NHL 11 Screenshot: All-New Real-Time Physics Engine

[onlybygrace]

Wow...one picture and we have all the nay sayers and homers in full force.

Human nature rules. lol

[bill2451]

idk how ppl are complaining already

I love nhl 10, but if you think the game plays perfect you are crazy... presentation would be nice, but if they don't improve gameplay then the game will get stale quicker than if they dont improve presentation (thats not to say its one or the other, I believe they will get to presentation improvements, just saying that gameplay should come first)

collision detection has always been terrible, i'm so sick of skating down the ice and trying to check the cpu behind the net, only to fall on my butt. So if this "real time physics" engine is done right, it could be huge (thats a big if, but I have faith in the NHL devs)

[akula]

imagine how stale the game would be if they didnt change the gameplay at ALL? bottom line is they need to make steps forward in the gameplay AND presentation department. realtime / non-scripted (IE: you control a player) after the whistle and a pregame warmup would be good improvements that are technically presentation AND gameplay improvements!

[06woz]

The fact is that Real Time physics HAD to be implemented in the next two-three years. It's the direction sports games are taking and will continue to take.

[hockeyplayer]

I am glad there will be broken sticks, but the major issue still isn't confirmed to be fixed: franchise. It is currently unplayable with the way trading, and free agency is.

[Scottdau]

Can someone explain to me what real time physics are?

[onlybygrace]

Quote: Originally Posted by hockeyplayer

I am glad there will be broken sticks, but the major issue still isn't confirmed to be fixed: franchise. It is currently unplayable with the way trading, and free agency is.

Opinion and your welcome to it...I see franchise as needing some work, but definitely still a lot of fun. If you wait for any franchise to be perfect or even close to it, I'm sorry to tell you that you'll rarely be satisfied.

Now...if there were something like MLB 2k10 where drafted rookies freeze the game when coming to the plate, I would agree with you.

However, if you can live the the salary cap OFF it fixes the FA's rotting in free agency for the most part.

And the trading and be toggled on/off for most of the season, which is a way of having some control of the madness on that one.

Perfect??? No. Playable??? Yes.

[06woz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Scottdau

Can someone explain to me what real time physics are?

The best way to understand is to know what it is not. Look at NHL 10.

In NHL 10, you press an input(button/stick) and a "canned" animation occurs. This means that no matter what, once this animation is started, it will go through to completion.(actually I think nhl 10 uses branching, so animations can be interrupted at "certain" points, whereas real time physics can be interrupted at any point)

With real time physics, there is still an animation but these animations are all controlled by the physics, so that literally unlimited amounts of animations can occur.

Maybe an example is best...

Lets say you wind up for a slap shot, to this point both systems are the same. Now you flick forward on the right stick...

In NHL 10, if your player starts the animation of the slapshot, he will continue through with it regardless.

In NHL 11, if there happens to be a stick in the way of your stick, the sticks will collide. A number of things are now considered by the engine. If enough force was put into the defending stick to break it, that will happen, if the defending player only has one hand on the stick(less strength) his stick will be hit out of the way, and the shot will have less power, or maybe it will be knocked out of his hands. As you can see the limits of this are truly endless.

Also, players are more human like with real time physics. So if you are chasing down a puck side by side for an icing call, and you lean into the player beside you, you will not just move into him and hold your upright standing position, you will use him for balance, or to advance yourself further.

Also, it will make checking more realistic as the collisions/results of those collisions are based on position of each player as well as their speed. No more dropping to your knees when going in to check someone. You will do your best to hit them, and the results will be based on the physics.

The KEY point here is that every controller input only starts a gesture, that gesture can and WILL be affected by the physics. Weight, speed, momentum, strength, tendencies will all be factored in to create a vastly varied game, and a new gesture can be inputted at any time, your player will act out that gesture as best as he can according to his situation(physically).

Hope that helped anyone who was confused.