gameranx: 10 Games With Mind-Blowing PHYSICS EFFECTS

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Some games have awesome physics that truly prove video game technology has come a long way.

0:00 Intro
0:24 Hardspace: Shipbreaker
1:31 Snowrunner
2:55 The legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
3:56 Besiege
4:41 Red Faction: Guerilla
6:07 Kerbal Space Program
7:19 Half-Life Alyx
8:45 Control
9:27 Instruments of Destruction
10:13 BeamNG Drive
11:09 BONUS
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Remember when i upgraded from gtx 260 to gtx 470. But at that time there was something called Phys-x? From Nvidia, so i could still keep my 260 and use it for that together with my 470. Good times
 
Physics and the emergent ability for the gameworld to be deformed and altered is one of my favourite elements in any game that has it.

Boom Blox on the Wii was great fun with physics too.

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The video essentially confuses physics in most cases with systemic-based gameplay mechanics, e.g. Zelda BOTW's systems-based environmental mechanics are not physics simulation in any sense, but rather just systems-based environmental mechanics.

Control also being in the list is weird, because its physics are almost completely visual effects; i.e. not really providing much gameplay utility at all.

This list should have been titled, games with the best systems-based gameplay mechanics since that's what they're actually talking about. And then I would have added games like Astroneer.
 


A look at the destruction in the closed beta of The Finals (Embark Studios).
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The author reviews the destruction in the finals of a multiplayer game, highlighting the impressive physics-based building collapse and the responsiveness of the destructible environment. However, there are limitations such as some structures being indestructible and the objectives often being located in less responsive areas. Overall, the author finds the experience to be promising and hopes it will remind people of the cool experience that can be had with responsive environments.
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WTF? No Noita? Every goddamn pixels are physically simulated.

Hard surfaces, smoke, fire, gas, liquids. Mixing liquids will make different substances and will chemically react with the different materials in the game and maybe create even new reactions.

 
Buggy Loop said:
WTF? No Noita? Every goddamn pixels are physically simulated.

Hard surfaces, smoke, fire, gas, liquids. Mixing liquids will make different substances and will chemically react with the different materials in the game and maybe create even new reactions.

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Noita is the game I miss the most after my pc crapped out. I'd kill for a ps5 release.
 


In this YouTube video about The Finals, a first-person shooter game developed by Embark Studios, the gameplay and destruction mechanics are discussed. The game mode Cash Out features four teams of three collecting cash by killing enemies and completing objectives, with mutators that randomly trigger such as meteor showers or low gravity. The destruction mechanics are satisfying, allowing players to create holes and navigate the play area strategically. The use of unique items such as foam guns, zip lines, and jump pads adds to the gameplay. However, the lack of tutorial and having only two maps in beta can be frustrating, and character design and presentation are described as bland. The YouTubers think that the potential of The Final's multiplayer mode is high and could attract players who enjoy both Rainbow Six Siege-style gameplay and the old-school chaos of Battlefield's Bad Company, especially since the game is free.
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Buggy Loop said:
WTF? No Noita? Every goddamn pixels are physically simulated.

Hard surfaces, smoke, fire, gas, liquids. Mixing liquids will make different substances and will chemically react with the different materials in the game and maybe create even new reactions.

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Yep, the physic system in noita make all these other examples look like child play.

People see the shitty graphic and just ignore the game most probably.
 
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intbal said:
I played Trespasser in 1998.

Why would physics in modern games impress me?
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This.

Also no CellFactor?
Look at this 16 years old video. My PC from back then was melting.
We played this on LAN parties with 5-10fps but where impressed af.


Lots of debris, hundrets of objects, fluid simulation.

Also


And even GTA IV from 2008 has a better and more diverse representation of physics like ragdolls and the damage on vehicles than most games these days.
 
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it's weird how much world interactivity and physics have been ignored in recent years, this is something that rockstar just has the complete stranglehold on and it's sad that no other game comes close (i'm talking purely world interactivity, not world destruction, which is entirely a different thing)

for example I just started up Ghostwire on the PS sub and while the game is fun , the environment is just a painting with an odd object here n there that you can interact with by melee which just dissolves anyway, another offender of this i mentioned in another thread is Cyberpunk, that game was just a painting with nothing else going for it.
 
