Show HN: Dyna-Kinematics – A 2D physics simulator with some unique features

Re:Show HN: Dyna-Kinematics – A 2D physics simulator with so... by jessedhillon on Friday July 03, 2020 @06:53PM (#23728318)

There might be a really useful related application here. If I could set up a 2D scene to be simulated headlessly, apply forces programmatically, and then receive the x position of an actor as an output, then this could be useful for simulating complex UI behaviors.

For example, recently I wanted to create a scrolling behavior with boundaries based on properties of the content. In this case, I wanted to draw a column of cards with a bit of tension to overcome before flipping to the next card.

See this diagram: https://imgur.com/a/zVvwtEu

If the viewport was a physical actor in a simulation, gliding along a track that I could generate based on the content, then the left edge of the actor could control the scrollTop or drive the translateY of the content, etc.

Just wanted to share a possible application of your awesome work.

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Re:Show HN: Dyna-Kinematics – A 2D physics simulator with so... by diegomacario on Friday July 03, 2020 @07:51PM (#23728699)

That's a really cool idea!

It's funny that you mention this because when I simulated the blocks hitting the words "Dyna-Kinematics" for the title GIF I thought: "This is what graphic designers struggle to do manually. They spend hours animating things so that they look natural."

If graphic designers had access to a physics simulator, they wouldn't have to do anything manually. They could just let the physics do the talking.

I really love that idea, and I think it would sell.

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