Physics engine integration (BulletX / ODE)
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:58I've been pondering this idea for some time, and am very interested if anyone else would like it and believes it's possible. I always thought MineTest has the potential to be even better and more advanced than MineCraft, and this would be one of the bigger guns where I'd like to see it.
I'm wondering about integrating a physics engine in MineTest, such as BulletX or ODE, and allowing certain objects to have modern and realistic physics (bounce, roll around the ground, etc). Although for a blocky game with with 16 x 16 textures such detail might seem unnecessary, I think it would be really fun. Terasology already did it for broken blocks, and it looks really awesome. Here's a video of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruPEhDtXmDI
What I'd use such physics for are essentially two things: First of all I'd enable them on dropped items. Currently they fall to the ground and blocks just spin in place... I'd like to see dropped stuff correctly colliding with the ground. In the case of items over nodes, use texture alpha and extrusion to generate the collision box. Second thing I'd use physics for are special blocks. Some player-crafted nodes could have this attribute and turn physical once placed to the ground... or we could also make leafs fall off when you cut the trunk of a tree (before they vanish due to leaf decay). The player could push into such blocks and make them roll around the place... also hit them to make them bounce and what not. Another idea (even bigger and more distant) are ragdolls for 3D players / mobs when they die. Imagine punching a cow to harvest meat, then that cow falling to the ground and ragdoll-ing over the hills for a few seconds before it disappears. Lastly, it could be used to replace current player and mob physics, since the current ones are very basic and unrealistic.
I know there's one concern with such things, and that's how MineTest will run on old computers. Although I consider compatibility with all machines important, I don't believe this should keep us from adding new modern ideas. I do however support making the physics engine an optional server / client setting, and why not an optional build flag. Those who don't want it or can't use it don't have to enable it, and the old physics are used instead. Of course this would require both the client and server to do the same... not sure how that would work out. Stuff like mining with TNT would also cause a lot of physical objects to spawn which might get laggy.
This would be very interesting to see, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I doubt I have the coding skill to do any of this, but from what I know integrating BulletX in such code should be fairly easy (at least for simple blocks).
[EDIT] Suggest seeing this video as well for even more awesomeness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ha669K88I If you don't wanna see the rest skip to 3:24
I'm wondering about integrating a physics engine in MineTest, such as BulletX or ODE, and allowing certain objects to have modern and realistic physics (bounce, roll around the ground, etc). Although for a blocky game with with 16 x 16 textures such detail might seem unnecessary, I think it would be really fun. Terasology already did it for broken blocks, and it looks really awesome. Here's a video of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruPEhDtXmDI
What I'd use such physics for are essentially two things: First of all I'd enable them on dropped items. Currently they fall to the ground and blocks just spin in place... I'd like to see dropped stuff correctly colliding with the ground. In the case of items over nodes, use texture alpha and extrusion to generate the collision box. Second thing I'd use physics for are special blocks. Some player-crafted nodes could have this attribute and turn physical once placed to the ground... or we could also make leafs fall off when you cut the trunk of a tree (before they vanish due to leaf decay). The player could push into such blocks and make them roll around the place... also hit them to make them bounce and what not. Another idea (even bigger and more distant) are ragdolls for 3D players / mobs when they die. Imagine punching a cow to harvest meat, then that cow falling to the ground and ragdoll-ing over the hills for a few seconds before it disappears. Lastly, it could be used to replace current player and mob physics, since the current ones are very basic and unrealistic.
I know there's one concern with such things, and that's how MineTest will run on old computers. Although I consider compatibility with all machines important, I don't believe this should keep us from adding new modern ideas. I do however support making the physics engine an optional server / client setting, and why not an optional build flag. Those who don't want it or can't use it don't have to enable it, and the old physics are used instead. Of course this would require both the client and server to do the same... not sure how that would work out. Stuff like mining with TNT would also cause a lot of physical objects to spawn which might get laggy.
This would be very interesting to see, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I doubt I have the coding skill to do any of this, but from what I know integrating BulletX in such code should be fairly easy (at least for simple blocks).
[EDIT] Suggest seeing this video as well for even more awesomeness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13ha669K88I If you don't wanna see the rest skip to 3:24