Hi All,
Sorry for the long winded post, but I am about to start very complex (for me) test to see if I can get a Jetway pawn working, and I could use some general advice on how best to proceed.
Basically I am trying to build a Jetway simulator for project I am working on. I want the player to be able to possess the jetway and operate it, using “realistic” controls to get it into position, not just hit a button and have an animation play. I’d also like the 3rd person characters to be able to enter and use the jetway, so the collision would have to support that.
For those unfamiliar on jetway functional mechanics….This particular model is an apron drive system, so the wheels on the bogie can spin forward and back independent of each other, so it turns kind of like a tank, one wheel goes forward, the other backward. The piston can move up or down to meet the door level of the plane, and finally the cab portal can spin to meet the plane at the proper orientation (For now, I am omitting the canopy, which extends to cover the gap between the cab and the plane door.)
It’s essentially an IK rig that I need to build, for clarity see the image of the WIP model I am working: The base is pinned, the rotunda socket is able to rotate around the Z axis, section 1 can rotate around the Y axis, section 2 can slide in and out along the X axis, section 3 can also slide along the X axis, the piston slides along the Z axis, the bogie rotates around the Z axis, each wheel rotates around the Y Axis, and finally the cab portal rotates around the Z axis. You can also see the current hierarchy I have setup, with a point below the bogie as root.
I need some guidance on how to proceed on getting an IK setup like this working:
Should I just try to dynamically animate the skeletal mesh at run time using the FABRIC tools in an AnimBP?
Should I try to set it up a Physics-based pawn, possible using the wheeled vehicle pawn “type”?
My gut says this should be a physics simulation, but if so, should I make the root the base and the bogie the bone I act on?
Any other suggestions on how I could go about getting this working?
Thanks!