Can I set anchor point of SKPhysicsJoint outside node? - ios

Let's say I have two circles respectively at (0,0) and (0,1).
I have a SKPhysicsJoint between them and it is working good, now I want to separate them with a distance of 2 on runtime, meaning while physics are working in-game. How can I achieve this?
I've tried setting anchor points to (0,0) and (0,2) but something is bugged, although I see the joint it doesn't have any affect.
I want the circles smoothly push each other, as if the length of the spring has increased.
Everything works if I make a circle 'teleport' to a distance of 2 and then anchor the spring to it, but making a physics object teleport cause other bugs as you can guess.

Before adding the joint I 'teleported' the second object to the desired position, then added the joint and then 'teleported' back to the original position.
Here is the code piece:
SKSpriteNode* node1 = [_bodies objectAtIndex:loop];
SKSpriteNode* node2 = [_bodies objectAtIndex:loop-1];
CGPoint prev1 = node1.position;
CGPoint prev2 = node2.position;
node1.position = [((NSValue*)[positions objectAtIndex:loop]) CGPointValue];
node2.position = [((NSValue*)[positions objectAtIndex:loop-1]) CGPointValue];
[self AttachPoint:node1 secondPoint:node2 pos1:node1.position pos2:node2.posiiton] ;
node1.position = prev1;
node2.position = prev2;
it is working as it is, but I'm not sure how efficient this is. I wish SKPhysicsJointSpring had a 'length' parameter that can be changed over time.

Related

Box2D: How to use b2ChainShape for a tile based map with squares

Im fighting here with the so called ghost collisions on a simple tile based map with a circle as player character.
When applying an impulse to the circle it first starts bouncing correctly, then sooner or later it bounces wrong (wrong angle).
Looking up on the internet i read about an issue in Box2D (i use iOS Swift with Box2d port for Swift).
Using b2ChainShape does not help, but it looks i misunderstood it. I also need to use the "prevVertex" and "nextVertex" properties to set up the ghost vertices.
But im confused. I have a simple map made up of boxes (simple square), all placed next to each other forming a closed room. Inside of it my circle i apply an impulse seeing the issue.
Now WHERE to place those ghost vertices for each square/box i placed on the view in order to solve this issue? Do i need to place ANY vertex close to the last and first vertice of chainShape or does it need to be one of the vertices of the next box to the current one? I dont understand. Box2D's manual does not explain where these ghost vertices coordinates are coming from.
Below you can see an image describing the problem.
Some code showing the physics parts for the walls and the circle:
First the wall part:
let bodyDef = b2BodyDef()
bodyDef.position = self.ptm_vec(node.position+self.offset)
let w = self.ptm(Constants.Config.wallsize)
let square = b2ChainShape()
var chains = [b2Vec2]()
chains.append(b2Vec2(-w/2,-w/2))
chains.append(b2Vec2(-w/2,w/2))
chains.append(b2Vec2(w/2,w/2))
chains.append(b2Vec2(w/2,-w/2))
square.createLoop(vertices: chains)
let fixtureDef = b2FixtureDef()
fixtureDef.shape = square
fixtureDef.filter.categoryBits = Constants.Config.PhysicsCategory.Wall
fixtureDef.filter.maskBits = Constants.Config.PhysicsCategory.Player
let wallBody = self.world.createBody(bodyDef)
wallBody.createFixture(fixtureDef)
The circle part:
let bodyDef = b2BodyDef()
bodyDef.type = b2BodyType.dynamicBody
bodyDef.position = self.ptm_vec(node.position+self.offset)
let circle = b2CircleShape()
circle.radius = self.ptm(Constants.Config.playersize)
let fixtureDef = b2FixtureDef()
fixtureDef.shape = circle
fixtureDef.density = 0.3
fixtureDef.friction = 0
fixtureDef.restitution = 1.0
fixtureDef.filter.categoryBits = Constants.Config.PhysicsCategory.Player
fixtureDef.filter.maskBits = Constants.Config.PhysicsCategory.Wall
let ballBody = self.world.createBody(bodyDef)
ballBody.linearDamping = 0
ballBody.angularDamping = 0
ballBody.createFixture(fixtureDef)
Not sure that I know of a simple solution in the case that each tile can potentially have different physics.
If your walls are all horizontal and/or vertical, you could write a class to take a row of boxes, create a single edge or rectangle body, and then on collision calculate which box (a simple a < x < b test) should interact with the colliding object, and apply the physics appropriately, manually calling the OnCollision method that you would otherwise specify as the callback for each individual box.
Alternatively, to avoid the trouble of manually testing intersection with different boxes, you could still merge all common straight edge boxes into one edge body for accurate reflections. However, you would still retain the bodies for the individual boxes. Extend the boxes so that they overlap the edge.
Now here's the trick: all box collision handlers return false, but they toggle flags on the colliding object (turning flags on OnCollision, and off OnSeparation). The OnCollision method for the edge body then processes the collision based on which flags are set.
Just make sure that the colliding body always passes through a box before it can touch an edge. That should be straightforward.

