Just curious

[Niosop]

I'm just curious as to why Newton was chosen as the physics library. Was it features, ease of integration, size, personal preference? Not complaining, we can use our own if we feel like it, and Newton seems to work great, I was just comparing Havok, Bullet, PhysX, ODE and Newton and was wondering what factored into your decision Josh.

[TylerH]

Politics.

[Josh]

Newton is far more stable than PhysX, ODE, Havok, etc., because it is based on real physics equations and does not cut corners. I also have a good link to the developer, and have gotten a few features implemented specially. For example, PhysX does not have any kind of dynamic heightfield body, so our dynamic terrain and editor would be impossible with it.

[TylerH]

I don't see how you can comment on Havok.

 

ODE, PhysX, and Havok are all based on real physics equations too, they are called iterative solvers.

[Niosop]

Well, all of them are based on the same equations, and none of them do "real" physics. They all have to cut corners or it wouldn't be real time physics system. But if you have a good relationship with the developer then that's the best reason of all. Your engine is only as good as the pieces that make it up, so if you can get fixes and features pushed through faster then that would be my choice as well

[TylerH]

I don't mean to be a jerk, but we had to go through about 15 versions of the engine where joints and vehicles were constantly added and them removed again, so the stability of Newton is highly questionable.

[Niosop]

Ow, glad I missed out on that fun.

[TylerH]

Not to discourage. It has been much more stable now, but I think a physics engine developed by a subsidiary of Intel Corporation is 100x better than anything Julio Jerez is going develop as a Hobby Project in his SPARE time.

 

Those are my only comments on the matter. I know Leadwerks is firm set in their decision on Newton, I will just see if I can pursue there being a non-physics-at-all branch of the engine for those wishing to do Physics and even Animation via a 3rd party library.

[Niosop]

Yeah, using Havok physics and animation would be really cool. Wouldn't just never calling UpdateWorld effectively disable the physics engine? I know there would still be some leftovers around (loading .phy files, useless dependancy on newton.dll, etc) but it shouldn't affect performance any, right? Haven't worked w/ Havok Animation before though, so not sure how much work that would be to integrate or if there'd be any conflicts.

 

Anyways, for now I'm going to work w/ Newton, and I think it will be more than adequate for my current project. If I ever need cloth simulation or something I may try and integrate. Although the Havok animation retargeting would be really nice to have right now