadrupeds in games, you'll notice a lot of them have space legs. Those that don't will very often just tilt the whole animal relative to the ground plane, and not bother at all with IK for quadrupeds.
@@KidarWolfwow! If it’s that difficult I’m even more grateful at all the work the devs are putting into this game!
@@KidarWolf So is that why we dont have more feral animal based games? Man, that's disappointing 🥹
@@KidarWolfI've noticed the space legs in games before, but I never realized the reason why. I kind of always assumed it was just easier that way and not generally worth the effort, but I guess doing it another way is just really complicated. So yes, easier, but probably not out of laziness. 😂
The elk flying away sent me 😂
Edit: Later this year! 😮
The dev team expects to exit early access in 2024 (according to Steam) so I suppose it could be released fairly soon?
*mule deer
just fyi
Yippie finally, after about 4 years since it’s announcement for pc I think
@@The_cringbin_hotel I think it is an elk. The one at 1:00 ? Just displayed on lowest quality graphics. The clip before shows an elk, and this one appears to be the same model. White butt and all.
Edit: The clip is from 2018. I don't actually remember when mule deer were first being worked on tbh.
@@runic_raptor istg it looks like a mule deer T-T like wtf?!
edit i just saw the clip before it said elk on the health bar t-t
Babe wake up WolfQuest just posted.
I’m up!!
UPPP!
Pookie Has Two Wives 😭
@@ashlynnsimpson5706correction, 3. IM UP!
wolfquest, must i applaud your progress! this journey from day one to now has entailed so much. it is truly one of the most realistic games out there that have really helped me live in the wild life. your game has inspired me to visit yellow stone and get into veterinary assistance line of work! thank you 💖
Fr. HUGE respect to the devs.
@@ConfuzzledCreations exactly!
the devs work so hard on this game and are extremely committed! i’ve never seen this dedication in any games that i’ve played❤ and one thing i must note is that i’m so excited for the future! i’m always so excited when i see devblogs and new content
This comment is amazing, because the main reason this game was made in 2007 was to raise awareness among kids about wolves! I'm from Europe and visiting the Yellowstone is my dream too
Programming is truly a f***ing nightmare, massive kudos to Mikko for taking on the challenge. The IK looks incredible.
lolll the wolf tapping its foot is so funny
The dedication to WolfQuest never fails to amaze me and make me so proud of how far this game has come and the love from the community as a whole.
The wolf tapping it’s foot is cute lol
2:30 OMG the part with the Wolf adusting to different postures looks so much fun! 😂 Its like playing tug-o-war with a big forest puppy 😂❤
If there was a testing arena or toybox mode I'd be playing tug-o-war if my wolf 24/7
this looks so much more natural and realistic! hyped!
Oh my goodness, I know from experience how much pain and suffering is involved in quadruped IK work. I, in my infinite wisdom, tried it as one of my first kinematics experiments when I was new to 3d modeling and animation, and soon found out what a pain it was to get right. Mikko, you have done an amazing job, and after looking at this, it may well be that you're the person people ask for advice in quadruped IK. Well done!
Amazing difference that improved IK makes. Props to Mikko and the wolf quest team for all their continuous hard work ♡
Never clicked on a notification so fast. I was literally looking for something to watch and got so happy as I sped-clicked.
Omg, new IK! The old one wasn't even all that bad, and you sought to improve it anyway! Incredible devs!
I just love the passion that goes into this game. Loving the new IK, it really looks like how a wolf stays grounded
Ive been playing wolfquest since its release date. Its so cool to see how much this game has grown and improved!
you guys have no idea how much i love these more technical types of devblogs. as a fresh CS grad, I love programming and problem solving and am just starting to get more experience and confidence in my thought process skills. It's so fascinating to learn how you guys do these things especially since this is the longest time I've stuck with any game (played since I was 8... I'm 22 now). I've been a huge wolf fan because of this game... and also because of it, it's been a lifelong desire to visit Yellowstone and I finally got to two summers ago. I didn't see a wolf and it made me sad but one day I will, and I'm gonna cry when I do! I love you guys! My absolute favorite dev team, an inspiration! I will forever cherish this game as the game that kickstarted my interest in animals and wildlife, which to this day exists as a large influence to my values and philosophy on life.
