So far we’ve covered creating a simple simulation then how to create physics bodies and apply forces to them now we look at dealing with collisions. Truth of the matter is, most of the work is just done for us. Let’s just right in with an example, heavily copied and pasted from the previous example.
package com.gamefromscratch;
import com.badlogic.gdx.ApplicationAdapter;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Gdx;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Input;
import com.badlogic.gdx.InputProcessor;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Color;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.GL20;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.OrthographicCamera;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Texture;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.BitmapFont;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.Sprite;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.SpriteBatch;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.Matrix4;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.Vector2;
import com.badlogic.gdx.physics.box2d.*;
public class Physics2 extends ApplicationAdapter implements InputProcessor {
SpriteBatch batch;
Sprite sprite;
Texture img;
World world;
Body body;
Body bodyEdgeScreen;
Box2DDebugRenderer debugRenderer;
Matrix4 debugMatrix;
OrthographicCamera camera;
BitmapFont font;
float torque = 0.0f;
boolean drawSprite = true;
final float PIXELS_TO_METERS = 100f;
@Override
public void create() {
batch = new SpriteBatch();
img = new Texture("badlogic.jpg");
sprite = new Sprite(img);
sprite.setPosition(-sprite.getWidth()/2,-sprite.getHeight()/2);
world = new World(new Vector2(0, -1f),true);
BodyDef bodyDef = new BodyDef();
bodyDef.type = BodyDef.BodyType.DynamicBody;
bodyDef.position.set((sprite.getX() + sprite.getWidth()/2) /
PIXELS_TO_METERS,
(sprite.getY() + sprite.getHeight()/2) / PIXELS_TO_METERS);
body = world.createBody(bodyDef);
PolygonShape shape = new PolygonShape();
shape.setAsBox(sprite.getWidth()/2 / PIXELS_TO_METERS, sprite.getHeight()
/2 / PIXELS_TO_METERS);
FixtureDef fixtureDef = new FixtureDef();
fixtureDef.shape = shape;
fixtureDef.density = 0.1f;
fixtureDef.restitution = 0.5f;
body.createFixture(fixtureDef);
shape.dispose();
BodyDef bodyDef2 = new BodyDef();
bodyDef2.type = BodyDef.BodyType.StaticBody;
float w = Gdx.graphics.getWidth()/PIXELS_TO_METERS;
// Set the height to just 50 pixels above the bottom of the screen so we can see the edge in the
// debug renderer
float h = Gdx.graphics.getHeight()/PIXELS_TO_METERS- 50/PIXELS_TO_METERS;
//bodyDef2.position.set(0,
// h-10/PIXELS_TO_METERS);
bodyDef2.position.set(0,0);
FixtureDef fixtureDef2 = new FixtureDef();
EdgeShape edgeShape = new EdgeShape();
edgeShape.set(-w/2,-h/2,w/2,-h/2);
fixtureDef2.shape = edgeShape;
bodyEdgeScreen = world.createBody(bodyDef2);
bodyEdgeScreen.createFixture(fixtureDef2);
edgeShape.dispose();
Gdx.input.setInputProcessor(this);
debugRenderer = new Box2DDebugRenderer();
font = new BitmapFont();
font.setColor(Color.BLACK);
camera = new OrthographicCamera(Gdx.graphics.getWidth(),Gdx.graphics.
getHeight());
}
private float elapsed = 0;
@Override
public void render() {
camera.update();
// Step the physics simulation forward at a rate of 60hz
world.step(1f/60f, 6, 2);
body.applyTorque(torque,true);
sprite.setPosition((body.getPosition().x * PIXELS_TO_METERS) - sprite.
getWidth()/2 ,
(body.getPosition().y * PIXELS_TO_METERS) -sprite.getHeight()/2 )
;
sprite.setRotation((float)Math.toDegrees(body.getAngle()));
Gdx.gl.glClearColor(1, 1, 1, 1);
Gdx.gl.glClear(GL20.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
batch.setProjectionMatrix(camera.combined);
debugMatrix = batch.getProjectionMatrix().cpy().scale(PIXELS_TO_METERS,
PIXELS_TO_METERS, 0);
batch.begin();
if(drawSprite)
batch.draw(sprite, sprite.getX(), sprite.getY(),sprite.getOriginX(),
sprite.getOriginY(),
sprite.getWidth(),sprite.getHeight(),sprite.getScaleX(),sprite.
