The graphics in video games just look better than the 3D objects in design software. No surprise there. That games have better(-looking) physics simulation than 3D CAD software though… that amazes me. It just shouldn’t be, but it is. CryEngine3 is a Game Development Engine available for free with non-commercial use. Developers are pushing the limits with it. BeamNG is just one. They’re a start-up that has built a soft-body physics engine for CryEngine3 that will literally make the jaw drop off your face bumper fall off your 3D car model, then bend, fold and contort against the curb it just hit.
BeamNG Soft Body Physics
Ok, so… nevermind, you have to watch the video first.
The amazing soft-body physics you know from Rigs of Rods, [is] now even better in CryEngine3. Anything can be built in the Beam physics system – cars, trucks, planes, boats, trains, cranes, tanks, helicopters, and even destructible map objects and crash test dummies. It’s all real physics. Anything is possible.
Yeeeeah… OK, so this type of simulation is great for video game, simracing specifically, but as we’ve seen before these type of physics-based visuals are just not there for the 3D software packages used to actually design cars, trucks, planes, boats, trains, cranes, tanks and helicopters. Yeah, we’re not trying to create an entertaining show reel for our companies ‘About’ page, but we are trying to see how our products react to being hit, thrown, bent, squashed and dropped. So, when do you think we’ll see this level of simulation for CAD software.
