I've been talking about DirectX and games lately, and I've come up with a simulation for me to experiment with some things I've been wanting to learn or see in action.  Essentially, my brain has been going in several directions at once and this will be a first effort at exploring some ideas I have.  These areas of interest are:

• Physics: Realistically modeling shockwaves from explosions.  Coming up with a mathematical model for uniform and non-uniform force vectors and fluid dynamics such that a virutal world can react realistically with no "arbitrary" parameters defined, ergo "How come this can blows up but not this wall?"
• Destoryable terrain technology.  Using the above to be able to model bezier surfaces that represent a surface after an explosion.  
• AI: I'm very interested in AI, mostly just for academic nerd reasons ,but I may come up with business or gaming related applications

So, I've decided my simulation for all this will be a DirectX remake of the classic game scorched earth.  It will start out as a 2D version and move to a 3D version as soon as I find a good (free) 3D modeling tool.  I already have the game and graphics part of it pretty much done.  Next step: program some AI that shoots back at you.

If you read the site because of the .NET Compact Framework or other "useful" content this may seem ridiculous to you.  Never you mind, games are some of the most complex systems you can write today, presenting very complex design challenges.  Consider it a mental workout.

Of course, if I have fun with this I will try to make a product out of it...