On one hand, they're probably now more present than ever, with simulated power lines popping up in open world games like GTA5, Fallout 4 and Watch Dogs 2, but on the other there's been a weird and distinct lack of that kind of simulation in games you would otherwise expect it to appear. It's been on my mind for a while but watching that IGN First of Destiny 2's new social space got me thinking again.
Simulated ropes/cables were once a hallmark of the Source Engine and they've been absent from every Valve game since L4D1. I mean they still use the same code to rig them but they're static in the world unless attached to another moving object - no more idle simulation. I can't imagine Valve needs any extra overhead for CSGO that the very known, very efficient quantity that is the basic spring physics governing their power line simulation couldn't be switched on.
Power lines were also noticeably static in Uncharted 4, though it seems that's been corrected for The Lost Legacy. It's true that those basic constraint physics that run rope physics also govern cloth and foliage simulation - and there's a TON of that in Uncharted 4 - but is that really the reason the power lines don't sway?
There are other games worth mentioning but I'll save that for now. The question is, shouldn't rope physics be efficient enough in code at this point that you'd rarely have to squeeze them out to make room for another effect? Game development is always a tradeoff, but still...
Simulated ropes/cables were once a hallmark of the Source Engine and they've been absent from every Valve game since L4D1. I mean they still use the same code to rig them but they're static in the world unless attached to another moving object - no more idle simulation. I can't imagine Valve needs any extra overhead for CSGO that the very known, very efficient quantity that is the basic spring physics governing their power line simulation couldn't be switched on.
Power lines were also noticeably static in Uncharted 4, though it seems that's been corrected for The Lost Legacy. It's true that those basic constraint physics that run rope physics also govern cloth and foliage simulation - and there's a TON of that in Uncharted 4 - but is that really the reason the power lines don't sway?
There are other games worth mentioning but I'll save that for now. The question is, shouldn't rope physics be efficient enough in code at this point that you'd rarely have to squeeze them out to make room for another effect? Game development is always a tradeoff, but still...
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