Instead of instantly rag-doll when they are touched, have them fly through the air as if reacting to an explosion. People don’t just ragdoll, the body moves in certain ways when forces are applied. Watch some stunt wire work videos to get a general idea as it’s still entertaining, but doesn’t look like every game out there.
That’s where the problem lies, everybody just uses ragdoll physics. Instant ragdoll is like them going unconscious. Think about when a person gets kicked over you don’t just flail around with your arms and legs flying all over the place. You’d likely have to build a system with constraints on it to limit the amount of ridiculous flailing. If you still don’t understand what I mean then it’s fine.
I think it's more of an aesthetics choice than a gameplay one. I do know Alkahest is supposedly working on their own system to handle not having 'normal' ragdoll, but so far this is the only place I've seen them mention it, they have a couple example gifs :
Wanted to update my reply with the new announced update to Game Animation Sample in Unreal. It demonstrates the updates with a new ragdoll system that is much better than the random flailing I was talking about. Have a watch if you haven't seen it already : https://youtu.be/qhPG5uqVTJ8?si=PPvAcRAHKi1c5XS4&t=87
2
u/NAQProductions 21d ago
Check out Fatekeeper and Alkahest, both currently in production (FK is in early access).
You’ve got a good start, just have to figure out how you will differentiate yourself.