Development Log | Unigine (3D engine for games and real-time virtual worlds)

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2009-08-10

Physics speedup, CCD and multi-threading

Recent changes:

Huge physics performance boost.
Full repeatability of physical simulation even on different CPUs.
Time snapshots of physics (time rollback is required for networking).
Joint limits visualization.
Removed "accuracy" flag for joints.
Added "collider" flag in nodes; when it is set to off the object doesn't participate in physical simulation (enabled by default).
Radius of physics simulation can be decreased without causing problems.
Multi-threaded simulation of physics; it can be distributed among several CPU cores now. Change of physics_num_threads console variable doesn't require engine restart, it's applied on the fly.
Added continuous collision detection (CCD) for spheres and capsules.
Added PhysicalForce object for simulation of point forces (attracting and repelling).
Added new physics samples.
Improved wind formula for vegetaion.
Added math and comparison operators for Variable class in C++ API.
Updated Ogg Theora loader that supports multi-stream video.
Added WidgetCanvas widget for drawing text, lines and polygones.
Access to properties and materials by index.
Refactored ObjectMeshDynamic with support of several surfaces.
Added File class into C++ API for working with internal virtual filesystem.
Added engine.profiler.isEnabled() and engine.profiler.getValue(string name) functions into UnigineScript.
Removed the lightmap support from vegetation shaders.
fade_power parameter is renamed into fade_attenuation for ObjectGrass, ObjectParticles and WorldCluster (don't forget to run scripts/Upgrade/upgrade.py script).
Added support of Maya 10.0.
Added description of node layers, node references and properties to the "Principles of Operation / Virtual Worlds" chapter of the reference manual.
Updated C++ API documentation.
Updated UnigineScript library documentation.

Physics module improvement is still in progress, there will be more updates on that later this month.

Here is the mesmerizing example of time reverse feature in physics:

PS: We have also started developing visual flow graph editor that will be used for both game framework and animation tree.

PPS: Creators of the Unigine-based "Syndicate-online" MMORPG has opened doors for participants of the second stage of the Closed Beta Testing. Read more on the official website of the game.