[ODE] how to glue bodies together ?

[Brian Clarkson]

Fred D. wrote:

>Our application aims on very accurate collision detection.
>So, computation time is not critical, but accuracy is .
>Detecting breaking is not our goal either.

I think the detection of break forces on joints is very much part of body
physics. Just as much
as collision. A very efficient fixed joint would be very useful for this.
There are several benefits
to breakable joints for sub bodies which need to break apart.

1. The centre of mass of each sub body (child) automatically combines with
it siblings to produce
   the correct centre of mass for the family. You don't have to calculate
it.
2. When a child leaves the family ( joint breaks ) its mass is automatically
subtracted from the remaining family
   This child will then behave correctly as it progresses alone. The
remaining family will automatically see its
   combined centre of mass adjusted accordingly and it will behave correctly
as it progress.
3. All the above requires no additional application code. It just happens.

All this is for free once you implement Roel's breakable joints. I did and
it has introduced another level of realism
to our RTS.


Brian..