All (action)games I know of don’t have real and proper surface collision detection, except some physics games. Just an example: If my Char hits something or someone the weapon goes straight through without any physical reaction, it just counts the damage I’ve done. Are there any games out there, in which physics are calculated correctly and taken into visual account?!
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To add another point to the discussion: a lot (the majority?) of “fake” collision detection isn’t there because of hardware limitations. It’s there by design.
Take a look at 2d platformers. They’re about as computationally simple as you can get. Yet they’re still full of “unrealistic” physics. Coyote time, double jumping, air control, collision boxes that don’t match the sprite, gravity isn’t consistent, you don’t stagger if you slam into the wall or floor, etc, etc. This is on purpose, because realistic does not mean fun. “Realism” is not a magical word that makes games better.
There have been games where, to use your example, your character’s sword bounces off anything it hits, rather than clipping through. The reason most games choose not to do this is because it’s usually pretty annoying. The game’s intended experience is most often to let you play as a badass experienced warrior. The kind of person who doesn’t fumble their blows.
Realism is just another tool in the designer’s toolbox. An example of more “realistic” physics being used deliberately is Shadow of the Colossus. If you swing your sword at a wall, it bounces off, and your character staggers back clumsily. This is because the game is specifically about playing a character who is not a badass, but an inexperienced nobody.
Well, you already say it: physics games. They NEEDS to be accurate with their collision detection since they relay on it to the game to be fun. The majority of action games don’t need such accuracy cuz THAT IS NOT FUN. You know how frustrating is to swing your sword in a narrow passage in Dark Souls to it to bounce on the walls?
Also, is a extremely demanding process to calculate such precise collisions.
If some geniuses do invent a robust framework for physics based combat which results in realistic sword swings unlike Dark Souls’ bounce/no-bounce mechanic, it will be very fun
The damage could be calculated depending on how powerful the swing was and where it hit the enemy. I fantasize about this often
Go play Chivalry then.
It’s fun because of all the extra role playing stuff, the actual combat is slightly frustrating because of how slow it is. Most humans cannot wield a long sword in a very efficient manner. If you swing and miss it takes time to correct, time to compensate for momentum, by which point somebody’s probably stabbed you in the eye with a little knife.
Or you just get by an arrow because the sword is so heavy you can’t move quickly.
This is why I carry 2 Dane axes. One to throw at archers, one to fight
Exanima does this.
Its a little bit half baked right now but it’s been under construction for the better part of a decade. I think the plan now is to use Exanima as a proof of concept and then pivot that technology into a “real” game. But I find it very fun in its current state and does exactly what you’re asking for.
Exanima is basically the prequel to the main game they are also currently working on (Sui Generis).
It’s also planned to have multiplayer after the story part is finished.
Check out Exanima.
There’s a nice video of theirs showcasing some complex object collisions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9-ihvHJdJE
And some neat cloth physics at about 14:25Sound good, but it would be more suitable to VR games where you can be more precise to where to attack and how.
Maybe you’re right. So, IMHO, there seems to be a niche for a game with a sweet spot between accurate physics and fun?
The niche isnt there because its not really practical. No consumer device can run modern high poly 3D structures with full physics simulation in real time. There is a reason why the only physics sim games are very low poly. And even those are performance hungry despite custom engines.
Realistic physics for realistic looking scenes is something that you give to a renderfarm that will throw 100+ times more compute at it than the most expensive consumer GPU on the market.
Thx for your answer. Sounds logic and plausible and I didn’t thought about the effort for the actual physics calculations.
It wasn’t for me, but I’ve heard that some people like Noita, which is built around granular physics interactions.
Oxygen Not Included was more my speed, but that’s more about complex, larger systems (like fluid dynamics and heat) than collision.
Maybe games with destructible structures? It depends on which is the main mechanic of the game, if it’s relays on physics, there would be accurate collision detection (or at least as accurate as it needs them to be).
