Cry Havok: Havok 4 stress tests provoke mixed reactions

Last Friday the Lindens unleashed the Havok 4 physics engine in the Beta test grid, and machinima documenting the results thus far are starting to come in.

In the first video here, Bella March knocks some steel tubes around, pushes a spring, and while they move with impressive realism, overall motion is slow, and getting them to move evidently takes some effort, so she concludes with a decidedly so-so summary.

Going a step further in the next video, Kirby Meister simulates a typical griefer attack, inundating a region on the Beta grid with a series of giant tubes.  (Hence the immortal words of Senator Ted Stevens in the soundtrack.)  With Second Life's existing Havok 1 physics, so many objects in motion in a single area is bound to cause "deep think", a general slowdown of reality caused by the overtaxed engine struggling to  recalculate their trajectory and position.  In Kirby's test, Havok 4 handles the stress far better, but framerate still slows to a crawl.  So it'll probably take some more Linden tinkering before Havok 4 is ready to assume the role of Second Life's Newtonian overseer.  Still, they're fun videos to watch; if you're working on others, do ping me.

Comments

[Veeyawn Spoonhammer]

Didn't Linden admit that the release of Havok 4 was basically a foundation? That immediate differences wouldn't be all that obvious? I don't think we should be shocked that the beta isn't world changing. Let's see what happens when it makes it to the RC.

[Gwyneth Llewelyn]

My modest contribution — it was fun, and definitely not what I wanted to do :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghL9zczoHRc

(I was trying to do a physical-enabled necklace hehe)

[Hamlet Au]

Bizarre!

[Vlad Bjornson]

I spent a few hours last night on the Second Life Beta grid testing the new Havok4 Physics engine. Super fun! I meant to do some sort of serious testing, but I ended up just rolling a bunch of balls down a big hill. :)

http://blip.tv/file/402223