Converting Points to Node in Sprite-Kit - ios

I've been working on this problem for a few days now and I just can't seem to figure it out. I've done a ton of searching for an answer, and I've seen hints that maybe the problem is with Sprite-Kit itself, so I am debating moving to Cocos2D and starting over. But, I hope that someone here can help me.
I have a basic camera node called _world that I am using to pan around the world and to zoom. The panning and zooming works fine, but I've been trying to get the world node to move to the center of where the pinch occurs. It sort of works, but converting the point to a position in the world node seems to be the problem. Here is my code:
I use this code to convert a scene point to a world point elsewhere in the code and it works fine:
CGPoint positionInScene = [touch locationInNode:self];
CGPoint locationInWorld = [self.scene convertPoint:positionInScene toNode:_world];
But later I try to do this using the middle point of the two points found in the pinch, and it doesn't seem to convert properly:
originalLocationOne = [sender locationOfTouch:0 inView:self.view];
originalLocationTwo = [sender locationOfTouch:1 inView:self.view];
//I do this because SpriteKit doesn't have a ccpAdd method
originalAddedMidPoint = CGPointMake(originalLocationOne.x + originalLocationTwo.x, originalLocationOne.y + originalLocationTwo.y);
//same thing here but for ccpMidPoint
originalMidPoint = CGPointMake(originalAddedMidPoint.x * 0.5f, originalAddedMidPoint.y * 0.5f);
_newWorldPos = [self convertPoint:originalMidPoint toNode:_world];
I would really appreciate it if someone can point me in the right direction! Thank you so much!
EDIT: I've been working on this problem some more, and certainly something weird is happening but I still can't tell what.
Here is my complete touchesbegan method:
-(void) touchesBegan:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
_myTouches = [[NSMutableArray alloc]init];
for (UITouch *touch in touches) {
[_myTouches addObject:touch];
}
if (_myTouches.count > 1) {
UITouch *touch1 = [_myTouches objectAtIndex:0];
UITouch *touch2 = [_myTouches objectAtIndex:1];
CGPoint touch1Location = [touch1 locationInView:self.view];
CGPoint touch2Location = [touch2 locationInView:self.view];
NSLog(#"tpoint1 = %#, tpoint2 = %#", NSStringFromCGPoint(touch1Location), NSStringFromCGPoint(touch2Location));
CGPoint touchAddedPoint = CGPointMake(touch1Location.x + touch2Location.x, touch1Location.y + touch2Location.y);
CGPoint touchMidPoint = CGPointMake(touchAddedPoint.x * 0.5f, touchAddedPoint.y * 0.5f);
NSLog(#"touch mid point = %#", NSStringFromCGPoint(touchMidPoint));
CGPoint newWorldPoint = [self convertTouchPointToWorld:touchMidPoint];
//camera needs to be offset to work properly
CGPoint alteredWorldPoint = CGPointMake(-newWorldPoint.x * 0.75f, -newWorldPoint.y * 0.75f);
_firstTouch = alteredWorldPoint;
_tempWorldLocation = _firstTouch;
_worldMovedForUpdate = YES;
}
}
Here is the method that I extracted to convert the position to the world node:
-(CGPoint) convertTouchPointToWorld:(CGPoint)touchLocation {
CGPoint firstLocationInWorld = [self.scene convertPoint:touchLocation toNode:_world];
NSLog(#"inside converting method %#", NSStringFromCGPoint(firstLocationInWorld));
return firstLocationInWorld;
}
Here is the entire method that places a building in the game map based on its position in the world map:
-(void)selectNodeForTouch:(CGPoint)touchLocation {
SKSpriteNode *touchedNode = (SKSpriteNode *)[self nodeAtPoint:touchLocation];
//NSLog(#"node name is = %#", touchedNode.name);
_selectedNode = touchedNode;
if ([[touchedNode name] isEqualToString:#"hudswitch1"]) {
if([self.theGame getMovesLeft] == 0){
_hudNeedsUpdate = YES;
_turnNeedsUpdating = YES;
}
}
if ([self.theGame getMovesLeft] > 0) {
[self handleButtonsForTouch:touchedNode];
}
//this inserts the tile at the location in world node
NSLog(#"touchLocation.x = %f, touchlocation.y = %f", touchLocation.x, touchLocation.y);
if ([[touchedNode name] isEqualToString:#"tile"] && _selectedBuildingType != 0) {
//CGPoint locationInWorld = [self.scene convertPoint:touchLocation toNode:_world];
CGPoint locationInWorld = [self convertTouchPointToWorld:touchLocation];
CGPoint gameLocation = [self convertWorldPointToGamePoint:locationInWorld];
NSLog(#"locationWorld.x = %f, locationWorld.y = %f", locationInWorld.x, locationInWorld.y);
if(![self.theGame isBuildingThere:gameLocation] && [self.theGame isValidLocation:gameLocation]) {
[self updateActiveTilePos:locationInWorld];
}
}
}
Inserting a tile into the map works fine. It gets the world location and then divides it by the tile size to figure out the position to place the tile in the world map. It is always inserting a tile in the proper place.
However when I use the middle point of the two touches in a pinch and convert it to a world point, it returns a value but the value is off by a large amount, and different amounts depending on the distances from the center...
Maybe I just need to figure out how to offset the camera properly? Thanks again for any help with this problem, it is driving me crazy!

