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Lecture 18

box2d Physics
 Physics in Games

— Moving objects about the screen

— Kinematics: Motion ignoring external forces
(Only consider position, velocity, acceleration)
— Dynamics: The effect of forces on the screen

— Collisions between objects

— Collision Detection: Did a collision occur?
— Collision Resolution: What do we do?

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 Physics in Games

— Moving objects about the screen

— Kinematics: Motion ignoring external forces
lass Bod
(Only considerCposition, y
velocity, acceleration)
— Dynamics: The effect of forces on the screen

— Collisions between objects

— Collision Detection: Did a collision occur?
C la s s Fixture
— Collision Resolution: What do we do?

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 Body in box2d
— Represents a single point
— Center of the object’s mass
— Object must move as unit
— Properties in class Body
— Position
— Linear Velocity
Body
— Angular Velocity
— Body Type
— There are 3 body types
— Static: Does not move
— Kinematic: Moves w/o force
— Dynamic: Obeys forces
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 Body in box2d
— Represents a single point
— Center of the object’s mass
Linear
— Object must move as unit
Velocity
— Properties in class Body Angular
Velocity
— Position
— Linear Velocity
— Angular Velocity
— Body Type Position
— There are 3 body types
— Static: Does not move
— Kinematic: Moves w/o force
— Dynamic: Obeys forces
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 Body in box2d
— Represents a single point — Kinematic is rarely useful
— Center of the object’s mass — Limited collision detection
— Object must move as unit — Only collides w/ dynamics
— Properties in class Body — Does not bounce or react
— Position
— Application: Bullets
— Linear Velocity
— Light, fast-moving objects
— Angular Velocity
— Body Type
— Should not bounce

— There are 3 body types

— Static: Does not move Looks like
— Kinematic: Moves w/o force last lecture
— Dynamic: Obeys forces
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 Forces vs. Impulses

Forces Impulses

— Instantaneous push — Push with duration

— To be applied over time — To be applied in one frame
— Gradually accelerates — Quickly accelerates
— Momentum if sustained — Immediate momentum

Impulse
Impulse = Force x Time

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 Forces vs. Impulses

Forces Impulses

— Instantaneous push — Push with duration

— To be applied over time — To be applied in one frame
— Gradually accelerates — Quickly accelerates
— Momentum if sustained — Immediate momentum

Impulse
Impulse = Force x 1 Sec

in Box2D
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 Force and Acceleration
— What do we need to compute motion?
— Dp = vDt = v0Dt + ½a(Dt)2 = v0Dt + ½(F/m)(Dt)2
— So depends on Force, current velocity and mass
— Where does that mass come from?
— Class Body has a getter, but no setter!
— It comes from the Fixture class
— Fixture gives volume to body
— Will revisit this later with collisions
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 Force and Acceleration
— What do we need to compute motion?
— Dp = vDt = v0Dt + ½a(Dt)2 = v0Dt + ½(F/m)(Dt)2
— So depends on Force, current velocity and mass
— Where does that mass come from?
— Class Body has a getter, but no setter!
— It comes from the Fixture class
— Fixture gives volume to body
— Will revisit this later with collisions
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 Four Ways to Move a Dynamic Body
— Forces
— applyForce (linear)
— applyTorque (angular) Force
Torque
— Impulses
— applyLinearImpulse
— applyAngularImpulse
— Velocity
— setLinearVelocity
— setAngularVelocity
— Translation
— setTransform

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 Four Ways to Move a Dynamic Body
— Forces — Great for joints, complex shapes
— applyForce (linear) — Laggy response to user input
— applyTorque (angular) — A bit hard to control
— Impulses — Great for joints, complex shapes
— applyLinearImpulse — Good response to user input
— applyAngularImpulse — Extremely hard to control
— Velocity — Bad for joints, complex shapes
— setLinearVelocity — Excellent response to user input
— setAngularVelocity — Very easy to control
— Translation — Completely ignores physics!
— setTransform — Very easy to control
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 Example: box2d Demo

