Right now, one big problem with cashed or collapsed cloth meshes is that they lose most of their properties. For example, even if the cloth has settled, already fully stretched areas will stretch some more when used as a starting point for further simulation.
Some of those properties or states could be restored or at least reconstructed by the Cloth Bind modifer having an option to pick a reference mesh in addition to the birth object (maybe maskable by a selection on the mesh in question). The Cloth Bind would then compare the distance of points etc. and see which areas are already fully stretched based on the current cloth properties, what are the actual neutral angles etc.
So for example: You have a flat cloth or clothing article, you simulate it until it's in its resting position, you cache or collapse the result on one frame and then use that as a starting point for a new simulation with the same parameters and the original, not simulated cloth as a reference.
Edited to fix some typos.
Some of those properties or states could be restored or at least reconstructed by the Cloth Bind modifer having an option to pick a reference mesh in addition to the birth object (maybe maskable by a selection on the mesh in question). The Cloth Bind would then compare the distance of points etc. and see which areas are already fully stretched based on the current cloth properties, what are the actual neutral angles etc.
So for example: You have a flat cloth or clothing article, you simulate it until it's in its resting position, you cache or collapse the result on one frame and then use that as a starting point for a new simulation with the same parameters and the original, not simulated cloth as a reference.
Edited to fix some typos.
