Softer constraint limits

Contributing to Blender
1

Problem

I use constraints for both objects and pose bones a lot.

One thing that bothers me a lot is the lack of soft limits for:

  • Limit Distance
  • Limit Location
  • Limit Rotation
  • Limit Scale

Also same apply for IK bone constraints - when IK chain reaches stretch limit it “snaps” (familiar situation when animating limbs).

Current solution

I solve this using drivers, scripts, constrainging Empty objects to mesh modified through geonodes, but it’s all dirty solutions.

IK chain snapping can be “solved” using IK Stretch parameter of the bone, but it’s better to have native soft limit option.

IK Stretch harder to control and you have to deal with microstreaching of the bones.

Better solution

Implementation could be made using exponentiation of values that goes over the limit, I have all the math for both upper and lower limits with adjestment of characteristics of these limits.

Visual explanation of hard and soft limits

image
image1026×984 100 KB

  1. IK chain in rest
  2. IK chain over limit snapped disconnected
  3. IK chain over limit snapped and stretched
2

I think you just trying to increase degree of constraints system which usually highly increase its computational complexity.

3

It’s a bit unclear of what you’re looking to get out of this thread? Are you looking to implement this and need help with something? Are you hoping someone else would pick this up and do the work for you? something else…?

4

That’s why simplifications and optimisations exists. I think that implementing stuff like this would be more beneficial for a computational small price (after optimization)

5

I would love to implement it myself if I knew where to start. I can solve this using bunch of scripts, geonodes or local plugins, but it would be nice to have this natively.

I can’t just commit changes to main branch of blender. And I was hoping may be someone will find this interesting enought to give me a shot.

6

For those kinds of things you’d be best off on the suggestions site, click the ideas link near the top of the page.

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