The developer that brought you Rigs of Rods, an open-source vehicle simulation, has today released a new video showing off what could be the next step in vehicle collision and damage. Based in the CryEngine 3, the video showcases several tests that reveal how realistic the new physics system can be.

The amazing soft-body physics you know from Rigs of Rods, now even better in CryEngine3. Anything can be built in the Beam physics system - cars, trucks, planes, boats, trains, cranes, tanks, helicopters, and even destructible map objects and crash test dummies. It's all real physics. Anything is possible.

While we may not see this new physics system in the next Forza or Grand Theft Auto, it is definitely something to keep an eye out for those of you who enjoy much more realistic vehicle collisions.

Check out the trailer below (HD here) showing off the physics system in both a test environment and Crysis sample level.

Saw this on reddit linked to youtube, pretty awesome.

This is really awesome. The things they could do with this tech, even outside of gaming is impressive.

Phsyics

Mechanical and impact physics are rather unimportant for developing racing sims. What we need to see is the wind tunnel particle model, and how this physics engine is affected by aerodynamic effects. There's little point having a great mechanical physics model if you can fly a kite off the back of the car and have no drag and downforce effects.

Why does the car jiggle like something out of 1940s?

In other words, what skythra said.

thats bloody impressive. It would be cool if you could also bend the steering in a big crash.

Badass.

Wow, this needs to be integrated into the new Carmageddon.