by Karen Hertzberg on Jan 31, 2008
Let's Get PhysXcal
At Game Developers Conference almost a year ago, NetDevil's Scott Brown
described Warmonger Operation: Downtown Destruction as a tentative step
towards PhysX-hardware enabled combat in MMORPGs. Warmonger, a freeware
multiplayer FPS title available only to players whose systems boast an
Ageia PhysX card, truly offers exciting new possibilities for gaming.
But does the promise of PhysX pan out?
It's in the tutorial that you'll get your first hint
of PhysX's
influence. One enemy will set himself in ambush behind a ragged cloth
curtain. You can't see him, he can't see you, but he can
sure shoot you if he has a general idea of where you are (or the
magazine capacity to suppress your approach while his teammates close
in). Fortunately, a hail of gunfire will reduce this hiding spot to
shreds, and this might be a good preemptive strategy when you spot a
curtain and you're unsure of who's owns the ground ahead. But hosing
down the curtain may reveal your position and bring unwanted attention.
It's this kind of back-and-forth that fires the imagination for what
PhysX could bring to gaming if developers follow Netdevil's lead in
giving this technology a chance.