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NovodeX Physics Engine SDK/Demo Released
JJC writes "If, like me, your favourite thing about Doom 3 is the test_boxstack demo map, you're in for a treat. To demonstrate their physics engine, NovodeX has produced a Windows program, called NovodeX Rocket, that lets you set up and manipulate a number of 3D objects and watch them collide and interact realistically. Included are ragdolls (human, deer, horse and monsters), dominoes, trebuchets and a giant Jenga tower. This coincides with the NovodeX Physics SDK v 2.1.1 becoming freely available for non-commercial use. I heard about this from David Weller's MSDN Blog."
http://jet.ro/dismount/
If you liked the ODE demo, you'll go postal over these.
Don't be misled by the submitter's mention of Doom 3's test_boxstack map, Doom 3's physics were done in-house at id by Jan Paul van Waveren (a.k.a. Mr. Elusive), who was also responsible for bots both official and unofficial in past Quakes. Gamespy interviewed him and Robert Duffy back in 2001, although the interview doesn't go too much into the details of exactly how Doom 3's physics work.
On the other hand, there was a press release back in late March about how Epic Games will be using NovodeX technology in future versions of the Unreal engine.