Exanima, it’s mostly a testing ground for a game the devs want to make around this concept. It’s a good time, and also exactly what I think you’re looking for.
Not to bury the lede, it is a fairly full featured action game, but there’s not really a story element at this stage.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362490/Exanima/I also had Exanima in mind.
The story is actually already there, it’s just easy to miss :)
Although I’m guessing once they finish up work on the AI, roles and dialogue system soon, there’ll be more of it.True, somewhat of a “look for the story and you’ll find it” dark souls vibe. I got the impression from dev logs that the end goal is a more traditional RPG story
I believe that’s more of a goal for Sui Generis. Which is the game they initially begun working on (and still are).
They do have some dialogue with Derrin that gives us some lore, so I’m guessing we’ll get more of that.
Wow, this looks like fun. Thx for the tip
There are high-polish VR shooters, like Half-Life Alyx, Boneworks, and Vertigo 2, which obviously care about where your hands and other body parts are. Boneworks attempts melee combat, but it’s pretty janky. In Half-Life Alyx, you use your hands to rummage around junk to find resources. In Vertigo 2, if you get hit by arrows or thrown spears, you have to pull them out of your body, and there’s a section where you steer a boat.
You might like Overgrowth, it has a very physics-driven combat system.
The reason games don’t do combat with physics is because they tend to be insanely janky and inconsistent. You wouldn’t want to swing your sword and have it get caught in something then die.
Overgrowth looks… too goofy, I guess. But it seems like no dev caught the sweet spot between accuracy and fun?
There’s Half Sword, which has a demo and playtest on steam. It’s all physics-based medieval combat. Your guy moves kinda like QWOP, and your arms can be controlled individually. You swing your arms with the mouse while holding a click, as it’ll lock onto the nearest enemy when you do, and kinda like in Zomboid you want to hit them with the tip of your weapon using the most momentum possible in the swing.
I just remembered another good one: We who are about to die.
Kerbal Space Program. But that’s not “action”, more like simulation, and, the entire game revolves around accurate, realistic physics, since it models actual space travel. So accurate to the point where you can build and test crazy real world concepts like the machine from that company that wants to put stuff into orbit by spinning it and then flinging it up through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
I love KSP but things can clip into each other in the game
Plenty. It’s just that it’s not often used because it’s more computationally expensive.
Usually it’s just collision hulls for hitboxes instead of per-face collision. But even if your sword passes right through the enemy, it’s still doing collision detection to identify that it’s passing through the enemy. It’s just that animations are rarely complex enough to account for all the possible ways you could hit an enemy.
I think BeamNG.drive fits your request. I’m not sure how accurate the model is, but it tries to model car crashes and damage based on a bunch of factors.
Thx, I will watch some videos of it.
BeamBot and Muye are great channels to get an idea, also the official BeamNG showreel. Stay clear of cringy YouTube shorts with meme car mods
This is not standard for a ton of reasons, just look at TABG. Boneworks/BONELAB are two more games that behave somewhat similar, but they’re both VR titles.
Bonelab was barely even a game, it was basically a demo for the Marrow engine. I still enjoyed it, but 100% the core focus was to demonstrate the capabilities of their physics engine.
Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord’s combat physics are awesome compared to the scale of the battles. Example: on foot, striking with a big hammer, you won’t pass the shield but if you swing from a horse at full speed you will. + modsupport
Half Sword, Exanima, and Blade Symphony might be the games you’re looking for.
Thx, I will check them out!
are you talking specifically about melee combat?
things like beamng, arma, toribash, receiver, poly bridge, are all very much physical
Thx, I will have a look into these games.
Not only but mainly yes
Kingdom Come Deliverance
Valheim falling trees (tree falling can kill), boat with wind and storms, siege machines in latest ashlands biome.
There’s a guy who was working on a fan build for alternative to Tribes Ascend that had some really elegant collision stuff going on to address what we called “dead stops”
