Ragdoll Workshop exploits the full power of Unity's physics engine in a lot of interesting ways! Before you get started, it is recommended you review the following pages in the Unity Manual:

• Rigidbodies
• Colliders
• Configurable Joints
• Animation
• Layer-Based Collision
• Ragdoll Stability

Ragdoll Workshop provides tools for setting up physics-driven hierarchies. Although the current version of Ragdoll Workshop primarily includes workflows to ease the setup of humanoid, equine, and theropod characters, it can be used with anything from animals to environmental props. These hierarchies are all defined by components that inherit from Ragdoll, such as the included TetrapodRagdoll and HumanoidRagdoll components, or any subclass that you create.

When you set up a Ragdoll definition, you can apply characterization settings, which specify Collider, Rigidbody, and Configurable Joint properties, as well as make a number of manual adjustments to all parts in the definition using the inspector controls and custom handles in the scene view. When using the automated setup procedure with humanoid and other tetrapod characters, some parts will also be set up with symmetry mapping, which allows you to automatically edit parts on both sides of the character at once.

When you have a fully characterized Ragdoll, you can then either prepare it for Ragdoll Workshop's physics-based animation, or you can "bake" the results, which removes Ragdoll-Workshop-related components and retains only those you need for your own application.

If you use Ragdoll Workshop's physics-based animation system, you can configure an animated hierarchy to fluidly transition between ragdoll physics and animation, or partially apply ragdoll physics to individual parts in the hierarchy. It is set up to work seamlessly with Mecanim state machines, so you can set up transitions to ragdoll states easily, as well as use body masks and layer weighting to control exactly which parts of an animated hierarchy should use physics, and what strength they should use when approximating animation data.

Extensive tooltips have been added to most items in the editor! If you are ever unsure of what something does in the Inspector, check if there is a tooltip or status icon providing more information. All custom component types also include a link to their API Reference pages from the context menu in the Inspector (the small gear icon in the upper right of a component's section).

Your First Ragdoll