This simple "Physics-Engine usage for Starters"-Demo depends on the vbRichClient5.dll,
downloadable here: http://vbrichclient.com/#/en/Downloads.htm
So, before you can run it you will have to unpack the 3 Dlls from the above linked vbRC5BaseDlls.zip
into a Folder (e.g. C:\RC5\)... and then only register (in AdminMode) the vbRichClient5.dll per regsvr32.
There's no need to copy the Dlls into the same Folder where you unpack the Zip of our small Demo-Project here:
http://vbRichClient.com/Downloads/ChipmunkCairo.zip
Meaning you can run all further RC5-based Demos directly from within their Unpack-Target-Folders,
without having to bother again with the (only once) to install RC5-BaseLibs.
The chipmunk Physic-Engine is wrapped up behind easy to use VB-Classes - no need to take care about
handle-freeing or other stuff (when you'd be using the "plain-C" chipmunk-API)...
For 2D-game-developers this should be quite interesting, since it allows all kinds of physics based games,
which involve e.g. true Car-Physics, or the whole class of "Rubberband-based games" - or shooting some Objects
around, which will follow true flight-parables with only a given Impulse... or all kind of simpler games where
Ball-bouncing-Physics are involved.
The Collision-Detection is sophisticated (respecting Mass, Elasticity, Friction, Momentum) though still quite performant,
even with a larger amount of moving Objects or irregularly shaped "fixed-bodies" in your scenes.
This last part, the construction of complex shapes is a speciality I've included in the Wrapper, since it allows
the Construction of any shape-form with ease over simple Cairo-Drawing-Calls (Cairo-Paths) - and that includes
even as complex shapes as rendered Text - the Demo here will already demonstrate, that the Ball-Objects take
even such complex-formed fixed shapes as rendered Text(Paths) seriously in their collisions...
One can see that easily witht a good look at the ScreenShot below... (where the Balls ended up finally after
bouncing around) - they "lean on each other" and rest with their bottoms on the TextChars exactly
(the left Ball on the "dot of an i" - and the right Ball is "hanging" between the highest points of "k" and "h"):
![]()
The Drawing-Capabilities of Cairo include SubPixel-based Rendering of Png-based Sprites, as well as
normal Vectordrawn-Shapes ... this (antialiased) SubPixelprecision-output is quite important
especially with slower moving Objects - and cairos internally used Double-Precision matches exactly with
the Double-Precision each of the Body-Shape-Objects is internally repositioned by the Physics-Engine
in each (highres) Timer-Step.
I'll post some more Demos about this Engine, for the moment this simpler one may be sufficient as a
Base for your own experiments (with different Shapes or maybe only some Fiddling with the Parameters,
as e.g. the Gravity - or the Elasticity and Friction of the Balls).
Have fun with it.
Olaf
downloadable here: http://vbrichclient.com/#/en/Downloads.htm
So, before you can run it you will have to unpack the 3 Dlls from the above linked vbRC5BaseDlls.zip
into a Folder (e.g. C:\RC5\)... and then only register (in AdminMode) the vbRichClient5.dll per regsvr32.
There's no need to copy the Dlls into the same Folder where you unpack the Zip of our small Demo-Project here:
http://vbRichClient.com/Downloads/ChipmunkCairo.zip
Meaning you can run all further RC5-based Demos directly from within their Unpack-Target-Folders,
without having to bother again with the (only once) to install RC5-BaseLibs.
The chipmunk Physic-Engine is wrapped up behind easy to use VB-Classes - no need to take care about
handle-freeing or other stuff (when you'd be using the "plain-C" chipmunk-API)...
For 2D-game-developers this should be quite interesting, since it allows all kinds of physics based games,
which involve e.g. true Car-Physics, or the whole class of "Rubberband-based games" - or shooting some Objects
around, which will follow true flight-parables with only a given Impulse... or all kind of simpler games where
Ball-bouncing-Physics are involved.
The Collision-Detection is sophisticated (respecting Mass, Elasticity, Friction, Momentum) though still quite performant,
even with a larger amount of moving Objects or irregularly shaped "fixed-bodies" in your scenes.
This last part, the construction of complex shapes is a speciality I've included in the Wrapper, since it allows
the Construction of any shape-form with ease over simple Cairo-Drawing-Calls (Cairo-Paths) - and that includes
even as complex shapes as rendered Text - the Demo here will already demonstrate, that the Ball-Objects take
even such complex-formed fixed shapes as rendered Text(Paths) seriously in their collisions...
One can see that easily witht a good look at the ScreenShot below... (where the Balls ended up finally after
bouncing around) - they "lean on each other" and rest with their bottoms on the TextChars exactly
(the left Ball on the "dot of an i" - and the right Ball is "hanging" between the highest points of "k" and "h"):
The Drawing-Capabilities of Cairo include SubPixel-based Rendering of Png-based Sprites, as well as
normal Vectordrawn-Shapes ... this (antialiased) SubPixelprecision-output is quite important
especially with slower moving Objects - and cairos internally used Double-Precision matches exactly with
the Double-Precision each of the Body-Shape-Objects is internally repositioned by the Physics-Engine
in each (highres) Timer-Step.
I'll post some more Demos about this Engine, for the moment this simpler one may be sufficient as a
Base for your own experiments (with different Shapes or maybe only some Fiddling with the Parameters,
as e.g. the Gravity - or the Elasticity and Friction of the Balls).
Have fun with it.
Olaf