I know this would be a little taxing on GPU's so these suggestions would be best implemented as Optional. The collision physics with vehicle models really is Next Generation, thus NG, and is awesome. I would love to see in the future terrain deformation from tires that can either be reset or resets when you reload a map. This can be done in the World Editor, so it seems like it could be implemented into the game engine as well. Obviously terrain textures would need a value for deformation so mud ruts deform deeper than sand or grass, and rock wouldn't at all. And, there would need to be maximum depth values so vehicles don't just high center on terrain. Collision Deformation of some objects would also add to realism. I mean this is what BeamNG is all about right? Hitting a stop sign at 100mph shouldn't have the same result as hitting a concrete wall. It just looks funny. A small sign should bend on low speed impacts and break off at higher speeds. Even wooden power poles might break if hit hard enough or by a big truck. Object collision detection is obviously already there, so it would be a matter of changing an object from static to dynamic on collision. I know this also would mean assigning a material strengths and elasticities to objects and maybe it's just not worth it at this point, but it would be a real nice addition to the game. Again, I know this is a lot of work to change and maybe it's already planned for the future. I don't know. But I do think it would be worth it.
I'm hearing rumors that something like this might be coming in a future update... (for objects) Fingers crossed
It was something the devs worked on a while back but got nowhere. Likely will be a few years before something like this comes out.
This is one of the MAJOR points for me, and as a new-ish player (given the life of BeamNG) was an instant reaction. Please note: I'm not expecting every single object in the entire game/simulation to be destructible in hyper-realistic ways, but just some very very basic levels of physics/destruction should be looked into I feel. It's funny to see many comments about such concerns as a little smoke from a brake disc, or a suspension spring it not bouncing enough visually, or perhaps tread of a tyre is not being worn off, tint little nit picking stuff, whilst totally ignoring "In-You-Face" major visual issues, like plants coming out the floor of your car, and your car hitting a narrow wooden stick that pokes out the ground, destroying your vehicle. It feels like someone is fussing over the level of shine on your bedside table, whilst totally ignoring the fact that the roof of your house it hanging half off. So I have to wonder, what will be the future here? Will is mean a complete ground up re-write of BeamNG (A new game) to add, at least some of the basics in, will the current version eventually be updated, or will BeamNG always remain with such fundamental issues that are ignored (whilst tiny issues are worked upon) and in another 5 or 10 years other titles start to incorporate some of BeamNG's great features with these fundamental issues solved. Is BeamNG too old, and just not suitable to be fixed in this regard, will a ground up version ever appear, or will this just fade as the years go by, at the risk of being eventually replaced?
People talk about these things, because they know devs can actually make them or add something like that in next updates. I dont mean that devs cant make plants not coming out of the floor of the car, but firstly - it is much and much harder for them to do it rather than some better suspension visuals. And secondly - it is just not their priority as of right now (in my opinion). I thnk it is better to fix certain little things and then proceed to such issues that need a lot of time to solve.
The devs have tried destructable props on maps, code was found on it. Though the devs said to not get our hopes up and that its very unfinished.
I'd be really surprised if the devs weren't thinking about, if not already building tools to easily manage and incorporate dynamic props in their environment, like lamp poles along streets for example, just like they created many tools for map making (procedural buildings, forests, roads...). I think Beamng has been extensively optimised during its development and is now clearly capable of offering such features on modern hardware. The lack of dynamic environments is, as pointed out by the OP, something that makes the game feel very dated.
Objects without collisions (small foliage) coming through the floor of the car could rather easily just be made invisible, and for the most part wouldn't even need to be turned back on after passing over them (sort of clearing the vehicles path) - This could also be an optional thing to turn on or off in settings (I assume it would use a little more resources with collision or proximity detections) Visually, the thing that probably bothers me the most is no driver, but alas, that's a subject for another topic. With interactive environmental objects in games like Wreckfest it really does seem like something that should be looked at rather seriously again. That made me laugh... because I feel that way sometimes too. Although, I do understand both sides of that. All in all, the developers are creating a really cool and complex product and IMO should be proud of what they've done so far. I feel like these conversations help them at the very least, know what players find important to address. Thank you all for constructive feedback.
