Games look great these days, but something that could use a bit of sprucing up is collision detection. Even today we still see a missed hit, or the rare arm through the wall. Despite all the other advances, sometimes it seems like collision detection isn't much better than it was back in the 8-bit days.
A new model by researcher Thomas Larsson, from Malardalen University in Sweden, is said to present a faster and more interactive solution to collision not only in games, but also in robotics, virtual surgery, and more.
Larsson says that "it’s not enough simply to draw the images. To animate or simulate objects that move or fly around on the screen, the objects need to be able to react to collisions. In many cases the collision calculations, just like the image generation itself, have to be done in a few milliseconds, otherwise the interactivity and the experience are ruined.”
The hopes are that these faster, more efficient methods for detecting collision of on-screen objects will make them act and react as naturally as you'd expect them to.
[Via ScienceDaily, thanks Dexter]
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
6:20 PM on 03.04.2009
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How is that snowman there in such sunny weather! Somebody needs to develop an accurate melting engine.
Descent 3 had some issues with this, and again some modern games do as well.
That article is a good read. Thanks, Dale!
Also, I second The-Excel in that there should be more posts about this kind of technical stuff.
> "the rare arm through the wall" isn't rare in Gears
> of War 2. It's a common occurrence.
As I read some time ago, it was once a game feature! ;-)
I doubt folks will want to trade graphics for proper physics.
I mean should we just "accept" that proper physics are unobtainable, or should we be like Larsson who is looking for methods around the limitations?
If tech is getting more powerful, and graphics themselves are hitting limits to what humans can successfully produce - why not use that extra horsepower for something that aids immersion, like physics?
Collision detection is important in a myriad of games, including FPS (how many times have I been hit by a bullet that must have been the size of a cantaloupe?), fighting games, racing games - anything where something comes in contact with something else.