Hey everybody! I'm new to jME and all this physics stuff and was wondering. Is it reasonable to make a physics contraption that walks? Most games where you see walking it is merely an animation being played, and in situations where physics are present, it is an animation that has physical effects on SURROUNDING objects, but they don't seem to effect the legs. So I guess I just want to know if I should make walking things using animation that applies physics to objects around it, or well timed physical constraints such as motors and hinges? My goal is to make a game with as realistic physics as possible, but if it will be almost impossible to set up realistic leg motion then I might not bother.
Well its certainly possible but for a production game you want those computing resources in other places most of the time. Fight Night Round 4 for example simulates the whole body of your player and opponent but I rarely see stuff like that in shooters etc. Having 10 of these roam your world will probably already put some significant strain on your computer and you will quickly reach the limits of processing power when you put "real" physics to everything like this.
Cheers,
Normen
Yes possible but very difficult, costly and in most cases less realistic than animation.
Remember, physics can simulate how masses are affected by forces, but it can't simulate the way conscious beings react to forces.
Thanks! I guess I'll just go with animation then, or resort to just scraping the idea entirely 