A comment (or wish) regarding physics

[Marucs]

IMHO, RTS's come in one of two flavors:
1) Physics are poor.
2) Physics are solid.

A lot of games use (1) because of lazy programming, low attention to detail, or a combination. In these games, a calculation is made when the unit decides to shoot whether or not it will hit, and then some graphical representation is shown to display the result. In the end you sometimes have arrows going through hills and trees, attacks getting stopped by an enemy that's already been vanquished, etc.
The game, while not necessarily bad, never feels as solid as other games. StarCraft, SpellForce, Conquest Earth, and some others are in this category.


A few games use (2). These games, like TA and Metal Fatigue, actually have projectiles travelling through the air. This means you can micro a scouting unit to dodge incoming shells, giving it a chance to get much farther than it otherwise would. Conversely, an attentive commander can trap said scout with a wiley succession of herding shots. In large engagements, bullets, missiles, lasers, and rockets fly every which way, creating a massive zone of total destruction. In the end, you have a much more convincing game. Strange mini-strats abound in which physics are utilized to advantage. Cool things like increased range due to elevation is automatic and intuitive. Weapons that bounce or home realistically are possible.

So what type of physics is DOW going to have? Solid and long-lasting like TA, or shallow dice-rolling like so many fantasy RTS's? Either option is valid, especially for a game based on a table-top game.

It appears I'm biased...oh well. I'll hop into my AB. (Asbestos Bunker)

-Marcus

[dArKB*****d]

I would imagine that you've not played Relics other titles try homeworld 1 or 2, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at their attention to details like the ingame physics. :)

[Dimension]

well... homeworld isn't really true to physics. however, if you've ever played the newtonian mod, you'll know why ;)

[Marucs]

I have played all of Relics other games. To be honest, however, i think the solid feel of HW1 was lost a bit in HW2.

Since DOW is more akin to IC, though, I'm quite optimistic.

[DARKMASTER]

wow thats the first time ive ever seen anyone talk about metal fatigue. It was a good game.However i became depressed when i found out i couldnt get the alien Robot you encounter in some of the missions.....that would have been a blast.

[Imperial marine]

i would like to see good physics in the game i wish it could have something like ragdoll physics [could have spelt wrong] seeing a dreadnought picking up a ork killing it and chucking the body off a cliif as it rolls down into rocks [he he he]

[BirdyNumNum]

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/wh40kdawnofwar/screens.html?page=2

a screen shot of just that; a dreadknought maming an ork :)

[Richtofen]

TA was seriously awesome because of that. DoW should have similar stuff. Also, don't make all units move the same speed, that was one of the many things I hated about the 3rd edition of 40k, cover saves were another one. Marines move faster than regular humans, and eldar move faster still. It may not be noticeable in say, a 50 metre race but from travelling from one location to another, speed would come into play. Also, in reference to the killing of troops, weapons like missile launchers/lascannons and the like should vaporise man-sized troops just like in the tabletop game.

[Thandrim]

Now hold on a minute here! This is a 40K based game we are talking about. Physics, logic, reason and fairness have nothing to do with the 40K universe.
:beer:

[BirdyNumNum]

hahaha i can't even imagine anything without physics, logic, reason or fairness.
though i can think of a post in this topic without logic or reason :dance: :up:

getting back on track now, i think it would be cool if some maps, different worlds, had different forces of gravity.

[Maximus Decimus]

Physics, logic, reason and fairness have nothing to do with the 40K universe.

i beg to differ because as far as i can remember marines walk on the ground, they die, the worlds not upside down, and ppl tend to fall down not up. lol although i know what u mean but u have to admit that no realism makes for a crap game. id like it to be more realistic where u value ur men and the physics are nice in CC unlike having poor physics which make the game look ugly and a game where marines are thrown like cannon fodder to the enemy which is actually the guards job.

[ObsceneName]

last time i checked you cant watch a bullet fly through the air

[Richtofen]

Originally posted by Thandrim
Now hold on a minute here! This is a 40K based game we are talking about. Physics, logic, reason and fairness have nothing to do with the 40K universe.
:beer:

haha so true :rofl:

[MetalMilitia]

Wait I thought there was going to be ragdoll physics, and yes I think that the bullets are flying through the air rather than you firing and the enemy you are facing gets damage, That is at least the impression I got from the screens.

[WarpGhost]

however, if you've ever played the newtonian mod, you'll know why

Newtonnian Mod????!!! Where can I get one!?

[BrotherMarcus]

I'm actually not a fan of rag-doll physics, the enemy always die in a way that destroys any sense of you being immersed in the game.

I'll give you an example in lots of the newer FPS's (Max Payne 2, Deus Ex 2, Raven Shield) You shoot someone and they contort as if they have no bones. Their legs will be up past their shoulders or they literally bend in half.

[Imperial marine]

40K is futureristic not realistic So that eat it in a ork baggute

[ObsceneName]

RagDoll Physics seem to work qutie well untill you get weapons that do aoe damage because most of the time ifyour hit by a aoe weapon you'll end up in a posistion a yoga master cant do
but most of the time being hit by just normal weapons just makes you do a sommersault then you land in the gruond
but soemtimes games clipping errors arep retty bad ive sens guys with asses hanging out of a wall

[Uzgah]

Got too agree with the RagDoll in Raven Shield, I loved the game, but not the way the Tango would end up folded in half... feet tucked neatly behind his head =[

[Imperial marine]

i thought they were demented tango oh well:murph: :rage: