Maybe this has been mentioned, but I just saw the youtube video for this game called crayon physics deluxe. The game developer said he used a physics engine from someone else. I was wondering if something like this could be developed into a module or something? I think these physics combined with what is already available through AGS would make for some amazing games.
This falls under the category of suggestions for future versions of AGS. So I believe I am in the right forum.
A physics engine in an adventure game sounds a bit too ambitious and quite frankly useless in my opinion. Unless one wants to improve the visual look of the game but that can be achieved by other means too.
I don't know about useless, but Pablo is right about the scope of such a thing.
Having said that, physics-based puzzles, instead of the old "key/lock" standards that plague most modern adventures, could be pretty interesting.
The technical viability of introducing such a feature is another matter, however.
Using plug-ins, it shouldn't be that hard to either write your own simple 2d-physics engine or to import an existing one.
I actually tried to re-create The Incredible Machine in AGS, and it's harder than it sounds. But certainly possible; all of it is just basic math.
Plugins are the way, surely? I remember when Steve added Novodex physics to his 3D module.
Then he removed them, dunno why.
You might sound strange, but writing a 3d physics engine is TONS more complex than writing it in 2d! I know because me and friend of mine are doing it. Just the math becomes super complex as soon as you go over into 3d. For example, a rotation around x, y and then the z-axis is not the same as y, x and then z.
My point is that it is easy to write a 2d physics engine which doesn't require the whole processor capacity to run, which is all what you would need for a 2d adventure game. So don't bother about using a full-scale 3d physics engine. Just a waste of processing power.
fovmester: Agree on the 3d physics thing. We're doing 3-space in Calculus, and it requires an entirely different type of math, 3d vectors. It's messy, at best... I have a test on it tomorrow... I should study :-\
Obligatory Comment: 2d stuff on the other hand could be relatively simple. In its simplest iteration, it would be nothing more than gravity and simple collision detection. Regions could be used to define "floors". Objects and such would need to bounce when hit. Later versions could include point-by-point collision, acceleration, and fulcrums. Problems I could see arising would be including support for all of AGS' many types, Objects, Characters, and Items. Working knowledge of trig is, unfortunately, entirely necessary.
EDIT: For those of you who care, I had my test. It went well.