SPLITGATE 2 - Dynamic Ropes

For the "Grit" map, the task was to create dynamic ropes that would react to players without obstructing their movement, adding a layer of immersion to the scene. I approached the task by creating several rope variations as skeletal meshes in Blender.

Technical Breakdown:

- Modeling & Rigging: I modeled and rigged the ropes with a simple but effective "snake-like" chain of bones. A single root bone was kept static to act as an anchor point, while the rest of the chain was free to simulate.

- Physics Implementation: Within Unreal Engine, I applied physics simulation directly to the bone hierarchy. This allowed the ropes to swing and react realistically when colliding with the player's collision volumes, providing the desired dynamic effect at a very low performance cost.

- Artist-Friendly Blueprint: To streamline the level art process, I wrapped the entire system in a user-friendly Blueprint actor. Level artists could simply place the Blueprint in the scene and select the desired rope length from a simple dropdown menu. The Blueprint's internal logic would then automatically handle swapping the correct skeletal mesh and its physics settings, eliminating any complex setup for the art team.

Credits:
https://www.artstation.com/shawnellpriester
https://www.artstation.com/mechiliscious