Kap’s Log: Collision Detection: That is the Question
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Just a handful of weeks ago, staff members at Gamespy and IGN’s PC gaming divisions were graced with a private preview of EA Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. The opportunity to set eyes on the beta before EA Mythic awakens it from its six month slumber is a rare one, and kudos to both teams for getting as many answers as they could in their subsequent feature articles.
The singular issue that offers the most nuance to the genre, and the idea that intrigues me, is collision detection in PvP. Collision detection is a term referring to the interaction between two objects, for example, avatars in MMOs. Games like Counter-Strike have this feature enabled while others have found it difficult or impossible to accomplish in a massively multiplayer PvP environment. Successful implementation of real time, server managed collision detection across hundreds of avatars on a given battlefield would be a revolutionary feat sure to set any game apart from all competitors. Failure to properly test this, on the other hand, could be detrimental to the early health of the game, and considerably stunt its growth.
World of Warcraft had collision detection in its early alpha stage, but Blizzard simply didn’t have or take the time to perfect it and ended up scrapping it before beta. The idea quickly vanished from all MMO discussion until a few years ago when Mythic, then under their own corporate banner, announced that their Warhammer Online MMO would feature collision detection in PvP and RvR. Most savvy gamers knew this was just a pipedream and went about their lives. But they never forgot the challenge Camelot’s creators put on themselves.
At the end of March, that foreboding commitment was reconfirmed. Mark Jacobs, EA Mythic VP and all around gab gifted gaming guru, announced that in order to make good on his promise to, “… create a great and glorious game, a truly next generation MMO …” that his team is, “… going to delay the release of WAR until Fall 2008.” Amid the din of cries vociferously vexing such oppression by the great gaming gods were sounds of acceptance and understanding from the majority of the audience. No one who had been paying attention was surprised or disappointed by the news - besides which these days the market pretty much demands a twelve-month beta period for anything calling itself ‘next-gen’.
EA Mythic will open beta sometime during the summer, during which time we can expect to hear more news about the exact behaviour and implementation of this long awaited aspect of physics and gameplay. For now, I will briefly illustrate the current gameplay idea based on available data.
The rules for characters bouncing off of each other will be in effect in player versus player and realm versus realm zones. It is unclear how these rules will be applied to player versus enemy areas.
Rules:
1) Avatars cannot walk through those of the opposing faction without resistance.
2) Resistance is based on the character’s strength.
3) One weak character may never be able to ‘push through’ a stronger one, but two cooperating would.
4) Ranged attacks will obey line of sight traditions requiring complete visibility between point A and point B.
Not yet determined:
1) How much effect forward momentum will have on resistance.
The primary concerns I could list are many, but they all boil down to one word - exploits. Next week I will explore the challenges facing WAR’s programmers. Namely, breaking new ground in an overpopulated and underdeveloped genre.
Nic Stransky - “Kap”
