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Hi, I'm investigating various physics engines and have a question about DarkPHYSICS.

Basically I'm working on a space, game, have been for a while. It's a realistic simulation rather than an arcade affair and I was wondering if DarkPhysics did the following.

1) Gravity wells.

Is DarkPhysics able to calculate in real time the gravitational effect of several large bodies such as planets, stars, asteroids, and a black hole. And would DP allow for the manual set-up of gravity decay. That is, the pull of the gravity well being much stronger when closer to the object. Also does it allow the setup of a decay curve, that is rather than having a linear Distance to pull conversion, having a curve tool so the effect isn't linear but curved.

2) Reactive thrust

Can DP be setup in such a way that the user can control single or multiple jets of thrust at various points on the player ship object. So if I activate a single thruster say towards the forward of the first thrid of the ship, will it act like someone's just given that bit of the ship a good hard shove? So I can setup manual controls and automatic thruster control routines? Would I need to work out the calculations for this myself?

3) Cloth Taring

Could this be used for mesh deformation and battle damage effects. That is, rather than ripping cloth, allowing it to rip metal sheets, and easily detached surface objects such as aerials, flags, and other things, allowing these objects to be treated as a separate entity. So for instance if I fly too close to the black hole, small items are ripped off the ship before the hull starts to come apart.

4) If these things can be done, to what extent can it be done in software only mode? And what sort of standard computer specifications will be required without an PhysicX card?

5) Particle collisions

Can Particle collision's affect the player object's own movement and momentum. That is, if the ship flys into a shower of micrometeorites, will each particle hit have an effect on the ships speed and direction?

Some answers to your questions:

1. The default gravity isn't going to handle the kind of effect you mention but it is certainly possible to code this manually.

2. You can apply global and local forces that will allow you to simulate reactive thrusts.

3. You can build your ship out of multiple rigid bodies and connect the parts together using joints. Given certain forces these joints can break and parts of your ship fly off into space. You could also attach small pieces of cloth to your ship as well to simulate certain effects.

4. You can do everything you need in software. The only thing that requires the PhysX card is fluid. However, using the PhysX card can give you a significant advantage as it allows for an extra level of complexity which in turn can increase elements of gameplay but as I say it isn't a requirement.

5. All particles are simulated as rigid bodies therefore when a specific collision method is selected they will collide and interact with other objects.

Great, it seems well ahead of other engines.

I would ask another thing. What is the long term support for DarkPhysics going to be? I'm fully expecting this project to take 2 - 4 years to finish programming. Will DarkPhysics support the next generation of PPU if Ageia produces one? Or if another company starts operating in oppersition to Ageia, will DarkPhysics try to include it as well?

I realize these are questions that won't have a 100% definatly fixed awnser and I'll not hold anyone too them. But given the long termness of the project I have to ask these questions. While various Open Source alternatives are unlikely to be as advanced or clean, at least there is regular news, or in extreme circamstances you have access to their code and could hire someone/ develope the code yourself to fit your own needs.