Looks awesome, everything seems to be coming together. Can't wait for the Saga, seems really close now. It's honestly impressive to see how far this game has come
RIGHT AS I CONVINCE MYSELF THERE PROBABLY WONT BE A DEVBLOG TODAY! It looks great so far!
Ik I left to go get snacks thinking there wasn't going to be a devblog and guess what happens while I'm eating my microwave popcorn
Wake up everyone its WolfQuest time!
I just gotta say how amazing this looks, its such a small detail, that some people wont even notice but it really makes the game more realistic and fun. Thank you guys for taking in the effort to do things like this! Im glad to support the game at every step because of THIS!!
honestly, i think games with such a dedicated team are rare to find. wolfquest is such a well-loved game, you can really feel it through and through.
yesss!!! the new system looks more realistic
I'll just say, having followed _the vast majority_ of the devblogs and therrefore getting to see your struggles with the IK system, I got excited when I saw the headline.
I already greatly admired your very hard work on getting IK - especially bite IK - working as well as you did.
WolfQuest currently has easily the most dynamic wolf biting and fighting IK and animation system I've ever seen in a game. I've only seen other games use "old WolfQuest" method of "generic bite animation, deal damage" or canned animation sets/in-engine cutscenes leading to QTEs when a wolf dives on a player.
Now I'm excited to see the new possible, made possible by Mikko's hard work! Thank you Mikko!
Footnote, I'm hecka hype for the Saga "Later This Year"! Thank you Dave and the rest of the WolfQuest team!
Ninja edit - oh hey, I figured out how to italicize text.
The WolfQuest team are just pros at giving us stuff that we wouldn't think about, but are greatly desired.
MA! DAD! WAKE UP!! WOLFQUEST POSTED A BIG UPDATE!!
Aw yee! I remember the IK system in development! The bloopers were funny when it lasted, but I’m glad more things are getting better :D
Saga this year!!! I'm so excited! I can't wait to fully experience all the love and effort that the team puts into this game. Wolfquest has always had a place in my heart and I'm still so glad that it was picked up and revived for the current generation.
Thank you SO so MUCH, WQ team, for all that you do!! ❤❤❤
I didn’t realize that was an update we needed until today! That looks so good! Awesome job!!
Excited! I've noticed the way the legs react to stuff is kind of funny sometimes, but I wasn't complaining because it wasn't game-breaking or anything. I do sure appreciate the effort to make it even better, even so!
I was just looking at the channel and now I find this
I love this game and all the updates
i’m going to yellowstone next month, i’ve been obsessed with yellowstone ever since i’ve found your game when i was little and it’s been a dream of mine for so long all because of you guys!! thank you for updating us so often :)
This is absolutely eye-opening.
Most online creature survival games have a very unrealistic bite and evade sort of playstyle, like Path of Titans or Beast of Bermuda and I've always wanted it to be more similar to wolfquest where your bites latch on instead. I've always wanted them to go the wolfquest route but I had no idea how hard it was to get those animations to work right.
It really sucks to see how you guys have had to break all this ground on quadruped animation (why haven't other developers done this??) but I'm glad you are.
You're already paving the way for more creature/animal survival games, I can't wait to see all the projects that get inspired by wolfquest.
This genre is still in the early stages but one day I hope it blossoms into the general publics view
This is so cool to see! Look much more realistic so far. Very fun to see the initial IK attempts again too 😂
WAKE UP WOLFQUEST UPLOADED
IM UP
WolfQuest goes above and beyond what I expected
I can't be the only one who's been checking the entire day
Definitely not lol
Nope. I've been checking since 10:30 CDT.
Oh wow! Looking at the overview of the IK system was pretty interesting, seeing the difference between then and now was nice, Rip those space legs! I am quite pleased though to see them go, as it will look alot more realistic in-game and be alot more enjoyable overall!
I love learning about these things!
I've seen a couple games with the so called "space legs" where the character kinda snaps to the ground... whatever direction that might be in.... I never realized what a challenge it was to get even that far.
