To my great delight, I found myself immersed in three electrifying talks about Unreal Engine’s ScriptableTools (ST) over the past two months. After soaking up all this inspiration, I knew I couldn’t let these ST sparks fade away unused.

I’m pleased with the initial results, and I plan to implement a proper layout algorithm with C++ (like NodeSoup) once the graph grows. For now, it’s a convenient step to focus on setting up the fundamental mechanism that enables the ability for players to tweak character visuals procedurally.

Nodes attract connected nodes with a logarithmic force based on distance, preventing nodes from attracting too strongly. Simultaneously, nodes repel disconnected nodes with an inverse of the squared distance, reducing repulsion as nodes distance apart.

My basic UE implementation uses a Node class based on Actor, storing references to connected nodes. Instead of using UE’s Add Force, I manually calculate attract and repel forces on each tick.

I discovered how D3 handles FDG visuals masterfullly 15 years ago and found a YouTube video where World of Zero attempted a simple FDG implementation in Unity. However, I couldn’t find an Unreal version. I decided to implement it myself, drawing inspiration from a neat document from Brown University

For my #SistineSimulator, I envision the figures and murals from Michelangelo’s original composition forming a preconfigured, structural network. On init, the network should visually explode like a Force-Directed Graph algo, akin to the BigBang or the Creation. This inspired me to research FDG in UE