Realistic Physics in Game Development: Challenges and Thoughts?
I worked as a software engineer designing flight simulator software for NASA, much as @FactChecker describes. Sims ranged from a full-motion Advanced Concepts flight simulator on a Lockheed-Martin cockpit to train and test integrated airline crews, to ‘part-task’ flight simulators running on workstations to prepare pilots for full-motion experiments.
Some design solutions translate from an FAA certified 6-degrees of freedom full-motion sim to gaming.
Verisimilitude simulating realistic flight requires strict adherence to a consistent frame rate. Based on vision, audio and motion hardware available at that time and experience tracking real-world aircraft, I chose a nominal 30hz frame rate for the executive level software. Human persistence of vision resolves seamless motion above 7hz. Applying a factor of 4x gives a 28hz frame rate, 30 hz nominal for optimal performance.
Physics application modules such as flight parameters, weather and fluid effects tend to be computational intensive while input/output (I/O) modules generate real-time unsynchronized interrupts, particularly from flight crew interface equipment. Verisimilitude improves as the crew experiences subtle changes in visual displays, audio playback or generation, and motion and haptic feedback similar to actual aircraft as they respond, that is, fly the sim.
I have to leave for now. If helpful and depending on response, I can describe methods to handle frame overruns, application function scheduling and communication, system synchronization and near-time data collection for flight simulators.