I love the preview of the new IK system. Looks much more realistic for sure!!! Very excited to see it in game.
SO HAPPY
Wolfquest devblogs come out on my paydays this is the best
That's two of us!
The new IK System looks absolutely stellar guys! 🎉💯
Loved watching the wolf model shuffle its paws to balance itself for a better grip, makes it feel like I'm watching a real animal move 🐺😲❤️
Keep it up 💪
Even though a lot of tech stuff can go over my head, I always enjoy watching behind the scenes stuff.
New wolfquest video>>>>>>
Following the WolfQuest devlog these last years has been incredible. From being in elementary school and playing the original Amethyst Mountain release of WQ way back in 2008, to eagerly awaiting pups in Slough Creek. All the way until now and seeing the game still so beloved by the creators and community alike. It sounds silly, but WolfQuest really holds a special place in my heart and I am so happy that others feel the same.
You devs are doing an awesome job, and I love the bug bloopers!
You know it's a good day when Wolfquest uploads!!!
Sending this to my sis (she plays Wolf Quest, not me)
Even if this game needs to hold off this year for Saga release, I'm still gonna wait paitently for next year. The longer we wait, the better it gets!
IK Systems are no joke, especially for quadrupeds. Amazing work!
Omg! Does this mean I'll finally be able to open photo mode + pup cam and not have their front paws always broken?
Lol I bug reported it ages ago and this makes so much sense why it was never cleaned up - y'all are redoing the whole thing! That's so much work and it looks so rewarding!! Maybe we'll have fewer floating poses during hunts now too lol
So excited for Saga when it comes out!! I've been playing Wolfquest since 2017 (Was SpottedEcho!) And I just absolutely love this game, always has been a favorite since I started playing. :) I've been playing it again a lot lately after finally getting a laptop that can run games well and enjoying it on max graphics! Great to see it's still getting regular updates, Mikko has done great with the IK! Thanks dev team for all you do!!
Heck yeah wolfquest
every time i think this game is approaching finality and can’t get any better, y’all think of greater, smoother additions that entirely round out and perfect the game and experience. thank y’all for your time and dedication!
This is awesome! As an animator when I learned about animal limbs and movments its something I loved to get as accurate as possible, super awesome to see yalls updated work and the attention to detail yall always provide
This is exciting! I'll be honest and say that the one thing I really dislike about WQ is how the wolf moves and interacts with the environment, like how their neck often snaps when hunting elk or how they slide across the ground whilst bringing an elk down. For me, it breaks the whole 'wolf simulation' immersion. I had no idea how difficult it was to IK quadrupeds though (and I didn't know what IK was prior to this video), so I'm excited to see this being worked on!
Seeing how far this game has come really makes me happy. Can’t wait to see what more is in store!
NGL the tapping is realistic if the wolf say isn't looking at where its stepping you could make them occasionally adjust their feet like animals do!
DID YOU SAY LATER THIS YEAR OMG
I'm pretty sure they've been saying that for a few devlogs now, fyi!
Oh my gosh im so excited about seeing this finally come to life like this! It always bothers me with how realistic this game is and how much detail it has that it lacks on such a huge fundamental movement system that really brings things to life. Never thought a system update would be so exciting in a game lol. It looks amazing! Mikko knocked it out of the park, love getting to read his explanation of it as well it makes a lot of sense why its such a difficult thing to get correct
Oh I remember the old IK videos. As soon as I saw the title of this video I sighed inwardly 😅
this is insanely detailed- always a joy to see the wonderful work the devs are always putting in
You guys are awesome, details like this is the reason why Wolf Quest is my favorite game
gotta love IK!!!! I would love to learn more about game development in the future, it's so elaborate and I'd like to make a small game one day
Hoping this game will get a console port 1 day that's my hope
The best update ever in my sense. Physics is so important. I really wish for an update for refining movements. There are so brutal and quick at the moment, especially for direction changes.
