Physics

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hlfmnhlfamazing
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Physics

Post by hlfmnhlfamazing »

I'm not sure how far/advanced that devs intend on taking the game, but how about added physics to the game?

For those bzflaggers who have an Ageia PhysX card or one of the ATI/Nvidia setups.

Naturally it would be controllable(on/off) via the client/server.
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Post by blast »

Can you be more specific?
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Post by JeffM »

the game will never have realistic physics, it is supposed to be a simple game. Real physics would mean that tanks would tilt and shots would fall. If those happen, then we have to allow the turret to aim to compensate. Then that becomes a totally different game. Tim's directive is for bzflag to remain simple.

So the answer is. not much further/advanced. BZflag is not a tank sim, it's a simple action game.
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Post by *Boinkage*! »

Well, the idea of falling shots sorta exists, with velocity shooting. Making that standard, you could just force people to get a little closer. Also, whats bad about the revolving turrets? I created one in 2 minutes with Multimedia Fusion 2, that turns 8 directions. Don't you just have to put something like this? (I haven't got a clue of what you use to program)

Object 1= The turret
Object 2= The tank
Always have the turret follow the tank at the the center point.
Moving the mouse left= rotate left
Moving the mouse right= rotate right
LMB click= Object 1 Shoot BulletBlue.

Or something similar to that?
You just have to make the turret in 3D. Save a version. Turn a degree. Save that. Turn a degree. Save that...etc.
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Post by JeffM »

it's not a coding issue. it's a game play decision, for simplicity of PLAY as specificed in the FAQ post at the top of this very section http://my.bzflag.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5670 .

It modifies the controls. In your suggestion there, you've just blown out the way that many people STEER. By adding a rotating turret ( you'd want to add up and down too, to compensate for lob ) you effectively force everyone to use the mouse for aim as it's the only control that has enough granularity for fine aiming, you loose the ability to drive with the mouse. That changes it into a game for people with the best aim, not for strategy and driving. It also makes base play a lot more complex ( you end up with a quake like WADS/Mouse setup as the default ).
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Post by *Boinkage*! »

Perhaps when you "plant" your tank, you could turn the turret around. You might be weak, and it takes a second to get to normal, upon which the turret returns straight.
The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword.

Okay, you get a Bic, the orc gets a long sword.

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Post by blast »

*Boinkage*! wrote:Perhaps when you "plant" your tank, you could turn the turret around. You might be weak, and it takes a second to get to normal, upon which the turret returns straight.
If it had to be made where you can't move, why not just rotate your whole tank then? It is not going to happen.
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Post by hlfmnhlfamazing »

blast wrote:Can you be more specific?
*EDIT* After reading the discussion and how it's progressed, I was thinking more along the lines of environment setup. Background stuff. Like for example a dense forest map.

I know that the physics adds visual quality, I mean, I've seen the screenshots. I'm sure you have too.

I find the whole physics thing intrigueing.
Last edited by hlfmnhlfamazing on Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by hlfmnhlfamazing »

JeffM wrote:the game will never have realistic physics, it is supposed to be a simple game. Real physics would mean that tanks would tilt and shots would fall. If those happen, then we have to allow the turret to aim to compensate. Then that becomes a totally different game. Tim's directive is for bzflag to remain simple.

So the answer is. not much further/advanced. BZflag is not a tank sim, it's a simple action game.
Fair enough.

Just as a side note, the physics of the tank could be kept simple, but how about everything else in the environment? Such as flags that may be flapping in the winds of a future server/bzflag version, or trees blowing in the wind. Whatever someone may decide to add in.

It's not just about the tank, but about the environment as well.

I don't know how the coding side goes, so I can't say what limitations may/not be around this, I just find it intrigueing.
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Post by AAA »

For a game that developed it's own physics, graphics, and network engines from scrach, BZFlag is a very well written game. I know JeffM says otherwise, but when it comes to learning game development, I recommend looking at the BZFlag source (no one I know has actually been hired as a result, however).

The physics in BZFlag are well-thought in some cases, for example the dopplar effect (right? or am I hearing things), and traveling sound. With the expirmental graphics level, flags do move in the wind. Positive gravity can be set (thus tanks fall up). Tanks dont collide (bad example). They to have a maximum falling velocity.

Anyways, the feature I want is client-side procedurely-generated trees. And mountains. Until then I have to be happy with my generator I pretend to work on.
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