Open Simulator with Physics Engine

[Jeremy Fitzhardinge]

Gary C Martin wrote:
> Just wanted to chip in with a thought of a simpler activity sim type  
> that could be a low hanging fruit to port or code for the XO. I do  
> love the idea of 'crayon physics' and all the other physics sim  
> spinoffs that are all the fashion just now, but a lot of fun/ 
> exploration can be had with some the old school sandbox type  
> simulations.

Yes.  The thing I like about crayon is that its immediately accessible, 
and its obvious what's happening; a few minutes of experimentation will 
tell you everything you need to know about making things, and yet 
there's a fairly large range of interesting things you can achieve.  
There's no distinction between "modelling" and "simulation", aside from 
having a "pause" button.  But from that base you can easily envisage 
adding more complex types of items like linkages and motors to allow 
more flexiblity.

>  Some of the examples at the below URL are way over  
> developed/cluttered (too many material types, unnecessary additions  
> etc), but a more careful design would make a good, single and multi  
> user sharable activity:
>
> 	http://fallingsandgame.com/viewtopic.php?t=1875
>   

Yes, these kinds of literal sandbox games are fun too...

    J