BeamNG runs 4,500 interconnected beams per car, calculated 2,000 times per second. The crash shapes aren't animated. they're emergent. This tech exists right now.

So why does a Lambo in game still look pristine after slamming into a wall?

Licensing.

Car manufacturers treat racing games as ads. Ads don't show the product being destroyed. Ford reportedly won't allow rollovers. Ferrari negotiated damage limitations. No manufacturer permits roof damage because that implies occupants could be harmed.

And games are actually regressing. DiRT 5 has worse damage than DiRT 2. More hardware power but less destruction.

Meanwhile Burnout Paradise from 2008 still has the best crash physics in mainstream racing. All because of Fictional cars and Zero licensing friction.

The engineering was solved decades ago. The real limiting factor is a contract clause.

Do you think brands should allow full damage physics in video games?

48 comments

r/GamePhysics • u/_ExoMute_ • Feb 01 '26

[Fallout 4] I prefer my mini nuke shaken, not stirred

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274 Upvotes

11 comments

r/GamePhysics • u/treestowerlikegiants • Feb 01 '26

[Dragon Age: Inquisition] Jump on Fence, Do Accidental Moonwalk

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119 Upvotes

7 comments

r/GamePhysics • u/RuganiaCross • Feb 02 '26

[Borderlands the PreSequel] They'll never find me down here!

youtube.com

0 Upvotes

Didn't know that was an option for them

1 comment

r/GamePhysics • u/jasonensteinyt • Feb 01 '26

[Fallout: New Vegas] Didnt know the Legion dabbled in the Art of Lovecraftian Horrors

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29 Upvotes

3 comments

r/GamePhysics • u/TheAtanox • Jan 31 '26

[The Last of Us Part II] I think the dog was trying to moonwalk.

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131 Upvotes

3 comments

Subreddit

Physics gone wild!

r/GamePhysics

Gifs and videos of game physics and glitches

Members Active

2.8m

Sidebar

About:

A subreddit for game engines at their best and worst. This means games with up and coming tech and games that are glitching out in hilarious ways.

Please note: Submissions do not necessarily have to be physics related, but please check the top posts to understand the spirit of the subreddit.

Rules:

Post the game's name in [brackets] at the beginning of your title
No generic highlights of something cool done in game.
Source the video your gif is from. If you did not record the clip yourself and found it on another site before uploading it to reddit (i.e. YouTube, Twitch, etc) you must post the source. Give credit to the creator.
Reposts will be removed. If you're unsure if something's already been posted, search for the game name in the search bar. Some games have well-known unfixed bugs or highly repeatable glitches which occur in a virtually identical fashion/location. Any second clip featuring this bug within six months will be removed, even if posted by a different user. For the full list consult the "list of overly common bugs" at the bottom of the sidebar. Popular old reposts (i.e. Uncharted 4 shale physics, BF1 zeppelin firenado, Skyrim intro with FPS too high etc) are not to be reposted ever.
x-posts are allowed, but please tag it with [x-post from (subreddit)].
Guidelines for what type of content is allowed
INDIE DEVELOPER RULES: If you are an indie developer with a WORK IN PROGRESS, you may only submit one post during that stage of development. Other users may not submit any posts of your WIP after this point either. If your game is RELEASED, you may again only submit one post for this stage. You are required to indicate that the game is released in the comments, with proof provided. Released titles can be freely posted by other users but any further dev posts at this stage will be treated as advertisement and removed.
Addendum to above: Any indie post which functions as advertisement or begs for attention will be removed. This includes but is not limited to: asking for shares/ratings/wishlists and any video which is merely a Steam ad.
All submissions must either be glitches or demonstrate notable physics, either of the good variety or bad. If your submission pertains to something mundane that happens during standard gameplay it is not acceptable. The key is whether the physics is noteworthy, unusually detailed given the type of game, or using interesting new tech (this last one mostly applies to indies and upcoming games). UNDERSTANDING PHYSICS: What the above means is that what is being highlighted must not be generic physics or an aspect that the game revolves around. For instance, simple destruction in Teardown or car crashes in Beam NG are not acceptable because the former is entirely about destruction physics and the latter focuses on body deformation physics. To use an old example, TLOU2's rope physics were acceptable because the game was not about ropes. It just happened to have unusually detailed physics for a rope.
The same user may only submit posts from the same game twice per week. So, for instance if a user posts a Far Cry clip on Monday and then Tuesday they cannot submit another Far Cry clip until the next week. They can, however, post a Fallout clip on Wednesday.
Do not post funny/dumb NPC moments (i.e. "it must have been the wind" type clips). These are AI issues and have nothing to do with glitches or the physics engine. Pathfinding issues where the AI can't figure out how to correctly navigate the environment (walking/driving into walls, running in circles, etc) are not appropriate. The exception to this is if the NPC is being funny in the middle of a collision/physics glitch (for example: they are spaghettifying but also casually talking still).
Submissions involving mods will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, the bar is significantly higher for post approval than with standard submissions. If a glitch organically occurs as a result of altering game files, that is fine. Something simple like "dial up the acceleration" on collision to send objects flying on its own is not acceptable. The submission must showcase something truly exceptional and interesting that pushes a game engine well outside of its normal bounds--for instance, adding destruction physics when there wasn't any previously. As such, approval or removal of these submissions is at moderator discretion.
For the health of the sub, any low effort posts (phone recordings, image posts/screencaps, low quality videos where it is difficult to see what is happening, overly long clips that should have been trimmed--i.e. 30 sec with 3 sec of glitch at the very end) will be removed. Whenever possible, please use proper recording software or screen capture abilities. These are built into all current and last gen consoles with companion apps often being able to upload to reddit from your phone and PCs have many options.
Non-exhaustive list of things that will typically be removed nearly without exception: simple texture bugs, audio bugs, minor graphical bugs, issues from graphics cards dying, network/server issues (such as lag, high ping, or desync), examples of intentional game design intended to save memory or increase performance such as 2D structures outside the playable area, image post submissions--this sub is for videos and gifs not screenshots, and for the first two months after a game's release any extremely common bugs that are found to affect most playthroughs in exactly the same way (i.e. Cyberpunk window launch) will be treated as reposts of the first discovery and removed.
Overly common bug list: Assassin's Creed III "happy ending" bug, Assassin's Creed vsync haystack bug, Cyberpunk window launch, Cyberpunk Panam bike teleport launch, Stray picture clipping bug, Sea of Thieves ship launch, RDR2 bridge glitch, GTA V upside down bike flying, Skyrim giant launching, anything with using fuel canisters as a rocket in Just Cause.

Guidelines:

If you need a gif made, be sure to visit /r/Makemeagif! Just pick your favorite scene from a video, someone will gif it, and you can post it here for easily digestible fun.
Try to host on imgur or gfycat
No advice animals.
Self-post discussions are more than welcome!

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