getScaleY(),sprite.getRotation());
font.draw(batch,
"Restitution: " + body.getFixtureList().first().getRestitution(),
-Gdx.graphics.getWidth()/2,
Gdx.graphics.getHeight()/2 );
batch.end();
debugRenderer.render(world, debugMatrix);
}
@Override
public void dispose() {
img.dispose();
world.dispose();
}
@Override
public boolean keyDown(int keycode) {
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean keyUp(int keycode) {
if(keycode == Input.Keys.RIGHT)
body.setLinearVelocity(1f, 0f);
if(keycode == Input.Keys.LEFT)
body.setLinearVelocity(-1f,0f);
if(keycode == Input.Keys.UP)
body.applyForceToCenter(0f,10f,true);
if(keycode == Input.Keys.DOWN)
body.applyForceToCenter(0f, -10f, true);
// On brackets ( [ ] ) apply torque, either clock or counterclockwise
if(keycode == Input.Keys.RIGHT_BRACKET)
torque += 0.1f;
if(keycode == Input.Keys.LEFT_BRACKET)
torque -= 0.1f;
// Remove the torque using backslash /
if(keycode == Input.Keys.BACKSLASH)
torque = 0.0f;
// If user hits spacebar, reset everything back to normal
if(keycode == Input.Keys.SPACE|| keycode == Input.Keys.NUM_2) {
body.setLinearVelocity(0f, 0f);
body.setAngularVelocity(0f);
torque = 0f;
sprite.setPosition(0f,0f);
body.setTransform(0f,0f,0f);
}
if(keycode == Input.Keys.COMMA) {
body.getFixtureList().first().setRestitution(body.getFixtureList().first().getRestitution()-0.1f);
}
if(keycode == Input.Keys.PERIOD) {
body.getFixtureList().first().setRestitution(body.getFixtureList().first().getRestitution()+0.1f);
}
if(keycode == Input.Keys.ESCAPE || keycode == Input.Keys.NUM_1)
drawSprite = !drawSprite;
return true;
}
@Override
public boolean keyTyped(char character) {
return false;
}
// On touch we apply force from the direction of the users touch.
// This could result in the object "spinning"
@Override
public boolean touchDown(int screenX, int screenY, int pointer, int button) {
body.applyForce(1f,1f,screenX,screenY,true);
//body.applyTorque(0.4f,true);
return true;
}
@Override
public boolean touchUp(int screenX, int screenY, int pointer, int button) {
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean touchDragged(int screenX, int screenY, int pointer) {
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean mouseMoved(int screenX, int screenY) {
return false;
}
@Override
public boolean scrolled(int amount) {
return false;
}
}
Here is the application running
No iframe for you
Click to open in new Window (It’s probably already run by the time you scrolled down)
You can control it using the following controls:
- Left and Right Arrow: Apply impulse along X axis
- Up and Down Arrow: Apply force along Y axis.
- [ and ]: Apply torque
- : Set torque to 0
- SPACEBAR or ‘2’: Reset all
- Click, apply force from point of click
- ESC or ‘1’ toggles display of the sprite graphic on and off
This is basically the same application we created in the previous example, except now there is actually something to collide with. In this case we created a physics body defined by an edge shape just 50 pixels above the bottom of the screen. The key difference between our two bodies is bodyEdgeScreen has it’s physics type set to StaticBody. A static body is exactly what it’s name implies, static, meaning that it doesn’t move. It participates in the physics simulation ( stuff can hit it ), but it is un affected by the simulation itself. If this body wasn’t static, gravity would have grabbed it and set it free falling in space. As you can see, it is created the same way as our other physics body. The only other major difference is instead of being defined in the physics engine by a box, it is instead represented as an edge defined by two points. This means our EdgeShape has no volume.
Now that we have collisions occurring a few values became much more important, density, restitution (and not shown, friction). These are set on the FixtureDef of your Body. We touched briefly on density in the previous tutorials, it helps determine the overall mass of your object along with the shape. Restitution can be thought of as, for the lack of a better term, as bounciness. Restitution helps determine how one body will respond to contact with another physics object. Rubber for example would have a high restitution, while rock would have a very low restitution. Friction on the other hand determines how one body slides across another body.
