Physics of Projectile Motion in Computer Games :: physics video game computer

IntroductionPhysics define the rules by which we cognize our physical existence. Many of us go about our mean solar day to day lives without any true understanding of the Laws which govern how we interact with our surroundings. Physics is our commission of making sense of the forces which act upon us and shape the way we meet even the most menial of tasks. From walking to driving to playing a game of catch, anyone can see physics in action.A data processor game programmer must take a special forecast at the forces at work around us. The programmers who code flight simulators, outset person shooters, and similar games, often need to model their virtual founding as closely as possible to our own. In this project we lead look at the first person combat simulator c all in alled Tribes, by Dynamix. We pull up stakes focus mainly on projectile motion, but we will alike discuss the challenges the programmers had in computing ranges for projectiles, friction, and momentum. Also to uched on, will be how they succeeded and failed in their efforts.ChallengesIn Tribes, the programmers had to create an environment for the players. The challenge is to model our accepted life Laws of physics as accurately as possible. However, programmers are non physicists and it would take a super computer to accurately model all physics in a real world environment. This environment includes a variable somberness. This was important to game play in that the programmers could now consecrate different worlds for the players to fight in. A planet of different mass will obviously have a different gravity. The following compare shows the horizontal range of a projectile, R = (Vo / g) * sin(2) (Halliday, et al 60-64). Where R is the range, Vo is the initial velocity, g is gravity, and is the angle the projectile is fired at. It is easy to see from the equation that a change in gravity will affect the correspond horizontal range achievable by a projectile. An interesting seam is that a 45 degree angle will provide the level best horizontal range for the projectile, no matter what the force of gravity is. (Assuming gravity does not equal zero).We are neglecting air resistance in our calculations, as did the makers of Tribes. When the programmers did this however, they got some unexpected, yet fun results. While projectile motion was not affected greatly, a person flying in the game could devolve insane speeds, as there was no terminal velocity.