Physics Fundamentals
Physics & SimulationChaos physics engine: rigid body simulation, forces, constraints, ragdoll setup, and physics-driven gameplay elements.
/skill physics-fundamentals What This Skill Does
Physics Fundamentals helps you simulate realistic physical behavior in your Unreal Engine projects using the Chaos physics engine. Whether you need objects that fall and collide, ragdoll characters that react to impacts, hinged doors that swing on constraints, or destructible environments that shatter on contact, this skill walks you through configuring rigid body simulation, applying forces and impulses, tuning physics materials for surface interaction, and setting up Chaos destruction for breakable meshes.
Covers
- Enabling physics simulation on actors and components
- Physics body configuration: mass, damping, gravity, continuous collision detection
- Applying forces, impulses, and torques to drive physical motion
- Physics materials: friction, restitution (bounciness), and density
- Physics constraints: hinges, sliders, springs, and locks for connected objects
- Ragdoll setup for characters (full and partial ragdoll)
- Kinematic vs. simulating mode and switching between them
- Physics sub-stepping for stability
- Chaos destruction basics: fracturing meshes with Geometry Collections
Does Not Cover
- Collision channels and filtering → Collision Setup
- Niagara particle physics → Niagara Basics
- Cloth simulation → Cloth Simulation
- Vehicle physics → Vehicle Physics
- Fluid simulation → Niagara Fluids
How to Use
Invoke this skill in Claude Code:
/skill physics-fundamentalsThis skill is also auto-detected when your prompt mentions physics, simulation, gravity, forces, impulses, ragdoll, constraints, or rigid bodies. AgentUX will automatically activate Physics Fundamentals when it recognizes relevant context in your request.
Key Unreal Engine Concepts
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
UPrimitiveComponent | The base component for any object that can simulate physics, with properties for mass, damping, gravity, and collision. |
UPhysicsConstraintComponent | Connects two physics bodies with configurable rules: hinges, sliders, springs, and locks: controlling how they move relative to each other. |
UPhysicalMaterial | Defines surface interaction properties including friction, restitution (bounciness), and density for auto-computed mass. |
AGeometryCollectionActor | The Chaos destruction actor that holds fractured mesh data, enabling objects to break apart on impact or damage. |
URadialForceComponent | Applies radial force or impulse to all physics objects within a radius, commonly used for explosions and repulsion fields. |
Physics Asset | Defines per-bone collision bodies and constraints for skeletal meshes, required for ragdoll simulation on characters. |
Related Skills
collision-setup
Collision primitives, channels, presets, and line traces for interaction detection
blueprint-basics
Visual scripting, event graphs, functions, and component architecture
niagara-basics
Niagara particle system fundamentals for visual effects
cloth-simulation
Chaos Cloth simulation for capes, skirts, curtains, and flags
What You'll Learn
- How to enable and configure physics simulation on any actor
- How to tune mass, damping, and physics materials for realistic surface interaction
- How to apply forces, impulses, and torques for physics-driven gameplay
- How to set up ragdoll on characters with full or partial body simulation
- How to create physics constraints for doors, pendulums, chains, and other connected objects
- How to use Chaos destruction to create breakable environments