What happens if you want to perform some kind of operation when a collision occurs? Well fortunately this is quite simple, let’s take a look at another heavily cut and paste example!
package com.gamefromscratch;
import com.badlogic.gdx.ApplicationAdapter;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Gdx;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.GL20;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.OrthographicCamera;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Texture;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.Sprite;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.SpriteBatch;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.MathUtils;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.Matrix4;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.Vector2;
import com.badlogic.gdx.physics.box2d.*;
public class Physics3 extends ApplicationAdapter {
SpriteBatch batch;
Sprite sprite,sprite2;
Texture img;
World world;
Body body,body2;
Body bodyEdgeScreen;
Matrix4 debugMatrix;
OrthographicCamera camera;
final float PIXELS_TO_METERS = 100f;
@Override
public void create() {
batch = new SpriteBatch();
img = new Texture("badlogic.jpg");
// Create two identical sprites slightly offset from each other vertically
sprite = new Sprite(img);
sprite.setPosition(-sprite.getWidth()/2,-sprite.getHeight()/2 +200);
sprite2 = new Sprite(img);
sprite2.setPosition(-sprite.getWidth()/2 + 20,-sprite.getHeight()/2 + 400);
world = new World(new Vector2(0, -1f),true);
// Sprite1's Physics body
BodyDef bodyDef = new BodyDef();
bodyDef.type = BodyDef.BodyType.DynamicBody;
bodyDef.position.set((sprite.getX() + sprite.getWidth()/2) /
PIXELS_TO_METERS,
(sprite.getY() + sprite.getHeight()/2) / PIXELS_TO_METERS);
body = world.createBody(bodyDef);
// Sprite2's physics body
BodyDef bodyDef2 = new BodyDef();
bodyDef2.type = BodyDef.BodyType.DynamicBody;
bodyDef2.position.set((sprite2.getX() + sprite2.getWidth()/2) /
PIXELS_TO_METERS,
(sprite2.getY() + sprite2.getHeight()/2) / PIXELS_TO_METERS);
body2 = world.createBody(bodyDef2);
// Both bodies have identical shape
PolygonShape shape = new PolygonShape();
shape.setAsBox(sprite.getWidth()/2 / PIXELS_TO_METERS, sprite.getHeight()
/2 / PIXELS_TO_METERS);
// Sprite1
FixtureDef fixtureDef = new FixtureDef();
fixtureDef.shape = shape;
fixtureDef.density = 0.1f;
fixtureDef.restitution = 0.5f;
// Sprite2
FixtureDef fixtureDef2 = new FixtureDef();
fixtureDef2.shape = shape;
fixtureDef2.density = 0.1f;
fixtureDef2.restitution = 0.5f;
body.createFixture(fixtureDef);
body2.createFixture(fixtureDef2);
shape.dispose();
// Now the physics body of the bottom edge of the screen
BodyDef bodyDef3 = new BodyDef();
bodyDef3.type = BodyDef.BodyType.StaticBody;
float w = Gdx.graphics.getWidth()/PIXELS_TO_METERS;
float h = Gdx.graphics.getHeight()/PIXELS_TO_METERS;
bodyDef3.position.set(0,0);
FixtureDef fixtureDef3 = new FixtureDef();
EdgeShape edgeShape = new EdgeShape();
edgeShape.set(-w/2,-h/2,w/2,-h/2);
fixtureDef3.shape = edgeShape;
bodyEdgeScreen = world.createBody(bodyDef3);
bodyEdgeScreen.createFixture(fixtureDef3);
edgeShape.dispose();
camera = new OrthographicCamera(Gdx.graphics.getWidth(),Gdx.graphics.
getHeight());
world.setContactListener(new ContactListener() {
@Override
public void beginContact(Contact contact) {
// Check to see if the collision is between the second sprite and the bottom of the screen
// If so apply a random amount of upward force to both objects... just because
if((contact.getFixtureA().getBody() == bodyEdgeScreen &&
contact.getFixtureB().getBody() == body2)
||
(contact.getFixtureA().getBody() == body2 &&
contact.getFixtureB().getBody() == bodyEdgeScreen)) {
body.applyForceToCenter(0,MathUtils.random(20,50),true);
body2.applyForceToCenter(0, MathUtils.random(20,50), true);
}
}
@Override
public void endContact(Contact contact) {
}
@Override
public void preSolve(Contact contact, Manifold oldManifold) {
}
@Override
public void postSolve(Contact contact, ContactImpulse impulse) {
}
});
}
@Override
public void render() {
camera.update();
// Step the physics simulation forward at a rate of 60hz
world.step(1f/60f, 6, 2);
sprite.setPosition((body.getPosition().x * PIXELS_TO_METERS) - sprite.