SUVAT Maths don't add up in SpriteKit's physics engine (iOS - Objective C)

I am using SpriteKit's built in Physics Engine to build a game for iOS. Basically it involves a bouncing ball which moves via me manually setting it's initial velocity and bounces via resetting the velocity within the contact event with the floor.
The issue is, the actual maths for this environment do not add up. Using 'SUVAT' equations it's easy to determine how far the ball's x-displacement should be when it reaches the floor after being thrown with a certain velocity, however (with gravity set to -9.81), it barely moves a couple of pixels.
I simplified the problem to just trying to shoot a ball a certain distance upwards (in the y-direction) and the same thing happened, it moves a couple of points up and then just falls to the floor, at least a 20th of how far it should move.
This is how I have set the physics environment up:
self.physicsWorld.contactDelegate = self;
self.physicsWorld.gravity = CGVectorMake(0.0, -9.81);
And then this is my function for generating this ball (shooting upwards) example. Mathematically it should reach the height of the tower:
-(void)generateTestBall {
self.ball = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"ball"];
SKSpriteNode * tower = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"player"];
self.ball.position = CGPointMake(self.scene.size.width/2,self.scene.size.height/2);
self.ball.size = CGSizeMake(20,20);
self.ball.color = [SKColor redColor];
self.ball.colorBlendFactor = 1;
tower.position = CGPointMake(self.scene.size.width/2 + 20,self.scene.size.height/2+100);
tower.size = CGSizeMake(20,200);
tower.color = [SKColor blueColor];
tower.colorBlendFactor = 1;
[self addChild:tower];
[self addChild:self.ball];
self.ball.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithCircleOfRadius:10];
self.ball.physicsBody.affectedByGravity = YES;
self.ball.physicsBody.linearDamping = NO;
self.ball.physicsBody.dynamic = YES;
CGFloat ballVel = sqrt(2*9.81*tower.size.height);
NSLog(#"%f",ballVel);
self.ball.physicsBody.velocity = CGVectorMake(0.0f, ballVel);
}
Please can someone explain what I am doing wrong? I've double checked my maths (I'm a maths student so fingers crossed that's not the issue)!
Thanks!
Steve
So I FINALLY managed to figure it out. Just incase anyone else is experiencing the same issue I'll post the answer here:
The issue was that, although gravity is (apparently) in ms^-2 and velocity m2^-1 (to replicate earth), any distances in Objective C are measured in POINTS rather than the required form of METRES. Therefore any calculation done with x,y position / size values taken from SKSpriteNodes etc will be a certain factor out.
After running a few tests I found the factor to roughly be 157. This means that you must multiply any sizes / distances in POINTS by 157 to get the relative 'METRE' value which will work with SUVAT.
The actual numbers themselves seem a bit ridiculous as they're all very big (velocity, distance etc) but that doesn't actually pose a problem anyway as they all now work relative to each other!
Hope this helps anyone!
Steve

