Update 08 Jan 2020: Version 2 is released which keeps all old behavior but allows rigid body instancing. Still free!
Blender does not natively allow setting the initial velocity for rigid body objects. The workaround requires setting keyframes for position and rotation while also toggling the object’s control between the animation and physics systems. Projectile handles all of the keyframing and more by giving intuitive controls. The linear and angular velocity can be set in real-world units, and Projectile helpfully draws trajectories directly in the 3D View to show an estimation of the path.
Overview:
Download for free:
If you want to support, consider donating a small amount on Gumroad! Enjoy!
I don’t know if I want to. Its very very rough (I’m not the best animator) and its only 11 seconds long. I’m considering uploading it to YouTube though.
After more than two years I’m back on this addon. I’m currently updating it for 2.8, and I have some exciting features planned!
Also, it is called Projectile now, as that more correctly defines what the addon does, creating projectiles.
Here is a GIF of the current 2.8 progress! Follow @natecraddock and here for updates! Or maybe I’ll make a new topic. Who knows. I at least wanted to update this topic with the name change.
This works fine. but I can not do transformation (rotation) of an object during the trajectory. For a new object there is a need to repeat the whole process. In the previous Addon it was more automatically. I hope you are on your goals.
Update:
Added:
Angular Velocity
Initial Position and Rotation
Quality Controls
Auto Update (automatically runs operator)
Auto Play (plays animation after update)
Merged 2.8 branch with master now that major features are complete
Next: Gizmos
@Enjoy_Blender, I’m glad you love the addon! I’m still developing it (I just have a few more features before my “initial” release), but I decided to let everyone try it as I develop. Once I finish I will write a full tutorial. Until then, you can download here. The link is in the first post. Also, the github page has a brief summary of the operation of the addon, and the videos show some features.
Here is a brief overview of the basic functionality.
Install the addon
Select the object you would like to set initial velocity / angular velocity
In the sidebar (toggled by pressing N in the 3D view) there is a panel titled Projectile, inside there are various properties that can be set. By default the addon will automatically update the keyframing of the object, so you can immediately play the animation!