Changing the physics engine

Lockdown Protocol is currently using Newton Dynamics version 2.36 for physics simulation, but I'm having a lot of problems with it that I just can't solve or require really ugly hacks. The used version is getting old and is no longer actively maintained, so I really need to replace it.

I have two options: Upgrading to Newton Dynamics version 3.x or switching to Bullet Physics. Former change would probably be easier, but the latter option is really tempting, because Bullet's API looks to be better suited to my needs. Bullet also seems to have more stable releases. One of the biggest problems I've had with Newton over the years has been finding usable version that both compiles on all needed platforms and contains necessary bug fixes.

Unfortunately both options mean quite a lot of work with very little visible improvement to the game other than hopefully getting rid of a couple of long-standing physics bugs.

I will probably test both options and see how it goes. I will report back when I know more.

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Posted on 2013-05-13