Duchy of Darkmere

OK. So Havoc 4 is apparently on the beta grid. Presumably it'll end up on main at some point.

So, what will it mean for the average SL user ? Anything at all ?

Broken vehicles

From the Linden blahg:

WHAT WILL HAVOK4 DO FOR SECOND LIFE?

This project is all about improving sim stability and reliability, reducing lag in the physics engine, and fixing some bugs that could not be fixed under Havok1. In other words, there are no new features in the Havok4 project, despite the fact that there has been significant work done “under the hood”. Once Havok4 is stable with beta testing completed we will be able to start adding new features, but the current goal is to get all the current features working with this new version of Havok.

The Havok4 public preview is now open, and you can help us finish testing by downloading the beta installers, logging into the beta, testing the objects in your inventory, and reporting any problems you encounter.

What Should Change With Havok4?

* Reduced simulator crashes
* Less lag in the physics engine
* More reliable prim linkage
* Stacked dynamic objects react when supporting objects are removed
* Improved collision management - uniform spheres collide as spheres, rather than as faceted shapes
* Penetrating dynamic objects will be automatically pushed apart by Havok4’s collision solver
* Vertical simulation extent has been increased to 1024 meters
* Some slight dynamic changes - avatar movements have changed slightly

What Should Not Change With Havok4?

* Dynamic objects are still limited to 31 primitives
* Region crossings can still lag and “rubber band”
* Most objects still have a 0.1 meter “collision tolerance” boundary, so they may still collide while appearing to be not quite touching
* Everything else

P2

While it specifically says the opposite in the release notes and wiki, you can (at least for now on the preview grid) make physical objects & vehicles with up to 65 prims.

Everything is more fluid and there are a number of little things that work better now (you can actually make a chain, but it's just as likely to crash the sim or break apart as it is to look cool), you can make a hollow sphere 4x4x4 and 95% hollow, situate yourself inside it and walk around it like a hamsterball, if you stack multiple physical objects they actually start to act "springy". I'm just waiting to see how bad they nerf stuff before it goes live.

This is a picture of me threatening Sidewinder and Andrew with hemorrhoids, saying "You leave that 65-prim dynamic object limit at 65!!" >>

I'm sure they're shaking in their prim boots.

P2

I haven't been on the beta grid, so I'm only going on what I remember reading about the Havok versions, and what I know about physics engines in general. Logan, slap me around if I say anything that contradicts your direct experience.

Havok 4 has "continuous collision detection": it calculates collisions between fair-dinkum (sorry for the technical jargon ) moving objects, rather than objects that are *here* in this frame, then teleport *there* in the next frame. To take just one example, this should mean that weapon designers will be able to use bullets that are shaped like bullets, rather than as long, thin pencils used soley to ensure that no collisions are missed. This should also reduce interpenetration problems, which will hopefully have the beneficial side-effect of rendering ineffective some of those weapons based on physics exploits, like Ownage.

Chains? Do you mean it will be possible to have a chain between, say, my two wrists without using particles?

I kinda doubt it, I haven't seen anything like this that didn't break and fall apart over time. Also I went and re-tried a lot of experiments under havok1 on the regular grid - you can actually make a chain right now that is a bit more stable (but still falls apart)