By Patrick Shaw | 05-29-2012 | 2:00PM
We’ve already seen how the latest iteration of Crytek’s proprietary graphics engine, CryEngine 3, has been used to power the face-melting visuals behind blockbuster video games like Crysis 2 and its forthcoming sequel Crysis 3. But now a new video by BeamNG demonstrates how the technology can be used to create jaw-droppingly realistic vehicle physics in video games -- which of course is best illustrated by simulating horrifically severe car crashes in real-time.
You can watch the car crash tech demo above, which shows the open source vehicle simulator Rigs of Rod running on the CryEngine 3. While the video shows a pickup truck smashing straight into walls and flipping over at high speed, the Beam physics system can be used to simulate the physics of numerous other computer generated assets including airplanes, helicopters, trains, boats, tanks and even destructible map objects.
The developer notes that everything shown in the video uses 100% dynamic real-time physics running at 100 frames-per-second with the CryEngine 3.
What makes the open source vehicle simulator unique, however, is that it features “soft-body physics,” which accurately simulates how vehicles move in real-life by treating them as sturdy but flexible objects.
While the demonstration of what Beam can do when powered with Crytek’s latest graphics engine is quite striking, it is still “an early work in progress” according to its creator. Just imagine how the vehicle physics featured in upcoming games like Grand Theft Auto V could take advantage of this impressive technology.