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StueyDuck said:
it's weird how much world interactivity and physics have been ignored in recent years, this is something that rockstar just has the complete stranglehold on and it's sad that no other game comes close (i'm talking purely world interactivity, not world destruction, which is entirely a different thing)

for example I just started up Ghostwire on the PS sub and while the game is fun , the environment is just a painting with an odd object here n there that you can interact with by melee which just dissolves anyway, another offender of this i mentioned in another thread is Cyberpunk, that game was just a painting with nothing else going for it.
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Can't be marketed as well as "4k" & "RTX" for example. The aforementioned features are obvious at first glance and look great in screenshots and press videos, but the gameplay depth that physics simulations bring is not immediately apparent. With the PS360 era, we had many games that had much more physics-based gameplay than the majority of ready-built games today.
 
Kupfer said:
Can't be marketed as well as "4k" & "RTX" for example. The aforementioned features are obvious at first glance and look great in screenshots and press videos, but the gameplay depth that physics simulations bring is not immediately apparent. With the PS360 era, we had many games that had much more physics-based gameplay than the majority of ready-built games today.
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You are entirely right unfortunately.

Looking back at the early days of the ps360 gen and seeing all the natural motion stuff and watching dev vids on wood that would snap and break realistically, even depending what type of wood it was (can't remember now what that Middleware was called)

Even games that weren't all that hot like alone in the dark reboot/make had interesting mechanics which you could imagine in better more capable devs would have been great. Like metal bending when shot, fire propagating and burning wooden objects gradually

I know Rockstar bought natural motion and their euphoria tech but still, it just feels like gaming in general has taken many steps backwards in this regard

Edit: this was the tech demo I think, digital molecular matter. What a cool idea

 
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StueyDuck said:
You are entirely right unfortunately.

Looking back at the early days of the ps360 gen and seeing all the natural motion stuff and watching dev vids on wood that would snap and break realistically, even depending what type of wood it was (can't remember now what that Middleware was called)

Even games that weren't all that hot like alone in the dark reboot/make had interesting mechanics which you could imagine in better more capable devs would have been great. Like metal bending when shot, fire propagating and burning wooden objects gradually

I know Rockstar bought natural motion and their euphoria tech but still, it just feels like gaming in general has taken many steps backwards in this regard

Edit: this was the tech demo I think, digital molecular matter. What a cool idea

Click to expand...


I can't do much with the Star Wars franchise, but the physics feautures were the reason I played and liked it on the 360. I also remember From Dust, a small, innovative god simulation from Ubisoft (I know, ubisoft and innovative? Don't go together anymore), where you could terraform the environment to protect your people from lava flows and tsunamis.



It may not be as impressive today, but the gameplay was so special that even over 10 years later this little title is still stuck in my head.

The physics of some games from that era, or even before, like HL2 (2004), Far Cry 2 (2008) or Crysis (2007) are on par with current releases in terms of physics implementation. How many palm trees and bushes did I "chop" in Crysis, start wildfires in FC2 and shoot junk with the gravity gun?

With the "full hd" generation, the focus shifted from gameplay to mirror finished looks. It's time for that to change again.

The visuals are fine since the end of the last generation when I look at games like RDR2, TLOU II, GoW, CP2077, GoT, RE2 remake etc. Now use these basic frameworks to bring in more interactivity with the game world, more immersion through interaction.
 
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Half life 2 yeah I know there is a Half life game but. I remember when physical destruction in games was the next big thing.
 
hardspace shipbreaker is great. when you forget a pressurized cabin or blow up a tank accidentally the results are great. Infuriating for the score but great.
 
A lot of VR games do a good job with physics and things to mess around with. If I play a lot of VR then switch to a flat screen game where you can't move much of anything or show any damage, etc, reality hits home.
Most flat games have dropped the ball on this imo.
 