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 Example: box2d Demo

Controls:
— WASD for linear force
— Left-right arrows to rotate
— 9 or 0 to change controls

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 Four Ways to Move a Dynamic Body
— Forces
— applyForce (linear)
— applyTorque (angular)
— Impulses Must Cap Velocity
— applyLinearImpulse
— applyAngularImpulse
— Velocity
— setLinearVelocity
— setAngularVelocity
— Translation
— setTransform

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 Basic Structure of a Update Loop

public void update(float dt) {

// Apply movement to relevant bodies
if (body above or equal to max velocity) {
body.setLinearVelocity(maximum velocity);
} else {
body.applyForce(force)
body.applyTorque(torque)
}
// Use physics engine to update positions
world.step(dt,vel_iterations,pos_iterations);
}
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 Basic Structure of a Update Loop

public void update(float dt) {

// Apply movement to relevant bodies
if (body above or equal to max velocity) {
body.setLinearVelocity(maximum velocity);
} else {
body.applyForce(force)
body.applyTorque(torque)
}
// Use physics engine to update positions
world.step(dt,vel_iterations,pos_iterations);
} Multiple times to
improve accuracy the
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 Basic Structure of a Update Loop

public void update(float dt) {

// Apply movement to relevant bodies
if (body above or equal to max velocity) {
body.setLinearVelocity(maximum velocity);
} else { Only before
body.applyForce(force) first iteration!
body.applyTorque(torque)
}
// Use physics engine to update positions
world.step(dt,vel_iterations,pos_iterations);
} Multiple times to
improve accuracy the
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 Collision Objects in box2d

Shape Fixture

— Stores the object geometry — Attaches a shape to a body

— Boxes, circles or polygons — Fixture has only one body
— Must be convex! — Bodies have many fixtures
— Has own coordinate space — Cannot change the shape
— Associated body is origin — Must destroy old fixture
— Unaffected if body moved — Must make a new fixture
— Cannot be resized later — Has other properties
— Also stores object density — Friction: stickiness
— Mass is area x density — Restitution: bounciness
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 Making a box2d Physics Object
// Create a body definition
// (this can be reused)
bodydef = new BodyDef();
bodydef.type = type;
bodydef.position.set(position);
bodydef.angle = angle;

// Allocate the body

body1 = world.createBody(bodydef);

// Another?
bodydef.position.set(position2);
body2 = world.createBody(bodydef);

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 Making a box2d Physics Object
// Create a body definition
// (this can be reused)
bodydef = new BodyDef();
bodydef.type = type;
bodydef.position.set(position);
Normal Allocation
bodydef.angle = angle;

// Allocate the body

body1 = world.createBody(bodydef);

// Another? Optimized Allocation

bodydef.position.set(position2);
body2 = world.createBody(bodydef);

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 Making a box2d Physics Object
// Create two triangles as shapes
shape1 = new PolygonShape().;
shape2 = new PolygonShape();
shape1.set(verts1); shape2.set(verts2);

// Create a fixture definition

fixdef = new FixtureDef();
fixdef.density = density;

// Attach the two shapes to body

fixdef.shape = shape1;
fixture1 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);
fixdef.shape = shape2;
fixture2 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);

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 Making a box2d Physics Object
// Create two triangles as shapes
shape1 = new PolygonShape().;
Other shapes possible shape2 = new PolygonShape();
shape1.set(verts1); shape2.set(verts2);

// Create a fixture definition

Also set friction and fixdef = new FixtureDef();
restitution parameters fixdef.density = density;

// Attach the two shapes to body

fixdef.shape = shape1;
Reason for separating fixture1 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);
Fixture & Body classes fixdef.shape = shape2;
fixture2 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);

