Hey developers,
There was a post about the releasing of the “Cage Mesh Deformer” tool!
This is especially useful for the modelers & animators out there on the Roblox platform.
So I wanted to create a post that gives you a more easy look at what it does and is.
For a more visual representation, I recommend going to the official post.
Below I’ve created a little section to show you and tell you what it does.
What does it even do?
The Cage Mesh Deformer is a tool key for upcoming layered clothing tech. It is responsible for mesh deformation. The deformation only runs once, then the mesh is ready for animating, skinning, and physic simulation. Just think of it as an invisible mesh that drives the deformation of a driven mesh.
How to use it
- Go to file → Beta Features
- Check a box to the left of “Cage Mesh Deformer”
- Restart Studio
( To enable it on the mesh select the mesh press “CopyTo” from the Cage Deformer plugin pannel. )
For lots of examples go here to view the examples more with a visual look.
To get the folder that has tons of FBX files to create demos for the cage mech deformed download it here.
Performance
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As stated in the official post it’s supposed to run once.
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Deformed meshed will increase memory size! The deformer is supposed to only run once so it needs to store deformed vertices in the memory. FastClusters use up this memory. FC’S (FastClusters) do not introduce any waste for low-end platforms
Next Steps
Hidden Surface Removal
- A system automatically removes invisible triangles that are covered by overlaying mesh layers. Better for performance! Think of this as a system that makes your renders better by secretly removing invisible triangles for better render quality and performance.
Other performance optimizations
- As stated on the official post “NeoBuilder101” states that the beta version of the deformer is very fast they recently started massive performance testing. @Roblox and their team will focus on performance over the next couple of months! Think of this as there will be better performance over time.
Studio tools for real-time cage editing and deformer rigging
“NeoBuilder101” States cages at some point will be directly editable in Roblox Studio using their built-in studio tools, and the API for cage editors will be exposed for plugin writers soon!
Issues
Known issues are stated in the official post here!
This post was just to inform you a bit more about the tool and what the features do for you to understand the tool easier! If you have any questions about it ask on the official post or here. I’m sure the community will answer your questions. I am open to questions as well!