Rigs of Rods is an open source vehicle simulator. If you havent used it yet, please read this article:

http://factoidz.com/rigs-of-rods-the-ultimate-vehicle-simulator/.

Anyway, in this article I will tell you how Rigs of Rods works and what makes it so realistic.

Rigs of Rods is an open source vehicle simulator for Mac OSX, Windows and Lunix. If you havent used it yet, please read this article: http://factoidz.com/rigs-of-rods-the-ultimate-vehicle-simulator/. Anyway, in this article I will tell you how Rigs of Rods works and what makes it so realistic.

In Rigs of Rods all the vehicles are made out of bars. These bars are called beams. The beams move upon impact and friction. This causes realistic suspension and dents. If you crash a vehicle badly in Rigs of Rods dents will appear. And if the vehicle is dented or bent in certain places, it will influence how it drives. For example , if a trucks entire frame is bent to one side, the truck will veer to one side when driving.

In Rigs of Rods there are two or three towns, each connected by highways or rural roads. The towns contain buildings that you can bump into as a navigational challenge. Some of the towns even contain airports or docks. Urban roads have realistic footpaths or curbs on the sides. This means that if you turn a corner too sharply your vehicle goes up onto the curb. Just like in real life!

Skids and rolls are also very realistic. Weights and proportions are quite exact in Rigs of Rods, so turning corners fast with top heavy trucks may cause them to lean or roll. It may also cause them to skid or lose traction too. So when your driving a heavy vehicle in Rigs of Rods, it will behave very similar to a truck in real life.

Rigs of Rods supports quite a range of USB devices using a thing called 'force feedback'. This allows the simulator to support things like H-Shifters, steering wheels, joysticks and many other things. Using Rigs of Rods as a crash test simulator is quite an interesting experience. The chassis, axles, wheels and frames of vehicles crumple upon impact, creating a realistic crash simulation. Even the insides of the vehicles crumple! Upon very hard impacts, a vehicles steering can be damaged or completely broken. Wheels become loose and fall off. Bumpers crumple. Engines stall or break down completely... The possibilities are endless! So download and play Rigs of Rods today!

Source:
http://gaming-fps-mmogs.factoidz.com/what-makes-rigs-of-rods-so-realistic/

Download:
http://www.ghanja.be/en/downloads/simulation-games/rigs-of-rods/details.html