Gamer_By_Proxy said:
A lot of VR games do a good job with physics and things to mess around with. If I play a lot of VR then switch to a flat screen game where you can't move much of anything or show any damage, etc, reality hits home.
Most flat games have dropped the ball on this imo.
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That was one of my biggest takeaways from trying VR for the first time and going back to flat gaming. Both Eleven Table Tennis, Walkabout Mini Golf, Blade and Sorcery, and Cosmonious High just felt so good with the attention to physics. Most flat games may be pretty, but they are extremely static. I hope games like The Finals and Zelda BotW/TotK start popularizing physics in AAA gaming again. Even Fortnite is having more and more physics added.
 
Darchaos said:
Remember when i upgraded from gtx 260 to gtx 470. But at that time there was something called Phys-x? From Nvidia, so i could still keep my 260 and use it for that together with my 470. Good times
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borderlands 2 had physx support and it was amazing.

fluids and particles flying all over the damn place.
 


Modern video games do a great job of mimicking real life visuals with highly detailed environments and smooth animations, but they generally lack in terms of simulating lifelike physics and destruction mechanics.

But that's not always the case, and some games do a great job of crafting worlds that not only look but also behave in a realistic fashion - and here are 15 examples of recent video games which have stunning physics effects.
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  • 🎮 Some modern video games lack simulating life-like physics and destructive mechanics
  • 🎮 15 recent video games have stunning physics effects, including Teardown, Returnal, and Heavenly Bodies
  • 🎮 Teardown features fully destructible environments with physics properties and encourages players to smash walls and blow up stuff to chart the most efficient path to objectives
  • 🎮 Returnal's physics allows particles to scatter appropriately to gunfire before going back to their original state, and certain structures can also be destroyed
  • 🎮 Heavenly Bodies puts you in charge of a complex physics object and requires you to synergize different button presses to navigate through environments in zero-g environments
  • 🎮 Just Cause 4 allows players to wreak havoc upon entire battalions of enemies and introduces new elements like tornadoes and storms into the mix
  • 🎮 Skate Sim is a complex physics model of the skater and the skateboard, requiring real-world knowledge of the skateboard to pull off tricks and stunts
  • 🎮 Half-Life Alex showcases Source 2's impressive physics capabilities, allowing for a wide variety of interactions and environment objects
  • 🎮 Snow Runner puts players in the shoes of a truck driver who has to complete cargo deliveries in some of the most unfavorable weather conditions, requiring players to use their brains to come up with smart strategies to tackle different terrain
  • 🎮 Wreckfest combines detailed destruction mechanics with high-octane racing, requiring players to make important decisions between body strength, top speed, and handling for tackling the hardest races in the game
  • 🎮 The Finals combines fast action with detailed environment destruction, allowing players to use whatever tactics they want to be the last man standing.
 
^ Yeah Control makes every other game with in-house action seem stale.

Haven't tried it myself yet but the hose physics in TLOUP2 looks fantastic too.

Still love Skyrim in VR with HIGGS and VRIK, since you can interact with almost everything.


It's based on Alyx though so I guess that should get the nod here.
 
StueyDuck said:
You are entirely right unfortunately.

Looking back at the early days of the ps360 gen and seeing all the natural motion stuff and watching dev vids on wood that would snap and break realistically, even depending what type of wood it was (can't remember now what that Middleware was called)

Even games that weren't all that hot like alone in the dark reboot/make had interesting mechanics which you could imagine in better more capable devs would have been great. Like metal bending when shot, fire propagating and burning wooden objects gradually

I know Rockstar bought natural motion and their euphoria tech but still, it just feels like gaming in general has taken many steps backwards in this regard

Edit: this was the tech demo I think, digital molecular matter. What a cool idea

Click to expand...

I actually e-mailed the DMM guys a few years back to ask them why more games didn't use the tech. They answered plainly: nobody cared.
 
Top ten cringeworthy youtubers with shitty ranking videos. But before that, a word from out sponsor, dont forget to visit my patreon page so i dont have to get a job. Please like and subscribe, also let me know in comments what you think.

I'm really interested in seeing what these motherfuckers do when they're 50.
 
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OCASM said:
I actually e-mailed the DMM guys a few years back to ask them why more games didn't use the tech. They answered plainly: nobody cared.
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That's so disappointing.

And it was the era of experimentation as well. It wouldn't stand a chance in hell now
 
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