I’m hoping for something more general, where specific instances or models can be simulated from plugins somehow (where non-simulating objects are treated as anchored.) CFrame and Velocity changes could be treated as non-archivable until the simulation stops for the specific model. That way we can create all kinds of physics-based studio tools.
The ability for plugins to “settle” complex models when placing them is probably the most important use-case, but there are other possibilities too. I want to make tools that allow map artists to quickly simulate complex objects, so they don’t need to waste time rotating it perfectly.
A low level method for instantly stepping through simulation could be used to preview where models will settle in advance, but that might be more difficult to support long-term.
I don’t expect humanoids to run normally if at all. Plugin creators can use “luanoids” to achieve this without getting humanoids involved. Maybe Humanoid.HipHeight could simulate so that developers can settle NPCs, but it’s not entirely necessary.
I already use luanoids for characters, so I could easily instantiate a character with custom controls from within my plugin. It’s just a few parts, an AlignOrientation, a VectorForce, a few attachments, and a weld or two. (I insert a disabled humanoid into the model make sure the physics doesn’t throttle on low-end devices, but I can omit that in studio.) This character would be non-archivable and just used to quickly try out what’s been created and get a sense of scale.
It’s already pretty fast for general use. For my project, what map artists are working on is created locally and placed in a non-archivable folder; a new player+server would need to process and recreate the map, which can take a few seconds for highly detailed worlds. It’s designed this way for various reasons, but mainly so there can be dozens of detailed maps with 1M+ objects with no lag when editing. I go into more detail in this post and this post. The specific area they’re working on is already initialized right there in edit mode. I’d like to create a seamless level design experience where artists can try things out while building, and be able to place models down and lean them without needing to rotate them precisely. Most of the work is already done, I just need to be able to simulate parts and forces for specific models.