SpriteKit Node Rotational Issues

I am trying to develop a basic game for iOS involving a rag doll-like entity. Basically (as you can tell below), I have a head, a body, and a right arm (all three are basic sprite nodes) connected via pin joints, simulating joins in the human body (roughly).
The head and the body work perfectly in that, when a force is applied, the body rotates around the head perfectly and eventually comes to a rest under the head, vertically (see picture).
The arm's base is pinned with a pin joint to the body and is supposed to rotate around its base (kind of like a shoulder) and it is set with an initial rotation of 45 degrees so it looks like an arm before the physics engine takes over.
My question is: why doesn't the arm come to rest in a vertical position (like the body) due to gravity? Shouldn't gravity cause the arm to rotate about its base until the tip of the arm rests directly below the top of the arm (shoulder)? Furthermore, when a force is applied to the body (shown in the example code below), the body rotates about the neck joint, exactly as it should, but the arm does not move from its current orientation (and this is not desirable).
If this is not the case, how would I achieve this effect?
Thank you for your time and I'd be happy to provide any additional information if desired
Picture of physics simulation at rest:
Relevant code which demonstrates the problem:
//make the head node
SKSpriteNode *head = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"head"];
head.size = CGSizeMake(20 * [CFLConstants universalWidthScaleFactor], 20 * [CFLConstants universalWidthScaleFactor]);
head.position = position;
head.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithCircleOfRadius:head.size.width/2];
head.physicsBody.categoryBitMask = CFLPhysicsCategoriesHead;
head.physicsBody.collisionBitMask = 0;
head.physicsBody.dynamic = NO;
[self.ragdollLayer addChild:head];
//make the body node
SKSpriteNode *body = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"body"];
body.size = CGSizeMake(head.size.width, head.size.width * 3);
body.position = CGPointMake(head.position.x, head.position.y - head.size.height/2 - body.size.height/2);
body.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithRectangleOfSize:body.size];
body.physicsBody.categoryBitMask = CFLPhysicsCategoriesBody;
body.physicsBody.collisionBitMask = 0;
[self.ragdollLayer addChild:body];
//attach the head and the body (via a neck joint)
SKPhysicsJointPin *neckJoint = [SKPhysicsJointPin jointWithBodyA:head.physicsBody bodyB:body.physicsBody anchor:CGPointMake(head.position.x, head.position.y - head.size.height/2)];
[self.physicsWorld addJoint:neckJoint];
//make the right arm
SKSpriteNode *rightArm = [SKSpriteNode spriteNodeWithImageNamed:#"arm"];
rightArm.size = CGSizeMake(head.size.width/5, head.size.width/5 * 10);
rightArm.anchorPoint = CGPointZero;
CGPoint rightArmPosition = CGPointMake(body.position.x + body.size.width * 1/5, body.position.y + body.size.height * 1/5);
rightArm.position = rightArmPosition;
rightArm.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithRectangleOfSize:rightArm.size];
rightArm.physicsBody.categoryBitMask = CFLPhysicsCategoriesRightArm;
rightArm.physicsBody.collisionBitMask = 0;
rightArm.zRotation = -M_PI_4;
//force which makes the arm problem even more noticeable
[body.physicsBody applyImpulse:CGVectorMake(100, 0)];
[self.ragdollLayer addChild:rightArm];
//make the joint which holds the right arm to the body, but should allow the arm to rotate about this point (and doesn't)
SKPhysicsJointPin *rightShoulderJoint = [SKPhysicsJointPin jointWithBodyA:body.physicsBody bodyB:rightArm.physicsBody anchor:rightArmPosition];
[self.physicsWorld addJoint:rightShoulderJoint];
In my experience, this is because changing the anchor point on the sprite, doesn't change the anchor point for the physics body. Though I swear sometimes you don't have to, so maybe it's an order of operations thing. But anyways, offset the center of the physics body to account for the sprite anchor point. Something like:
spriteRightArm.anchorPoint = CGPointMake(0, 1);
spriteRightArm.physicsBody = [SKPhysicsBody bodyWithRectangleOfSize:spriteRightArm.size center:CGPointMake(spriteRightArm.size.width/2, -spriteRightArm.size.height/2)];

