Company named NaturalMotion introduced years back ragdoll physics system known as Euphoria, which simulates human muscle and nervous systems. I saw it back then as the biggest revolution in gaming since 3D acceleration, but what happened? Only two (2) game utilizes Euphoria at the moment, which are Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV (if we consider GTA IV and recently published Episodes from Liberty City as one title which they basically are) and LucasArts’ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The third Euphoria game is coming out soon, which is also a Rockstar game, Red Dead Redemption. And the upcoming fourth one is something I’m personally not that excited about, so let’s leave it that way.
It’s beyond my comprehension why Euphoria hasn’t taken off like it definitely should have. Nothing makes me smile more than the reactions of characters getting shot or run over in GTA IV, which sounds actually pretty horrible said out loud. Anyhow, it’s just frustrating to imagine, how much better experience, for instance, Assassin’s Creed would be with Euphoria in it. Or Modern Warfare 2 which has pre-industrial-age physics (Infinity Ward, you are better than that!). It’s just a sad situation of which makes it even worse that Euphoria has no real competition (quality wise) in the market. Havok and PhysX try their best, but sad to say they don’t play even in the same ballpark with Euphoria, especially PhysX with its springy ragdoll-physics. But those two are apparently easier and perhaps cheaper(?) to license and implement.
Just give me Euphoria in every game, plz.
Pixel Counterrr 