I had the same problem.
It is counterintuitive but point conversion is not smart.
It does not convert from one node to another node.
It can convert to scene coordinates and to node coordinates from scene coordinates.
It does not work from one node to another node.
What you need to do is convert point from node and then convert point to node. After two these calls coordinates will be in the node you need.

Related

UIButton exceeds the limitation of boundaries when dragging very fast

I'm trying to implement drag controls with boundary limitation on UIButton.
And I wrote following code for that.
- (void)onTouchDragInside:(UIButton*)btn withEvent:(UIEvent*)event{
UITouch *touch = [[event touchesForView:btn] anyObject];
CGPoint prevPos = [touch previousLocationInView:btn];
CGPoint pos = [touch locationInView:btn];
float dX = pos.x-prevPos.x;
if (btn.frame.origin.x >= buttonOffPosition && btn.frame.origin.x <= buttonOnPosition) {
btn.center=CGPointMake(btn.center.x+dX, btn.center.y);
NSLog(#"buttonOffPos: %f", buttonOffPosition);
NSLog(#"btn.center.x+dX: %f", btn.center.x+dX);
NSLog(#"buttonOnPos: %f", buttonOnPosition);
}
}
This works almost properly. But only when the button is dragged very fast, it exceeds the limitation buttonOffPosition and buttonOnPosition.
This is the problem I want to resolve. Is there a good way to solve this problem?
Your thoughts and help will be hugely appreciated.
If you want the code to limit your button's location to between your two values you need to check what the final resting point of your button will be after this touch event is processed, not check where it currently is. If it's currently in bounds to be moved, then you move it by say 1000, it will no longer be in bounds at the end but you allow it to go there because you didn't check the end point.
You can do this several ways. The simplest one that comes to my mind is:
- (void)onTouchDragInside:(UIButton*)btn withEvent:(UIEvent*)event{
UITouch *touch = [[event touchesForView:btn] anyObject];
CGPoint prevPos = [touch previousLocationInView:btn];
CGPoint pos = [touch locationInView:btn];
float dX = pos.x-prevPos.x;
//Get the new origin after this motion
float newXOrigin = btn.frame.origin.x + dX;
//Make sure it's within your two bounds
newXOrigin = MIN(newXOrigin,buttonOnPosition);
newXOrigin = MAX(newXOrigin,buttonOffPosition);
//Now get the new dX value staying in bounds
dX = newXOrigin - btn.frame.origin.x;
btn.center=CGPointMake(btn.center.x+dX, btn.center.y);
}
This method brings up a problem with your finger no longer being inside the button as you are dragging it from one direction to the other, but I will leave that problem to your next question.
EDIT:
Here is how I would make it more readable. This is only my opinion and has no bearing on the way the code works. Outside of just modifying your code, I would create a cached starting point for the button object and do all motion events from that. That way if your button stops moving even though your finger continues, as your finger comes back the button stays with your finger. This current solution, as soon as your finger changes direction the button will start moving again even though your finger is far off the button now. But to do that would be a large code change for you.
- (void)onTouchDragInside:(UIButton*)btn withEvent:(UIEvent*)event{
//This code can go awry if there is more than one finger on the screen, careful
UITouch *touch = [[event touchesForView:btn] anyObject];
CGPoint prevPos = [touch previousLocationInView:btn];
CGPoint pos = [touch locationInView:btn];
float dX = pos.x-prevPos.x;
//Get the original position of the button
CGRect buttonFrame = btn.frame;
buttonFrame.origin.x += dX;
//Make sure it's within your two bounds
buttonFrame.origin.x = MIN(buttonFrame.origin.x,buttonOnPosition);
buttonFrame.origin.x = MAX(buttonFrame.origin.x,buttonOffPosition);
//Set the button's new frame if we need to
if(buttonFrame.origin.x != btn.frame.origin.x)
btn.frame = buttonFrame
}