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 Making a box2d Physics Object
// Create a body definition // Create two triangles as shapes
// (this can be reused) shape1 = new PolygonShape().;
bodydef = new BodyDef(); shape2 = new PolygonShape();
bodydef.type = type; shape1.set(verts1); shape2.set(verts2);
bodydef.position.set(position); // Create a fixture definition
bodydef.angle = angle; fixdef = new FixtureDef();
fixdef.density = density;
// Allocate the body
body1 = world.createBody(bodydef); // Attach the two shapes to body
fixdef.shape = shape1;
// Another? fixture1 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);
bodydef.position.set(position2); fixdef.shape = shape2;
body2 = world.createBody(bodydef); fixture2 = body1.createFixture(fixdef);

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 Observations on Fixture Parameters
— Density can be anything non-zero
— The higher the density the higher the mass
— Heavier objects are harder to move
— Friction should be within 0 to 1
— Can be larger, but effects are unpredictable
— Affects everything, even manual velocity control
— Restitution should be within 0 to 1
— A value of 0 means no bounciness at all
— Unpredictable with manual velocity control
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 A Word on Units
— Size is not in pixels
— 1 box2d unit = 1 meter
1.5 60
— Also 1 density = 1 kg/m2
b2d units pixels
— Drawing scale in Lab 4
— This is rescalable
— Could say 1 unit = 10 m
— But must be consistent
60
— box2d likes units near 1 b2d units
— Best if objects same size
— Adjust scale so 1 default
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 Example: Box2D Demo

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 Example: Box2D Demo

Controls:
— 1 or 2 to change density
— 3 or 4 to change friction
— 5 or 6 to change restitution
— 7 or 8 to change shape

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 How Do We Find the Shape?
— Do not try to learn boundary
— Image recognition is hard
— Hull will have many sides

— Have artists draw the shape

— Cover shape with triangles
— But can ignore interiors
— Keep # sides small!

— Store shape in another file

— Do not ruin the art!
— Need coordinates as data

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 Data-Driven Design

character.jpg character.shape

120,2
130,4
125,50
150,65
160,100
150,110
125,80
140,200
130,200
120,110
…

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 Custom Collisions: ContactListeners
— Special listener attached to world object
— Reacts to any two fixtures that collide
— Allow you to override collision behavior
— Or you can augment collision behavior
— Two primary methods in interface
— beginContact: When objects first collide
— endContact: When objects no longer collide
— Example: Color changing in box2d demo
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 Collision is About Fixtures!

— Capsule obstacle is two circles and rectangle

— Allows smooth motion while walking
— Feet do not get hung up on surfaces
— But may register multiple collisions!
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 Collision Filtering
— FixtureDef has a Filter attribute
— categoryBits: Defines what can collide with it
— maskBits: Defines what it can collide with
— groupIndex: Collision group (overrides bits)
— Example:
— Fixture A category x001, Fixture B category x010
— Mask x101 or x001 only collides with A
— Mask x011 collides with both A and B
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 Collision Filtering
— FixtureDef has a Filter attribute
— categoryBits: Defines what can collide with it
— maskBits: Defines what it can collide with
— groupIndex: Collision group (overrides bits)
— Example:
— Fixture A category x001, Fixture B category x010
— Mask x101 or x001 only v e
collides
n e r d e
withte c
A te d !
g m e a n s is
Filterin
— Mask x011 collides with both A and B
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 How about Sort-of-Filtering?
— Want a non-sensor object where
— We always detect the collision
— But sometimes ignore the restitution
— Method beginContact has a Contact parameter
— Manages the physics while it resolves collision
— Can call the method contact.isEnabled(false)
— Turns off collision; endContact is never called
— See tutorials for “anatomy of a collision”
— https://www.iforce2d.net/b2dtut/collision-anatomy
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 Recall: Swept Shapes
— False positives happen if:
— Two objects are moving Blue
Red Frame
— Swept shapes intersect at
different intersection times

— What if only one moving?

