Karma Authoring Tool

The Karma Authoring Tool or KAT (http://www.mathengine.com/kat/) can be used to edit the .ka files that define the ragdoll physics in UT2003. Not much on the site yet, but more will be coming.

KAT allows the creation of (almost) abitrary jointed structures using Karma. UT2003 only supports loading ragdolls from KAT, and so it is used for defining the collision shapes, mass distribution and joint types/limits of the ragdolls. Things like the hanging meat would be defined directly in UnrealEd.

There is now a tutorial taking you through the process of creating a ragdoll from a psk using KAT at the main [KAT] site.

"the karma physics stuff was also very very impressive–they had an early jeep demo that, using little more than the game's physics, they had a vehicle to rival halo's. and though there are no vehicles shipping in the game, they'll leave the hooks in the code. oh, and the ragdoll stuff is hours of fun–and setting up the physics on a given model with their proprietary tool will only take half an hour or so."

Source: [Polycount Message Board]

Tarquin: "Wang: Best get in there before Tarquin denies all knowkedge " – snort I was just establishing the context; people might land on those pages from elsewhere & not realise it's not yet current info

Wang: Very true. Just having a bit of fun

Birelli: The Workshop video recently released gives an amazing demenstration of karma both in a lamp hooked to the ceiling by a chain and a big level with tons of hanging meat. Presumably the way these things swing and such would be handled by a karma editor.