[ODE] Large groups of inactive objects

[nlin@nlin.net]

Hi,

With the recent talk about the future plans for turning on/off bodies
or entire islands, I wanted to ask about the current best way of
handling large groups of inactive items.

Specifically, I have a situation where I have several levels in my game,
each of which will be simulated with rigid body dynamics. Only one level
is active at a time. There will be around 50 up to 100 bodies simulated
per level. With 2 levels, for instance, this means in the worst caes
100 active and visible bodies, and 100 invisible, off-screen bodies.

1. It is currently not easily possible to remove bodies from simulation,
correct?
2. One approach would be, when the level changes (a pause is acceptable),
to destroy the current rigid body world, and create an entirely new one
based on the newly activated level. I think this is what I will do. Is this
a reasonable approach, or is there a better way?

Thanks,
-Norman