32 replies to this topic

[GroovYChickeN]

The biggest issue aide from any impact on HSR would be the amount of time sink that this would take for the devs. The models used in the game are mostly hallow so there isn't any structure to emulate real soft body physics. This means that all models would have to be reworked to include internal structure, panels, real joints, and what not. For the relatively small team that makes up PGI there probably wouldn't be enough man hours to go around to make it work right now. As much as I would love to see this added to the game I doubt management at PGI is going to make it a priority.

[Khobai]

id rather have destructible terrain and terrain deformation than soft body damage on mechs

the impact a 5-6 story tall battlemech has on the environment around it needs to be more apparent in MWO

[Mole]

I don't think we'll ever see soft body physics on mechs in MWO. I am excited to play with some soft body physics in future games though. Looks really cool.

[RoboPatton]

Mole, on 15 February 2016 - 04:50 PM, said:

I don't think we'll ever see soft body physics on mechs in MWO. I am excited to play with some soft body physics in future games though. Looks really cool.

My IRL body has soft body physics.

[1453 R]

I love how the phrase "We're going to look into it sometime next year" has somehow become "WE'RE ABSOLUTELY 100% LOCKED-IN-ENDO-STEEL GOING TO UPGRADE OUR ENGINE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. BELIEVE IT."

They'll look into it. That doesn't mean they'll do it. Changing out the game's engine would be an undertaking not terribly far removed from just flat-out rebuilding the entire game from scratch; any new engines would have to provide some truly, phenomenally incredible benefits to make that sort of agony worth it.

Bendy trucks, feet that follow the ground, and other nifty-but-useless visual effects are not a phenomenally incredible benefit. No matter how much the dual-Titans, all-settings-to-Ultra folks say so.

[Jackal Noble]

Nik Kerensky, on 15 February 2016 - 12:49 PM, said:

Hah, so it can be done! I think MWO would be an obvious beneficiary from investing in a proper physics based damage system, considering mechs taking damage is kind of a big part of this game!??

I need to correct myself, it's not soft body per se as much as multi-stage damage models(like 3ish), albeit pretty damn effective. Here are some features that I think when make the game feel much more immersive in terms of feeling the hurt. Should also note this is a game where projectiles are the primary vehicle for delivering punishment. Why again do they host the game server side, imo that honestly makes no ******* sense.

Internal components

More internal stuff because who likes to think that their mech is just a polygon with one layer of skin.


Model damage

Edited by JackalBeast, 15 February 2016 - 05:40 PM.

[Jackal Noble]

I know I know too much to ask.... But still, one day....

[Kaeb Odellas]

JackalBeast, on 15 February 2016 - 05:44 PM, said:

I know I know too much to ask.... But still, one day....

I like how a 20 lb SRM is half the size of an adult human.

[JediPanther]

Much as I'd like an engine and graphics upgrade I see many light pilots switching to fast heavies or abandoning the game due to how fast lights legs would break from just running over poor terrain hit boxes. Bad enough all they have is that "shock absorption" module. I'd retire most if not all my mechs and I love my locust and jenner.

[Jackal Noble]

Kaeb Odellas, on 15 February 2016 - 05:53 PM, said:

I like how a 20 lb SRM is half the size of an adult human.

Gotta be some crazy future composites lol. Honestly not sure if that 20lb is an accurate figure save for this game idk. I mean I get that there are 100 rounds per ton in game, but lorewise, there a only about 15 shots per ton of ammo. A more accurate figure is 133.33 lbs a missile.

Edited by JackalBeast, 15 February 2016 - 06:03 PM.

[Jackal Noble]

JediPanther, on 15 February 2016 - 05:59 PM, said:

Much as I'd like an engine and graphics upgrade I see many light pilots switching to fast heavies or abandoning the game due to how fast lights legs would break from just running over poor terrain hit boxes. Bad enough all they have is that "shock absorption" module. I'd retire most if not all my mechs and I love my locust and jenner.

Well that's where the effective use of balancing realism vs functionality comes in to play.

[AEgg]

pbiggz, on 14 February 2016 - 04:54 PM, said:

Dont worry, AEgg probably hasn't taken a network programming class.

I kind of have to respond to this, because I literally write software for a living... Though I like actually having a paycheck and working less than 80 hours a week, so I don't work on games.

GreyNovember, on 14 February 2016 - 04:42 PM, said:

Right. This bothers me greatly.

You don't need to send an entire packet containing the ENTIRE game state.

You send an event that occurs on one client. That goes back to the host server, who then gives it to everyone else once it's verified, and let the clients perform the calculations once they have the event data, which should give the same result as the originator.

What you don't do, is tell everyone everything ever about your current game state. Because that's stupidly unnecessary.

No, you don't send everything. But, you can't just send the point, speed, projectile, and angle of impact either, both because it's unlikely to generate exactly the same effect on each client because everything else may also be slightly off (i.e. mech position, direction, and speed) not to mention prior damage calculation results.

To put it simply, destruction like this means modifying hitboxes on the fly, or ignoring them and having a lot of really questionable shots hit or miss. You can't simply rely on each client being "close enough" to the server that you can only send an origin point. Even sending nothing but the bare minimum of angle, point of impact, speed, and projectile type is likely more than we do now, let alone trying to send even a tiny snippet of what the new collision mesh should actually be.

[Nik Kerensky]

JackalBeast, on 15 February 2016 - 05:32 PM, said:

I need to correct myself, it's not soft body per se as much as multi-stage damage models(like 3ish), albeit pretty damn effective. Here are some features that I think when make the game feel much more immersive in terms of feeling the hurt. Should also note this is a game where projectiles are the primary vehicle for delivering punishment. Why again do they host the game server side, imo that honestly makes no ******* sense.

Internal components

More internal stuff because who likes to think that their mech is just a polygon with one layer of skin.


Model damage

Even this type of detail would go a long way for MWO..