OMG this is so exciting! I love the details y’all focus on. It matters more than some may think! Accuracy is important in wq and you guys have outdone yourselves once again! I can’t wait for saga I JUST CANT WAIT!! I respect you guys so much for going at your own pace and not rushing bc of what people want. It takes a lot 😄
I always thought standing on rocks looked a bit weird! Glad this is getting fixed
I love how hard y'all work to make this game realistic in every way possible. This is looking great. I'm excited to see how everyone maneuvers around and over objects now. My pups do some odd stuff sometimes, lol.
My mouth was wide open with astonishment when I watched those animations.
I can only begin to imagine how much work would go into the IK system, full props to the team for all you are doing, in making the game so realistic and also fun and challenging, love the game so much. 😍
always a treat getting to see these behind the scenes.
You guys are all incredible!!! Every time there's a new post I'm reminded just how dedicated and passionate you all are to making the most beautiful and fantastic game! ❤️
That whole section of moving the object in its mouth was awesome. This will also help a lot for getting cinematic screenshots in-game. Was often frustrated how you had to be on a flat or mostly flat surface for side photos to not look weird, as inclines very much suffer that spaceship effect. It will also be interesting to be able to get shots with different leg positions while standing still, like the wolf on that half-cylinder. Amazing work!
Amazing how much work you guys put into small details like this. You don't to do it but you do. Really goes to show how much heart you've all put into making this game. Fantastic, all of you.
AHHHH, It looks so good already!! I'm so excited for the saga
As someone who used to be an intern for a company in the gaming industry (real smol company) one guy in the whole team of 20 students had to manage the IK handles, when I tell you that the moment it was said in the video that "we can't repeat it because this is a family friendly devlog-"
I understood- Serious respect to the guy fighting with the IK handles, its serious wizardry! looks stunning too!!
this is so incredible you guys blow me away constantly. so much thought and care in this game
Always delivering outstanding developments in here! Truly genius work for IK problem solving!!!
I've been watching this on loop ^^ the dedication of the Wolf Quest team is outstanding 👏
Thank you
man, the details you put into this.. Very satisfying.
I appreciate the game and crew so much more because we get behind-the-scene explanations like this! Really shows the hard work and dedication to making the game better. Great job
Wow! Amazing work Mikko! Keep up the great work guys!
ahhhh this is an amazing effort that definitely does not go unappreciated! I was also bothered by the "space legs" and while I would have been happy to brush it off because ya'll are a small dev team, I'm delighted you're tackling it and trying to make them that bit more realistic! Incredible
Man those two videos really were a blast to the past. I can recall making a power point and adding that video into it, some sort of video game slide I cant remember. But my friends and I had found it hilarious. Can still hear the music
The progress and evolution of this game warms my heart. Good luck in the future!
That is such a massive improvement, woah
IM AWAKE IM AWAKEEEE
Thank you so much for this update!! You don't know how in love I'm with this!!!
i just started playing wolfquest again a day or two and spent yesterday and today catching up on all the devlogs i missed. this is a very nice surprise
EVERYONE HAS AWAKEN FOR WOLFQUEST YESS
Amazing! Thank you for your hard work!
This is amazing, thank you for sharing this with us!
AMAZING! It makes things look so much better! Absolutely an improvement!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I can NEVER praise you guys enough. Every single time you guys are so upfront and open with us and always smack it out of the park. I'm so excited for this and still need to get the newest DLC too when I can because I will always support you guys and how much you all do and how hard you all work. The biggest smooch to all of you who work on this project, devs, artists, writers, fx, admins, I mean absolutely all of you even if I haven't named your field.
I while ago I was wondering where the new wolf quest video was. So happy to be early!
I’m so excited! I didn’t really mind the astronaut standing, I thought it was a little silly but I couldn’t do anything about it so I wouldn’t bother 🤷, but now that it’s actually being updated 🤩
It's funny, I was literally talking about how the 'space-legs' bothered me just a few hours before this video was released. WolfQuest devs, nice timing, and awesome work!
Can’t wait for the saga to come out keep up the great Updates and work
Mikko, you've done an amazing job!!!!! Such "little" adjustments visually, but the difference in realism is so palpable!!!
This is so interesting to see! I love these logs so much and they have been helping me to learn a lot about Gave Developement! Cannot wait to see what happens next and especially the full game!
Havent really thought about it much, but this will be a huge improvement