The latest Stygian Sentinel update has been posted to the Underworld Ascendant website, and this week its topic is physics-based games…and what role physics will play in Ascendant:

A door in the Underworld is physically modeled out as a heavy wood or metal object attached to pivoting hinges, optionally with a locking mechanism. Doors have parameters for physical strength, resistance to fire damage, resistance to magic, their acoustic blocking factor, strength and complexity of any lock. What does this mean for when a player encounters a door?

• Player might smash through weaker doors. If door is susceptible to fire, they might burn it to weaken it, then smash through.
• Could pick the lock, or possibly smash the lock.
• Might spike the door closed to prevent a creature from opening it from the other side.
• Could listen at the door to try to hear what’s moving around on the other side.
• Use magic spell to unlock and open the door; or use magic to bind the door and block it closed.

This gives the player a bunch of options for just doors. This same physical approach extends to traps, chests, and rope bridges… pretty much anything you can interact with. Want to use that table to block a doorway. Go for it, if you can move it. Want to use that beam as a platform to span a subterranean stream? All those simple machines you remember studying in school – pulley, lever, screw, gears, and inclined planes – are tools at your disposal.

Click on through to check out the rest of the update.