getWidth()/2 ,
(body.getPosition().y * PIXELS_TO_METERS) -sprite.getHeight()/2 );
sprite.setRotation((float)Math.toDegrees(body2.getAngle()));
sprite2.setPosition((body2.getPosition().x * PIXELS_TO_METERS) - sprite2.
getWidth()/2 ,
(body2.getPosition().y * PIXELS_TO_METERS) -sprite2.getHeight()/2 );
sprite2.setRotation((float)Math.toDegrees(body.getAngle()));
Gdx.gl.glClearColor(1, 1, 1, 1);
Gdx.gl.glClear(GL20.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
batch.setProjectionMatrix(camera.combined);
batch.begin();
batch.draw(sprite, sprite.getX(), sprite.getY(),sprite.getOriginX(),
sprite.getOriginY(),
sprite.getWidth(),sprite.getHeight(),sprite.getScaleX(),sprite.
getScaleY(),sprite.getRotation());
batch.draw(sprite2, sprite2.getX(), sprite2.getY(),sprite2.getOriginX(),
sprite2.getOriginY(),
sprite2.getWidth(),sprite2.getHeight(),sprite2.getScaleX(),sprite2.
getScaleY(),sprite2.getRotation());
batch.end();
}
@Override
public void dispose() {
img.dispose();
world.dispose();
}
}
And when you run it
No iframe for you
Click to open in new Window (It’s probably already run by the time you scrolled down)
In this example we’ve added another dynamic physics body. Both bodies fall thanks to gravity, however when the second physics body makes contact with the “ground”, an upward force is applied to both bodies.
The heart of this example is the ContactListener we added to our physics world. This handler is called for each collision that occurred in the world and allows you to handle the event before and after contact, then before and after the physics engine does the calculations on what to do. In this example we used the beginContact callback, although truth is, all 4 would have behaved identically. In each case a Contact object is passed in, which has details on the collision such as the friction, restitution and speed of the collision. In this case we actually want to check what types of objects collided, which we do using getFixtureA() and getFixtureB() which returns the FixtureDef of the colliding objects. Since we don’t actually know which collides with which, we test for both directions of collisions. If the bodies colliding are Body2 and bodyEdgeScreen, we apply our upward force. Obviously you could handle whatever kind of calculation you wanted at this point.
One very common activity, and something I didn’t cover in this example is tying a physics body back to the object in the real world that this body represents. In this particular example we’ve simply hard coded things, but in a real life application this isn’t an option. Fortunately there is an easy elegant solution. Each physics Body has a property called UserData, which can be basically whatever you want it to be. Let’s take a quick look at storing the game sprite using UserData of the physics Body.
//Create the body
body = world.createBody(bodyDef);
//Store the sprite the body represents in UserData
body.setUserData(sprite);
//Access the sprite
((Sprite)body.getUserData()).setPosition(body.getPosition().x,body.getPosition().y);
This provides an easy way to link the object represented with the physics entity itself.
So far we covered dynamic objects, which can be moved and positioned and participate in the physics simulation, and static bodies, that do not move but can participate in the simulation, what what happens if you want a body to be aware of the physics simulation, but not effect it. For example, what if you wanted to trigger some code when a physics body went off screen, but you didn’t want this to cause a collision. There is a very simple solution to this, sensors.
fixtureDef.isSensor = true;
This is all you need to do an now your physics object will no longer cause a reaction when collided with, except whatever you provide in code. For example, in the earlier example, if you changed fixtureDef3 to be a sensor, the first body will simply fall through it. However when the second body hits it, it will trigger the code in our ContactListener.
If you thought to yourself, wow, that’s an ugly way to handle tests for collisions between different objects… that whole test in both directions thing will get awfully ugly quickly. You are 100% correct, fortunately there is a clean solution I will cover shortly.