SimCity Blog – Physics

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Disasters are where the physics system is put to best use. Disasters are able to affect the game physics in a variety of ways. A small meteorite will set a building rocking; a large one will reduce it to a pile of rubble on the blackened, scorched ground. Physics is a great simulation tool and it adds depth and nuance to the game, but there are some things we don’t solve using physics. One example is vehicles. The transport team has done a great job of with the vehicles and there’s not a lot the physics would add there. Vehicles turn, merge, and navigate with detailed behavior. At the scale the vehicles operate at the physics system wouldn’t dd enough benefit to justify the cost in performance.

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