diff --git a/Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameDefines.h b/Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameDefines.h
index 7a6f4be4d11..07a3dee5de7 100644
--- a/Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameDefines.h
+++ b/Core/GameEngine/Include/Common/GameDefines.h
@@ -87,6 +87,10 @@
 #define PRESERVE_RETAIL_SCRIPTED_CAMERA (1) // Retain scripted camera behavior present in retail Generals 1.08 and Zero Hour 1.04
 #endif
 
+#ifndef PRESERVE_RETAIL_PHYSICS_FORWARD_SPEED
+#define PRESERVE_RETAIL_PHYSICS_FORWARD_SPEED (1)
+#endif
+
 #ifndef RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC
 #define RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC (1) // Game is expected to be CRC compatible with retail Generals 1.08, Zero Hour 1.04
 #endif
diff --git a/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/PhysicsUpdate.cpp b/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/PhysicsUpdate.cpp
index 78b256e5b88..b3705178c6a 100644
--- a/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/PhysicsUpdate.cpp
+++ b/GeneralsMD/Code/GameEngine/Source/GameLogic/Object/Update/PhysicsUpdate.cpp
@@ -963,15 +963,22 @@ Real PhysicsBehavior::getForwardSpeed2D() const
 
 	Real dot = vx + vy;
 
-	Real speedSquared = vx*vx + vy*vy;
-//	DEBUG_ASSERTCRASH( speedSquared != 0, ("zero speedSquared will overflow sqrtf()!") );// lorenzen... sanity check
-
-	Real speed = (Real)sqrtf( speedSquared );
+#if RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC || PRESERVE_RETAIL_PHYSICS_FORWARD_SPEED
+	Real speed = (Real)sqrtf( vx*vx + vy*vy );
 
 	if (dot >= 0.0f)
 		return speed;
 
 	return -speed;
+#else
+	// Inverse scale len by (1 + sqrt(2)) / 2 to adjust to the average of the former min/max movement speed.
+	// The inverse looks intuitively wrong, but it is correct, because the value returned by this function is
+	// used to determine the additional velocity needed to reach the target speed.
+	constexpr const Real DiagonalCompensation = 1.0f / 1.20710678f;
+	dot *= DiagonalCompensation;
+
+	return dot;
+#endif
 }
 
 //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -989,12 +996,22 @@ Real PhysicsBehavior::getForwardSpeed3D() const
 
 	Real dot = vx + vy + vz;
 
+#if RETAIL_COMPATIBLE_CRC || PRESERVE_RETAIL_PHYSICS_FORWARD_SPEED
 	Real speed = (Real)sqrtf( vx*vx + vy*vy + vz*vz );
 
 	if (dot >= 0.0f)
 		return speed;
 
 	return -speed;
+#else
+	// Inverse scale len by (1 + sqrt(3)) / 2 to adjust to the average of the former min/max movement speed.
+	// The inverse looks intuitively wrong, but it is correct, because the value returned by this function is
+	// used to determine the additional velocity needed to reach the target speed.
+	constexpr const Real DiagonalCompensation = 1.0f / 1.36602540f;
+	dot *= DiagonalCompensation;
+
+	return dot;
+#endif
 }
 
 //-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------