All game genres are moving towards realism, but the nature of the features varies greatly from title to title. For automotive simulations, the focus is on mimicking the driving behavior of a real vehicle, as well as using soft body physics so that when you crash, the damage is believable and realistic.

We previously showed you the free game Rigs of Rods, which has been in the works for many years now, yet lacks graphical polish, and is somewhat contrived to get into and play. Now, a similar title is out, albeit in Alpha version, which shows a lot of promise, with similar game mechanics, but all wrapped in a much more user-friendly package.

Called BeamNG, it is “a young startup company developing a state of the art real time physics simulation engine,” which currently employs “a team of two programmers and two artists that founded the company in 2011.” I particularly liked their ambitious stated goal of “making anything possible,” and look forward to putting their claims to the test, as the development of the game progresses further.

They currently have a tech demo out, which is free, but has limited features, and you can buy the full version of the software, in its current state, for €11.50 ($15). Doing so, will grant you access to all future updates and upgrades which will be operated in the future. Currently, the complete version offers 5 “detailed, customizable, destructible vehicles,” and six different maps.

By Andrei Nedelea

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