Space and time 2
Clock and persistence
Last updated
Clock and persistence
Last updated
We can use the clock’s “tick” value for all sorts of purposes. For example we may map to a parameter along the curve and use geometry to create a visual representation of the clock. Here we treat the tick value in the same sense we used the index value of a range; we then apply modular arithmetic to wrap around a fixed number of divisions; and normalize it into the [0, 1] real domain.
We may also use the tick value to index elements within a list using the “list item” component or to animate model parameters instead of using a slider.
The possibilities of using time to create multiple objects in motion are endless. In this short demo we use the concept of “instancing”, which is commonly used for particle systems in video games and motion pictures. The idea is simple and super effective:
We model a geometric entity once e.g. the paper plane seen below, situated at the world coordinate system origin. Using plane-to-plane transformations, with the help of the “orient” component, we replicate i.e. instantiate the geometry multiple times mapped to local coordinate systems.
In this session we looked at the technicalities required for introducing the notion of time though the development of a ticking clock. We will use these concepts to build a simulation engine. Nevertheless, the approach developed here can be used for non-simulation tasks such as visualizing sequences and instructions. Next time will build our first basic physics model.
