RE: what you look for in a physics engine coder...engine transaction

I have to disagree. We hired a physics programmer for the last company I worked at, and maybe we got lucky and found a great programmer, but he was an excellent addition to our team and was easily "trained" as a games programmer. Having someone that approachable and knowledgeable and on site makes for a huge asset to a company. Not only do you have the originator of the source, you have a valuable teaching/training aide if you choose to use him/her as such. Having a specialized programmer also means, as you put it, you get what you pay for. General license engines, be it rendering or physics, a lot of times, do more than what you need. So if you're doing a sports game, you don't need the same collision code as a driving game, and it can be more easily specialized. 
My two cents, but with the conversion rate, that's um 3.5 cents.
Phil
 
  _____  

From: Stefan Boberg [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Stefan Boberg
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 9:31 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: [GD-General] what you look for in a physics engine coder...engine transaction
 
   I wouldn't hire a physics programmer to write a next-generation physics engine. I would hire a physics programmer to make use of a middleware physics engine such as Meqon or Havok, since it would be near impossible to compete with them by starting from scratch. Also it's not clear what advantage you get from building your own.
 
   As for prices of turnkey engines... It varies greatly, and it's usually negotiable assuming the deal is interesting to the licensor. Also, the price depends on how many SKUs you intend to produce. Nowadays more and more middleware providers work exclusively with publishers, so it may be difficult to even evaluate an engine without having a publisher in the first place.
 
   Physics engines range from $0 up to $200k, but again it's negotiable and highly dependent on who you are, what you intend to do and who your publisher is. The more capable products also cost more - you get what you pay for not just in terms of functionality but also support (which is crucial).
 
/Stefan
 
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From: [email protected] on behalf of CAVEY GERARD
Sent: Mon 7/19/2004 4:53 PM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: [GD-General] what you look for in a physics engine coder...engine transaction
Hi

My question is a bit OT but anyway ...
when you give someone the job to write the next generation
physics engine, what profiles do you look for?I m not sure a basic engineer
can fit the task.
Any experience with it ?
IMO nowadays we can no longer fake physics (for actions titles).

Second OT question what could be the price of a "good enough" 3D engine plus
the surrouding tools
+ plugins for 3d apps?
I heard the Quake3 engine cost was 500 000$ ,but this is (was ,domm3 is
going to bury it )
a ground breaking technology i know ...
And the price of a "good enough" physics engine?
When you sell such a technology how does it work? Do you have to sell some
support,
patchs,consulting ....?

Thanks in advance

GC.


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