Hello! Today we are attempting to improve hand-posing on our rope/grapple hook prototypes to fix the gap issue between the player’s hand and the grabbed object.

Here, we attach a precise spherical point to the existing rope particles, allowing the player to grab the rope in a spherical fashion using Auto Hand. In other words, it now looks like you’re grabbing onto a ball, and not a static, straight rope. Doing so also allows for two-handed grabs and the ability to grab anywhere on the rope. (↓)

Unfortunately, a twisting motion will cause the player’s hand to clip through the rope, due to the hand colliding with both rope and ball particles. Ideally, the player’s hand should only collide with the ball. The rope throw is also not as smooth as we would like it to be, due to the drag from the weight of each rope particle and the skill-ceiling of the rope-swinging technique. (↓)

To troubleshoot the rope-twisting functionality, we generate two more points around the position of the rope grab. The idea is to have the two new points twist with the middle point to simulate rope-twisting behavior on the entire prototype. However, the twisting does not encompass functionality for rotating the player’s hand across the circumference of the rope. As a result, the rope-twisting still appears stiff, and the player’s hand still clips through the rope. 

Experimentation is a big part of our R&D, and we won’t always find an optimal solution on our first try — but we’re learning every step of the way.