Current challenges:
The process of making AR games, especially those with complex liquid simulations, is full of technical hurdles. It requires achieving realistic liquid rendering within the AR space, while achieving high levels of performance.
For Hydrolab, the ambition to simulate realistic liquid behaviors within an interactive environment required a toolset capable of detailed, high-performance rendering without compromising on gameplay fluidity (no pun intended).
Lee needed a solution that could seamlessly integrate with Unity, support AR projects, and provide an authentic liquid simulation that players could interact with in real-time.
Solution:
The breakthrough came with the integration of a real-time liquid simulation solution from Zibra AI which became the backbone of Hydrolab’s development.
This solution was optimized to fit the requirements of VR & AR environments, which made it possible to achieve the highest level or realism: from touch interactions to reflections in water.
AI-accelerated object interactions and a comprehensive range of physical and visual parameters allowed Vermeulen’s team to simulate enchanting liquid environments and mechanics. From water flow to dynamic puzzles, all within the immersive confines of AR.
The old prototypes used something called Nvidia Flex for physics and VR. The new thing that we used was now this thing called Zibra AI. It's a fantastic package that does liquid physics and soft-body physics
Realization process:
To achieve realistic liquid behaviors, Lee’s team leveraged extensive visual parameters, directly impacting the look and feel of the liquid in the game. Fine-tuning physics parameters also allowed the liquid physics to look naturally within the AR environment, enabling immersive gameplay experiences.
Scriptable liquid manipulators allowed for simple integration into gameplay systems enabling players to influence the liquid behavior directly. With that Lee was able to introduce puzzles and obstacles that players could solve or navigate through, leveraging the real-time simulation capabilities of Zibra Liquids.
In order to adapt the liquid physics simulations to the real-world environments, they used Zibra Liquids’ AI-accelerated object interaction capabilities. This ensured that liquid simulations interacted realistically with meshes representing gameplay objects in the virtual environment.
When experimenting with various possibilities that liquid simulation enables in AR spaces, they used force fields to simulate various physical phenomena such as gravity and directional flows.
Those experiments showed that even simple mechanics involving liquid simulation can be quite fun for the player to interact with.
They also showed how you can successfully push liquid simulation technology into use cases that it was never intended to be used with. With help of hand tracking, players hands can be set up to interact with liquid, allowing to both emit and remove liquid which effectively enables 3D sculpting by the player.:
For Hydrolab, Lee hasn’t topped with just liquids. He also announced smoke and fire effects in the game environment, which is also available in the Zibra Effects package that includes previously showcased liquid simulation.
Just another thing we're adding to the game is smoke physics. Also made by Zibra AI, the developers who made the liquid physics package. This is just uh cool smoke effects, and we're trying to add it into the game.
Scriptable liquid manipulators allowed for simple integration into gameplay systems enabling players to influence the liquid behavior directly. With that Lee was able to introduce puzzles and obstacles that players could solve or navigate through, leveraging the real-time simulation capabilities of Zibra Liquids.
In order to adapt the liquid physics simulations to the real-world environments, they used Zibra Liquids’ AI-accelerated object interaction capabilities. This ensured that liquid simulations interacted realistically with meshes representing gameplay objects in the virtual environment.
When experimenting with various possibilities that liquid simulation enables in AR spaces, they used force fields to simulate various physical phenomena such as gravity and directional flows.
Those experiments showed that even simple mechanics involving liquid simulation can be quite fun for the player to interact with.
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They also showed how you can successfully push liquid simulation technology into use cases that it was never intended to be used with. With help of hand tracking, players hands can be set up to interact with liquid, allowing to both emit and remove liquid which effectively enables 3D sculpting by the player.:
Fine-tuning the visuals:
For Hydrolab, Lee hasn’t topped with just liquids. He also announced smoke and fire effects in the game environment, which is also available in the Zibra Effects package that includes previously showcased liquid simulation.
Just another thing we're adding to the game is smoke physics. Also made by Zibra AI, the developers who made the liquid physics package. This is just uh cool smoke effects, and we're trying to add it into the game.
More about Zibra Effects
Zibra Effects is a multipurpose, no-code toolset designed to simplify VFX creation and make virtual worlds more immersive by leveraging real-time simulation and realistic physics.
It helps make video game worlds feel real by using advanced simulations and realistic actions. We offer a special technology that helps create life-like effects of liquids, smoke, and fire quickly and easily.
You can use these effects in different kinds of projects, including games on computers, phones, and gaming consoles, as well as in movies and mixed reality projects. Learn more about Zibra Liquid, Zibra Smoke & Fire, and Zibra Effects and what you can do with them here.
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