Blog

JigLibFlash Rewrite – Video Game Case Physics Example

April 13, 2009 by Devin Reimer

Video Game Case Physics Screenshot

Over the past 2 months the JigLibFlash team has been re-architecting the whole JigLibFlash project and the new version is now available. Using this re-architected library is quite a bit different from the old version. So before I convert some of my older stuff over, I decided to making a new demo of the updated library in action.

In this demo randomly positioned and oriented video game cases drop one on top of the other until 7 cases are on the screen. Then it resets and starts all over again. It is a very simple example, but it will give you a place to start.

To play the demo click here.

To get the source click here.

Source Requirements: You will need Papervision3D , JigLibFlash and bulk-loader to compile the source.

Note: The case is a scan of my copy of ‘Left 4 Dead’, if you want to read a good article on how the actual case artwork came to be, check out this link: http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2353

Papervision3D Lecture – Winnipeg Code Camp (3D Video Game Case Example)

March 17, 2009 by Devin Reimer

Papervision3D Lecture Winnipeg Code Camp

Winnipeg Code Camp is over and it was a success. I hope everyone that was able to attend my lecture thought it was informative. If anyone has any feedback on how I could make my next presentations better, please drop me a line.

To see one of my presentation demos click here.

To get the source click here.

Papervision3D Lecture – Winnipeg Code Camp

March 9, 2009 by Devin Reimer

Winnipeg Code Camp Banner

On March 14th I will be speaking at this year’s Winnipeg Code Camp. My lecture is titled ‘3D Web Development – Papervision3D and Beyond’. This lecture will include a brief history of 3D content on the web, how to get started in Papervision3D including functional examples and an overview of where this technology is headed. Knowledge of ActionScript is not required to get a lot out of this session. Event registration begins at 8:00 am and did I mention this is a free event. Head on over to their official site for more information (http://www.winnipegcodecamp.com).

3D Ball Adventure (JigLibMotionSpringCamera3D) Part 3

February 22, 2009 by Devin Reimer

3D Ball Adventure Version 3 Screenshot

Over the passed week and an half, I went through almost every line of code in this project and rewrote and refactored it. After a bit of work, I discovered the cause of the major camera bug that would cause the camera to freak out when pointed north. This issue is now fixed. The springiness of the camera has also been loosened up a bit, so the camera motion is a lot smoother.

Since I got the new camera system to work, I decided to make it a nice and programmer friendly class called JigLibMotionStringCamera3D. I am aware that this name is terrible and long, but it describes the camera’s function perfectly. The camera uses a JigLibFlash RigidBody object as its target and moves based on its motion not the direction it is facing. Part of the camera’s smooth motion is achieved by extending the SpringCamera3D class. While this camera does have specific job, I know that there are a lot of uses for a camera like this. If you find a cool use for it, drop me a line.

The viewable area of this version has been increased and a little challenge has been added to the end of the level for those who played the last version.

If anyone has created any cool levels using the xml level creator send me an email. I would love to incorporate them in my next version.

To play the demo click here.

To get the source click here.

Note: You will need Papervision3D, JigLibFlash and Tweener to compile the source.

Update: The swf example has been updated to fix an issue when viewed on any page but the main page. Thanks to Chris Hill for pointing this out.

3D Ball Adventure (JigLibFlash, SpringCamera3D, Papervision3D) Mashup Part 2

February 9, 2009 by Devin Reimer

I have been busy over the past week improving the ‘3D Ball Adventure’ game. While the use of the SpringCamera3D in the last version was usable, it did have a problem, it was locked onto to two planes of motion and had no rotation. So I under took the challenge of creating an easy to use 3rd person camera view using SpringCamera3D. I greatly under estimated the challenge of creating a camera system that competently followed the motion of the ball but also gave the user the freedom to make camera corrections. While this version isn’t perfect, it is still pretty cool.

I also have updated the xml level generator with new features like object groups, player start position, standardized objects. Also instead of x,y,z being the center of a box, it is now the top, close, left corner (which is way easier to design for).

To play the demo click here.

To get the source click here.

Note: As before you must have Papervision3D and JibLibFlash to run the source.

3D Ball Adventure (JigLibFlash, SpringCamera3D, Papervision3D) Mashup Part 1

February 2, 2009 by Devin Reimer

3D Ball Adventure Version 1 Screenshot

A couple of weeks ago a new 3D physics engine for AS3 called JigLibFlash was released into early alpha. I’ve been playing around with different 3D physics engine for Papervision3D for a little while now. The problem was I could not get the ease of use and performance I wanted out of anything that was currently available. This finally changed when I came across JigLibFlash. This library is relatively easy to use and the performance is quite good. Check out the code base at http://code.google.com/p/jiglibflash/ or jump over to their blog at http://www.jiglibflash.com/blog/. Important Note: This library is currently undocumented, has no tutorials and is in early alpha so it is not for the faint of heart, but if that does not bother you go check it out, you will be impressed.

I have been working on a new camera type for a while that would realistically follow around a 3D buggy. I thougth this class was starting to get pretty good, that was until Benoit Beauséjour release his SpringCamera3D class, which blew the version I’ve been working on out of the water. This class is easy to use and will make your 3D apps look a lot more profession. For a good example on how to use the new SpringCamera3D class in Papervision3D check out a demo at http://pv3d.org/2009/01/23/springcamera3d-and-driving-a-car/

So while playing around with both these very cool new developments I thought wouldn’t it be great if I mashed these two together and create a cool game. At that moment 3D Ball Adventure was born.

Continue reading for a working demo and source code.

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