havok Physics Engine

[Death Dark]

As far as physics engines go, havok is one of the best, if not the best.  It has proven itself in many many situations, and can be used for all sorts of games in which realistic physics are needed.  F.E.A.R.:  First Encounter Assault Recon, The Elder Scrolls IV:  Oblivion, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl are an example of what the engine can do, and how highly it's regarded.  It's even included with Autodesk 3DS Max (I don't know what edition it started at, but it's 8+, I think), the 3D modeling+ program used to make FEAR, and perhaps some of the other games listed.

[Sepuku.exe]

I am in favor of this thread.

[Hobro]

Me too, are they doing the physics engine for Killzone 2? 'Cause it's got that "hit-response system" that looks wicked with awesome rag doll....ahh rag doll...

[Death Dark]

The havok Engine actually doesn't change between games.  They don't have to "do" the engine, the engine is already there, they just get paid to let others use it.

[Hobro]

I mean, are they using Havok's engine or is the people who make Killzone using their own engine?

[Death Dark]

You'll have to do some research for that.

[Hobro]

It's not Havok, it's a engine built by Guerilla Games for KZ 2...

[Death Dark]

Soul Calibur IV uses havok

[Hobro]

All of the Orange Box uses the Havok engine alongside with the Source engine.

[Death Dark]

Fallout 3 uses havok.

[Hobro]

Left 4 Dead uses Havok.


Question: If Havok is a physics engine, then what purpose does the Source engine have? Is it for graphics?

[Death Dark]

I'm not 100% sure what the different kinds of engines are, but usually they handle common in-game interactions, like physics and weather, that don't need to be set too hard by the programmers.

And graphics are handled by renderers like Direct X and OpenGL.