setting the angle of a b2revolutejoint

From what I have read, in Box2d, you get the angle of a revolute joint with the GetJointAngle function, but when trying to set the angle the member m_referenceAngle is protected. Can the angle not be programmatically set?
I found that I can apply the angle from one joint to another body as:
float FirstAngle = firstArmJoint->GetJointAngle();
secondArmBody->SetTransform(b2Vec2((750.0/PTM_RATIO),(520.0f+100)/PTM_RATIO),hourAngle);
I put this in ccTouchesMoved so that when the user drags the first object (from which FirstAngle is retrieved) the second object (secondArmBody) is also moved.
What happens is that the second body rotates at the top of the image and not at the anchor point.
Any ideas?
SetTransform() can be used to set the position and rotation of a body. This happens completely independently of any joints on the body. For example, if you want to make sure a body is perfectly upright at a given moment, you can call
body->SetTransForm(body->GetPosition(), 0);
passing 0 as the angle value (upright). I've never tried this for a body with a joint on it, but I doubt it would work properly.
When I ran into the problem of having to make a revolutejoint point at a certain angle, I solved it by enabling motor on the joint and adjusting the motor speed until the angle matched the one I wanted. This simulates realistic motion of the joint. Example:
Creating the joint
b2RevoluteJointDef armJointDef;
armJointDef.Initialize(body1, body2,
b2Vec2(body1->GetPosition().x,
((body1->GetPosition().y/PTM_RATIO));
armJointDef.enableMotor = true;
armJointDef.enableLimit = true;
armJointDef.motorSpeed = 0.0f;
armJointDef.maxMotorTorque = 10000.0f;
armJointDef.lowerAngle = CC_DEGREES_TO_RADIANS(lowerArmAngle);
armJointDef.upperAngle = CC_DEGREES_TO_RADIANS(upperArmAngle);
_world->CreateJoint(&armJointDef);
Pointing the joint
float targetAngle = SOME_ANGLE;
b2JointEdge *j = body->GetJointList();
b2RevoluteJoint *r = (b2RevoluteJoint *)j->joint;
if(r->GetAngle() > targetAngle){
r->SetMotorSpeed(-1);
} else { r->SetMotorSpeed(1); }
Basically, you see what side of the current angle the target angle is on, and then set the motor speed to move the joint in the correct direction. Hope that helps!
http://www.box2d.org/manual.html

Cocos2D Gravity?

I am really looking to try to have gravity in my game. I know everyone says use Box2D, but in my case I can't. I need to use Cocos2D for the gravity.
I know Cocos2D does not have any gravity API built in so I need to do something manually. The thing is there is like no tutorials or examples anywhere on the web that show this.
Can anyone show me what they have done or can some explain step by step on how to apply a non-constant gravity (One that gets slightly stronger while falling).
I think this will help a lot of people that are facing the same issue that I am having!
Thanks!
Gravity is nothing but a constant velocity applied to the body for every physics step. Have a look at this exemplary update method:
-(void) update:(ccTime)delta
{
// use a gravity velocity that "feels good" for your app
const CGPoint gravity = CGPointMake(0, -0.2);
// update sprite position after applying downward gravity velocity
CGPoint pos = sprite.position;
pos.y += gravity.y;
sprite.position = pos;
}
Every frame the sprite y position will be decreased. That's the simple approach. For a more realistic effect you will want to have a velocity vector for each moving object, and apply gravity to the velocity (which is also a CGPoint).
-(void) update:(ccTime)delta
{
// use a gravity velocity that "feels good" for your app
const CGPoint gravity = CGPointMake(0, -0.2);
// update velocity with gravitational influence
velocity.y += gravity.y;
// update sprite position with velocity
CGPoint pos = sprite.position;
pos.y += velocity.y;
sprite.position = pos;
}
This has the effect that velocity, over time, increases in the downward y direction. This will have the object accelerate faster and faster downwards, the longer it is "falling".
Yet by modifying velocity you can still change the general direction of the object. For instance to make the character jump you could set velocity.y = 2.0 and it would move upwards and come back down again due to the effect of gravity applied over time.
This is still a simplified approach but very common in games that don't use a "real" physics engine.

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