FOSSPicks
Crash simulator
Rigs of Rods
If you've ever played a car racing game and been disappointed by the totally unrealistic collision mechanics when your car hits an obstacle, this game is for you. Like Destruction Derby, Rigs of Rods' entire premise is to smash things up, although there's no scoreboard or reward for doing so. Instead, this is a physics sandbox created for experimenting with vehicles and damage. Load up a terrain, add a few cars, and start driving them around. The driving mechanics are actually very good. You see in-car controls and dials, as well as status indicators for all the main components. You can change your view from first to third person. As some of the terrains feature roads and cities, you can slide your SUVs or sports cars around like a maniac. When you eventually do hit something, the physics are satisfyingly realistic, especially in the way the object meshes fall apart and deform. It's exactly this kind of deconstruction that's missing from nearly all driving games.
Almost all of the content is created by the community, with hundreds of cars, textures, and terrains for download and experimentation. You can create your own content using a tool like Blender and the AngelScript programming language to add some logic to your creations. There's even a multiplayer mode for playing with your friends; up to 64 users can join you to create a scene of utter mayhem. You can even click and drag objects around with your mouse, including physical effects, effectively turning Rigs of Rods into a god game. It's a lot of fun and feels somewhat reminiscent of Stunt Car Racer as you attempt to hold everything together to turn the car around for one more tilt of the lance at your opponent.
Project Website
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