Final Project :Muqiao Lei

[rmurdock41]

Note on Previous PR

This is a re-submission of the final project implementation. The previous PR was closed due to Git configuration issues caused by a large Alembic file (.abc) that exceeded GitHub's file size limits, which corrupted the commit history and prevented proper comparison with the upstream repository.

To resolve this issue, I:

1. Re-established the connection between my fork and the upstream repository
2. Rebased my commits onto the upstream main branch
3. Removed the problematic large file from Git tracking (Alembic file now hosted on Google Drive)
4. Created this fresh PR with a clean commit history

Repository: https://github.com/rmurdock41/final-project

All functionality and features remain identical to the original submission. This PR contains the complete implementation of the Amaterasu's Brush system as documented below.

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Amaterasu's Brush: Interactive Nature Restoration - Final Implementation

Overview

This PR implements a complete interactive nature restoration system inspired by Okami's Celestial Brush mechanic, extending the Mix and Jam gesture recognition framework with visual effects, procedural animations, and environmental controls.

Key Features Implemented

1. Day/Night Transition System

• Smooth skybox interpolation between day and night materials
• Dynamic lighting adjustments with directional light intensity control
• Real-time global illumination updates
• Keyboard shortcuts: D for day, N for night

2. Celestial Object System

• Sun effects: Multi-layer design with rotating rays, screen flash transition, and smooth fade animations
• Moon effects: Minimalist crescent design with quick fade transitions
• Procedurally generated sun ray textures using custom editor tools
• Integration with day/night system for automatic sky transitions

3. Ink Particle Effects

• Brush stroke to particle conversion system
• Two-phase animation: progressive particle generation + line fade-out
• Camera-facing particles with random rotation, scale, and positioning
• Custom particle behavior with staggered fade effects

4. Plant Growth Animation System

• Houdini-based procedural plant modeling with curl-to-unfold growth animations
• Alembic format integration for timeline-based playback
• Complete lifecycle: growth animation → display → shrink → cleanup
• Ground-based spawning with raycast detection

5. Enhanced Gesture Recognition

• PDollar point cloud recognition with 75% confidence threshold
• New gestures: Sun (circular), Moon (crescent), Plant (custom)
• Original features preserved: Line slash, Bomb explosion
• Multi-platform support (PC, Android, iOS)
• Collision-based spatial logic for appropriate effect triggering

Technical Highlights

• DOTween integration for smooth animations
• Coroutine-based multi-stage animation sequences
• Proper memory management with automatic cleanup
• Material instancing to avoid asset modification
• Custom render queue ordering for proper transparency

Asset Pipeline

• Houdini → Alembic export → Unity import workflow established
• Procedural texture generation tools added to Unity Editor
• Prefab system for reusable plant assets
• Large Alembic file hosted externally on Google Drive (link in README)