— Swept intersects stationary
— So no false positives
— Change reference frames
— Keep one shape still
— Move other in new coords
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 Recall: Swept Shapes
— False positives happen if:
— Two objects are moving Blue
Red Frame
— Swept shapes intersect at
different intersection times

— What if only one moving?

e ts ” a re h a n d le d
How “Bull
— Swept intersects stationary
— So no false positives
— Change reference frames
— Keep one shape still
Expensive!
— Move other in new coords
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 More Collisions: RayCasting
— Method rayCast in world
— Give it start, end of ray
— Also a RayCastCallback
— Executed when call step
— Invoked on all collisions
— Not just the first on
— Does not return in order!
— This is for optimization
— Sight-cones = many rays

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 The RayCastCallback Interface
float reportRayFixture(Fixture fixture, // Fixture found
Vector2 point, // Collision point
Vector2 nom, // Collision normal
float fraction // Fraction of ray
)

— Fraction is how far along ray (0 = start, 1 = end)

— First collision is one with lowest fraction
— But be prepared for larger fractions first
— Return value is optimization to limit search
— Ignores collisions with fraction later than return
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 The RayCastCallback Interface
float reportRayFixture(Fixture fixture, // Fixture found
Vector2 point, // Collision point
Allowed fraction Vector2 nom, // Collision normal
for future matches
float fraction // Fraction of ray
)

— Fraction is how far along ray (0 = start, 1 = end)

— First collision is one with lowest fraction
— But be prepared for larger fractions first
— Return value is optimization to limit search
— Ignores collisions with fraction later than return
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 AABB Queries
— Bounding Box queries
— Find all fixtures in box
— Must be axis aligned
— Rotation not allowed
— Similar to raycasting
— Provide callback listener
— Call step method in world
— Prepare for many matches
— Application: selection
— See Ragdoll Demo
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 Some Words on Joints
— Joints connect bodies
— Anchors can be offset body Rigid Body
— Coordinates relative to body Anchor

— Are affected by fixtures

— Fixtures prevent collisions Joint
(flexible)
— Limit relative movement
— Must control with forces Body
Anchor
— Manual velocity might
violate constraints Rigid
— Use force or impulse
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 The Distance Joint
— Extremely common joint Hard Distance
— Separates by a fixed amount
— Good for ropes/grappling
— Can be hard or soft
— Hard: Strong but very brittle
— Soft: Stretchy but very weak
Soft Distance
— Softness set in the joint def
— Damping, frequency values
— Turns the joint into a spring
— Damping: Use <1 to soften
— Frequency: Spring oscillation
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 The Distance Joint
— Extremely common joint Hard Distance
— Separates by a fixed amount
— Good for ropes/grappling
— Can be hard or soft
— Hard: Strong but very brittle
Older
— Soft: versions
Stretchy ofweak
but very box2d have aSoft
ropeDistance
joint.
This set
— Softness is deprecated
in the joint defin favor of soft distances.
— Damping, frequency values
— Turns the joint into a spring
— Damping: Use <1 to soften
— Frequency: Spring oscillation
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 Other Joint Types

Revolute Weld

— Joint binds at one point — Joint binds at one point

— Both translate together — Both translate together
— But rotate independently — Both rotate together
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 Other Joint Types

Prismatic Pulley

— Joint binds with a “track” — Joint binds through portals

— Both rotate together — Pulling one raises the other
— But translate along track — Distance w/ “teleportation”
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 Making a Rope: The Simple Way

Rectangular planks connected

by revolute joints at each step

Bridge in Lab 4
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 Making a Rope: The Better Way

Web of springy distance joints

with revolute joints at the end

Keeps rope strong but flexible!

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 Summary
— box2d support motion and collisions
— Body class provides the motion
— Fixture, Shape classes are for collisions

— Multiple ways to control a physics object

— Can apply forces or manually control velocity
— Joint constraints work best with forces

— Collisions are managed by callback functions

— Invoked once you call the world step method
— Collisions are processed per fixture, not per body
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