Reset to Default button

Click Reset to Default to restore the Ragdoll properties to their original settings.

Activation menu

Use this menu to set when the collision reaction starts for the object. For example, you can create objects that only react when they are struck.

Body Part Activation

Expand Body Part activation to expose a list of body parts affected by the solve. Disable a body part in the list to exclude that body part from the solve.

Activation Creation

These are the same settings as found in the Approximation area. See Approximation area for descriptions of each of these options.

Approximation file field

The Approximation file field lets you view the path of the current Approximation file.

Density Setup

Expand Density Setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can set custom density levels. The Density setting represents the thickness and mass of the character.

You can key and animate this setting to turn the Density behavior off and on during your animation. See Keyframe (K) and Animate (A) buttons for more information.

Friction Setup

Expand Friction Setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can set custom levels for the solve’s Friction settings. See the Rigid Body Friction (Mu) field section for a description of the Friction setting.

Bounce Setup

Expand the Bounce Setup sliders set the amount the character bounces when struck.

Slip Setup

Expand Slip Setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can set the amount that your solve object slides off-course.

Use this setting to set how a solve object will move perpendicular to the force. For example, if you had an animation of a car driving around a corner and you assigned a slip value to a tire, it would make the tire skid.

Motion Setup

Expand Motion Setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can cause the object to move by itself. For example, set a Motion value on a cube, and the Motion setting creates a conveyer belt-like action. X and Y refer to local directions from the object.

Color Setup

Expand Color Setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can set different colors for the Ragdoll approximation. This way you can single out body parts to observe during the solve.

Ragdoll approximation with custom coloring.

Approximation Object Setup

Expand Approximation Object Setup to expose a list of body parts for which you can choose an approximation shape that best fits the character. Select Capsule, Sphere, Cube, or Mesh.

Ragdoll approximation with non-standard object shapes.

Limit Setup

Expand Limit setup to expose a list of body parts on which you can set the High and Low limits for the Solve. The High and Low limits act like degrees of freedom that you can set and animate individually for each body part.

Use the limits settings to set behavior so that the affected body parts only move in specific direction, for example left to right, or no more than 90 degrees.

Strength and Elasticity

Expand Strength and Elasticity to expose a list of body parts on which you can set the amount of resistance, or force, needed to keep the ragdoll character connected.

You can key and animate this setting to turn the Strength and Elasticity behavior off and on during your animation. See Keyframe (K) and Animate (A) buttons for more information.

Global Tension and Dampening

Expand Global Tension and Dampening and activate the Global Muscle option so you can use the Global Muscle Strength and Global Muscle Elasticity sliders.

Dampen linear/angular settings

Use the Dampen settings to define the clamp value applied to the linear and angular velocity when calculating the rolling friction. Because the Physical property does not model rolling friction, it uses dampening clamps behavior so that objects can come to rest.

For example, without a dampening setting, a rolling sphere rolls on forever. The dampening is done by scaling linear velocities at each simulation step by dampening factor for all colliding objects.

A value of 1 retains actual velocity. Any value below one decreases velocity, while any value greater increases it.

System Auto-disable options

System Auto-disable clamps the calculation of collisions below a specified threshold. By default, MotionBuilder uses the same Auto-disable settings as in the Physics Solver.

Activate the System Auto-disable option so that the animation is cut off below a threshold, otherwise system resources absorb processing vibrations so minute that they are no longer visible.

But on a per-property list basis, you override the default Auto-disable settings. Disable the System Auto-disable option to override these settings for every object to which the Property list is applied.

Use the following properties to specify a speed for the solve process:

Weight Linear velocity/Weight angular velocity fields

When a collision occurs with a body, velocities are used to calculate the force of the collision.

Weight is the “weight transfer” or energy transfer between two objects. When two objects collide, you can control the apparent transfer of energy from one to the other.

If the values are left to 1 the solvers uses the normal calculations to predict how far an object travels when hit. If you set this value over 1, the apparent transfer of energy increases, while if set run it below 1, it decreases this transfer.

Modify the Linear and Angular Velocity settings to override the default force of the collision. For example, use these settings to assign more or less collision force to an object than what is already specified in the Physical property.

Collision Propagation menu

The Collision Propagation menu lets you select a relationship between the Ragdoll body parts. The Collision propagation menu determines how the motion in one body part in the solve transfers to the others. Select a direction that the range of movement is spread from the Collision Propagation menu.