(First let me preface this by pointing out I've been temp-banned numerous times for criticizing EA. So no, I'm not an EA shill. On with the post.)
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I'm seeing a lot of YouTube videos from people who think they know but are actually clueless, so I'm here to dispel the myths.
Rag dolls ≠ physics.
What do I mean by that? That rag doll physics aren't physics? No. What I mean is, rag dolls are a SUBSET of physics-based animations, but they do not contain the whole. In order for two things to be equal, by definition mathematically they must be subsets of each other. Rag dolls are a subset of physics-based collisions, but physics-based collisions are not exclusively simulated by rag dolls.
In fact, rag dolls ignore biomechanics, which means the physics they simulate are not entirely accurate to real world physics. That's why arms flail about unrealistically and spin in circles at the elbow, etc. Makes for hilarity, but it is NOT realistic. What Madden 25 claims in their gameplay trailer UNEQUIVOCALLY IS physics based tackling.
How can I say that? Because EA is saying that momentum vectors determine the initial collision animation, and changes in momentum (force) determine the animations that follow, dynamically, over time. That is literally physics! Physics-based tackling means a simulation of a collision according to the laws of physics. If you've taken any physics classes (I've taken dozens, as well as dozens of math classes), you will invariably come across the things that matter in a simple elastic or inelastic collision: angle, mass, speed, and how those things change over the course of the impact.
In other words, the momentum vectors of the collision participants, and the time derivative of those momentum vectors, and what happens to the masses as the collision evolves, this is what is meant by physics of a collision. EA is claiming that the one-on-one tackles in Madden are determined BY THESE FACTORS. That means it is PHYSICS BASED, PERIOD.
Madden also uses canned animations. That does not preclude the collisions from being physics-based. In fact, it is necessary to use canned animations in order to simulate biomechanics — which, by the way, is precisely why rag doll physics are an inferior way to simulate the physics of football collisions.
In conclusion, a lot of YouTubers are confusing rag doll-based tackling with physics-based tackling. Rag dolls are a type of physics simulations, but they are not the only ones. Something is physics-based if it is based on momentum, force, changes in force.*
As someone who spent several years tutoring college students on physics and math, let me assure you that the tackling as described by EA (assuming they aren't lying) IS ASSUREDLY physics-based tackling. I'm tired of people thinking that if something isn't rag dolls, it's not physics based. That's simply incorrect.
That is all.
*(sadly there isn't a standard term for changes in force with respect to time; force is changes in momentum with respect to time, momentum is changes in position with respect to time [velocity] multiplied by mass [except for massless objects; you have to use relativity for those], but someone forgot to make a standard word for dF/dt. The authors of this paper on biomechanics want to call it "yank," lol.).
***
I'm seeing a lot of YouTube videos from people who think they know but are actually clueless, so I'm here to dispel the myths.
Rag dolls ≠ physics.
What do I mean by that? That rag doll physics aren't physics? No. What I mean is, rag dolls are a SUBSET of physics-based animations, but they do not contain the whole. In order for two things to be equal, by definition mathematically they must be subsets of each other. Rag dolls are a subset of physics-based collisions, but physics-based collisions are not exclusively simulated by rag dolls.
In fact, rag dolls ignore biomechanics, which means the physics they simulate are not entirely accurate to real world physics. That's why arms flail about unrealistically and spin in circles at the elbow, etc. Makes for hilarity, but it is NOT realistic. What Madden 25 claims in their gameplay trailer UNEQUIVOCALLY IS physics based tackling.
How can I say that? Because EA is saying that momentum vectors determine the initial collision animation, and changes in momentum (force) determine the animations that follow, dynamically, over time. That is literally physics! Physics-based tackling means a simulation of a collision according to the laws of physics. If you've taken any physics classes (I've taken dozens, as well as dozens of math classes), you will invariably come across the things that matter in a simple elastic or inelastic collision: angle, mass, speed, and how those things change over the course of the impact.
In other words, the momentum vectors of the collision participants, and the time derivative of those momentum vectors, and what happens to the masses as the collision evolves, this is what is meant by physics of a collision. EA is claiming that the one-on-one tackles in Madden are determined BY THESE FACTORS. That means it is PHYSICS BASED, PERIOD.
Madden also uses canned animations. That does not preclude the collisions from being physics-based. In fact, it is necessary to use canned animations in order to simulate biomechanics — which, by the way, is precisely why rag doll physics are an inferior way to simulate the physics of football collisions.
In conclusion, a lot of YouTubers are confusing rag doll-based tackling with physics-based tackling. Rag dolls are a type of physics simulations, but they are not the only ones. Something is physics-based if it is based on momentum, force, changes in force.*
As someone who spent several years tutoring college students on physics and math, let me assure you that the tackling as described by EA (assuming they aren't lying) IS ASSUREDLY physics-based tackling. I'm tired of people thinking that if something isn't rag dolls, it's not physics based. That's simply incorrect.
That is all.
*(sadly there isn't a standard term for changes in force with respect to time; force is changes in momentum with respect to time, momentum is changes in position with respect to time [velocity] multiplied by mass [except for massless objects; you have to use relativity for those], but someone forgot to make a standard word for dF/dt. The authors of this paper on biomechanics want to call it "yank," lol.).
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