Video Game Collision Detection Using Cylinder and Capsule Sweeps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing collision detection methods in video games are inefficient, particularly when dealing with numerous small ground obstacles, leading to excessive processing time and resource-intensive calculations, especially when using geometric primitives like cylinders, which can result in incorrect contact point placement and edge-edge collisions.
Innovation Solution
The method employs a two-step collision detection process using a cylinder and a capsule model, where the cylinder model is vertically swept to identify the ground level and then the capsule model is horizontally swept to detect collisions with ground obstacles, ensuring efficient detection while minimizing unnecessary calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a cylindrical shape is used to bound the player controlled avatar for collision detection, then the collision detection can be performed with a simple geometric primitive, but it results in edge-edge collisions and incorrect contact point placement
Solution Approach 1:
The collision detection process is segmented into two distinct phases: a coarse detection phase that quickly identifies potential collisions, and a fine detection phase that accurately calculates contact points. This segmentation allows the system to use simple geometric primitives for initial detection while reserving complex calculations only for necessary cases, thus resolving the contradiction between implementation simplicity and contact point accuracy.
2Adaptability or versatility
If numerous ground obstacles are present in the virtual environment, then the game world becomes more interesting and challenging, but it requires many up, side, down sweep casts per frame resulting in far greater processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary coarse collision detection using simplified geometric models and bounding volumes before committing to detailed collision resolution. This preliminary action filters out non-colliding object pairs early in the frame, allowing the game to maintain rich environmental detail while keeping processing time acceptable by avoiding unnecessary detailed calculations for non-colliding objects.
3Device complexity
If a cylinder is used for collision detection, then the geometric model is simple to define, but it is resource intensive to know where to create the contact point(s) in many collision cases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by using simple cylindrical models only for the coarse detection phase, and only performs the resource-intensive contact point calculations when actually needed (when collisions are detected in the coarse phase). This approach maintains geometric model simplicity while avoiding excessive computational resource usage by limiting detailed calculations to necessary cases only.
Data Source
AI summary
The patent discloses improved methods and systems for detecting a collision between a player controlled virtual character in a video game and an object positioned on a surface in a virtual environment of the video game. Two geometric models are defined, one of which is preferably a cylinder and the other of which is preferably a capsule. For a frame of the video game, data indicative of a position, velocity and direction of the virtual character is acquired and, in a subsequent frame, data indicative of another position of the virtual character is acquired. The first geometric model is moved vertically downward by a predefined distance to identify a level of the ground surface and the second geometric model is moved horizontally forward to detect a collision of the virtual character with the object.