I think with recent ai improvements what it might be possible to add some elements on all maps that will have physics. Traffic signs will be a good place to start. They are not very complex, so it wouldn't cost that much performance. They can also be moved from one place to another like the traffic is right now. The game is so well optimized right now that the performance penalty will be worth it. In a few years maybe you can add parked cars on the street (maybe with dimmed windows and no interior to make it easier for CPU), maybe a collapsible bridge. I think it is time for this, the script that moves objects from one place to another is done, the game is getting more and more optimized, the CPU's are getting stronger.
I agree with this... signs, lamp posts, guard rails, and other things like that could be the next step. You are also correct in stating that these things shouldn't be all that taxing. The highest node count thing would probably be a guard rail and that still wouldn't be "that" much. I do like the idea of spawning them in at predetermined positions though... We have had the conversation before about how to do this (before the whole traffic improvement and spawning improvement thing) and the best idea we all could come up with to have dynamic objects was literally to just have a JBeam that basically just had every Node/Beam object in it for each map. That way when it was loaded up it would only tax one thread. This method, however, should keep more resources free as long as the dynamic loading of JBeams can be kept smooth enough. Naturally loading and unloading this many JBeams could have quite an impact in urban areas but the traffic app seems smooth enough, so what's a few more small JBeams? Also, in theory, for computers that can only handle 2 or 3 cars at a time... if they just wanted to use these dynamic props... you can get a lot of props in for 500 nodes and 2000 beams... so even on low end systems, this should still work. I like the idea... Parked cars may still be a little out of reach at the moment... as the physics would be handled the same... one random car along the road? Sure... 15 cars parked on every street in the city? Not so much yet... however, as mentioned, processing power is getting more and more readily available... and by the time the full game will be slated for release, your average computer may be able to handle 30+ cars no problem... so by then parked cars would be totally doable.
we already have traffic sign props with physics, and replacing the "fake" signs would be a great idea. however, adding traffic support (stopping at stop signs, using turn signals to make proper turns at intersections, etc.) would be rather difficult to integrate, considering these props can be placed anywhere. so yes, replacing all the signs with real ones that make AI behave traffic laws when near them is a fantastic idea, but they'd get confused when a player placed a sign prop somewhere they shouldn't. could make for an interesting experience controlling the AI though, placing a 60mph speed limit sign and having the AI actually follow that speed, even on an unfit road (they wouldn't just drive until they crash though, that would be unrealistic. just drive too fast for the area and have to brake more for corners)
I don't think that's quite were we were going with this... as right now I think the AI mostly follows paths set by the map creator. I mean... what I believe OP (and I certainly was, so sorry if I misunderstood the post) was talking about was just swapping static models of stuff (like signs and what not) for actual JBeamed things on the fly as you approach them much the same way that the AI traffic is spawned in dynamically so that you don't have 200 cars roaming the map at one time. While I agree it would be quite interesting to give the AI the ability to attempt to "read" road signs as they approach them and then attempt to make decisions on that, I don't think that's quite what he was talking about. (again, if it was then I massively misunderstood)
Nah, you got what I was talking about. You got me excited as hell when you showed this (0:31) : I thought it was added as a jbeam element on a map. I actually got this idea after I saw it, and thought that with AI getting so good at spawning and despawning objects it might be doable.
