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At the time of this writing, Ragdoll is still in early access. Reach out for access.



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Ragdoll 2021.03.04 awaits.
Click here to get started.

Previous versions



Install

Ragdoll ships as a Maya Module for Windows and Linux.

Installation for Windows

On the Windows platform, there's an executable you can run. However you can also do what Linux users do, and unzip the plug-in straight into your home directory.

  1. Run the .msi installer
  2. Restart Maya

Alternatively, unzip Ragdoll into your ~/maya directory. You should end up with something like this.

c:\Users\marcus\Documents\maya\modules\Ragdoll.mod
Installation for Linux

On Linux, installation and upgrades are done in the same fashion.

  1. Unzip the .zip into your ~/maya directory
  2. Restart Maya

You should end up with something like this.

/home/marcus/maya/modules/Ragdoll.mod
Installation for MacOS

Sorry, MacOS is currently not supported.

Let us know this is important to you, and priorities can be shifted.

contact@ragdolldynamics.com

You should now see a new Ragdoll menu.


Everything ok?

No menu

You've booted up Maya, but there is no menu, what gives?

Maya Modules work in mysterious ways. Try installing it the old fashioned way.

from ragdoll import interactive
interactive.install()
No module named 'ragdoll'

Fair enough, let's go deeper.

from os.path import join
modules_path = r"c:\Users\marcus\Documents\maya\modules"
ragdoll_path = join(modules_path, "Ragdoll-Maya-2021_06_06\scripts")

import sys
sys.path.insert(0, ragdoll_path)

from ragdoll import interactive
interactive.install()

Make sure you replace the version number (date) with the version you are using. At this point, I expect you've uncovered why your module wasn't working in the first place and should probably revisit that as this process would require you to manually update the version number in that path each time you upgrade. No fun.

Something else happened

Oh no! I'd like to know about what happened, please let me know here.


FAQ

What are my workstation requirements?

Anything capable of running Maya can run Ragdoll.

  • Windows 10+ or CentOS 7+
  • 64-bit Intel® or AMD® processor
  • 4 GB of RAM
  • Maya 2018-2021
What are my licensing options?
  • Trial - 30 days of non-commercial use, no strings attached
  • NodeLocked - Any number of users, one machine per licence
  • Floating - Any number of machines, one user per licence
  • Headless - A cost-effective alternative for distributed simulations
What happens when my licence runs out?

Your scenes will still open, but the solver will be disabled. Contact licence@ragdolldynamics.com for renewal of your licence.

What happens when I skip frames?

Best not to, you'll see this warning message in your Script Editor.

Warning: Ragdoll evaluation skipped, frame change too large

Letting you know to rewind and not trust the results until you do.

How do I disable the ground?

A static collider is automatically added on the Maya grid per default, it can be disabled on the rdScene node via the .useGround attribute.

Why not use nHair for overlapping animation?

Yes, and while your at it, why not stick razor blades in your eyes?

Seriously though, Ragdoll simulates your translate and rotate channels, whereas nHair simulates point geometry. You can convert those points into translation and rotation, but given the choice why would you? Besides, Ragdoll has far more robust collisions, control and constraints than nHair or nCloth could ever hope to achieve, at much greater performance.


Limitations

As of Ragdoll 2021.03.04 these are the current known limitations of Ragdoll.

  • Must visit start frame on scene open
  • Poor support for any rotateAxis other than XYZ
  • Attributes jointOrient, rotatePivot and rotatePivotTranslate will be zeroed out
  • When weight painting rigid joints, cannot right-click "Select influence" (see workaround)
Last update: 2021-03-01