Why is scaling/zooming-in an SKNode forcing the view into the left of the screen?

I'm following Ray Wenderlich's 'iOS Games by Tutorials' & I got everything in my world setup & working: The entire game is in Landscape mode & there's one SKNode called _worldNode & everything, except _uiNode (in-game UI), is added to it. Player character walks to a touched location & _worldNode moves under him like a treadmill. However, like all functionality (or as they call it: "juice") addicts I wanted to add zoom in/out functionality through UIPinchGestureRecognizer by scaling _worldNode, which I did. But now every time I zoom in, the "camera" moves to the bottom left. Zooming out moves the view to the top right of the screen. It's a mess. I need the view to stay centered on the player character & I've tried everything I could come up with & find online. The closest thing I came to was using the technique from SKNode scale from the touched point but I still get the bloody bottom left/top right mess. I realized this mess happens only when I update the camera/view (it's really _worldNode.position). Therefore, 'didSimulatePhysics' or 'didFinishUpdate' methods don't help. In fact, even a one time button that slightly moves/updates the camera view (_worldNode.position) still gives me the bottom left/top right problem. Here is my code. I hope someone can take a look & tell me what to modify to get things working.
#interface GameScene () <SKPhysicsContactDelegate, UIGestureRecognizerDelegate>
{
UIPinchGestureRecognizer *pinchGestureRecognizer;
}
//Properties of my GameScene.
#property SKNode *worldNode;
#property etc. etc.
//Called by -(id)initWithSize:(CGSize)size method & creates the in-game world.
-(void)createWorld
{
[_worldNode addChild:_backgroundLayer];
[self addChild:_worldNode];
self.anchorPoint = CGPointMake(0.5, 0.5); //RW tutorial did it this way.
_worldNode.position = CGPointMake(-_backgroundLayer.layerSize.width/2, -_backgroundLayer.layerSize.height/2); //Center.
//Then I add every node to _worldNode from this point on.
}
//Neccessary for gesture recognizers.
-(void)didMoveToView:(SKView *)view
{
pinchGestureRecognizer = [[UIPinchGestureRecognizer alloc] initWithTarget:self action:#selector(handleZoomFrom:)];
[view addGestureRecognizer:pinchGestureRecognizer];
}
//"Camera" follows player character. 'didSimulatePhysics' doesn't help either.
-(void)didFinishUpdate
{
//IF '_pinchingScreen' == YES then screen pinching is in progress. Thus, camera position update will seize for the duration of pinching.
if (!_pinchingScreen)
{
_worldNode.position = [self pointToCenterViewOn:_player.position];
}
}
//Method that is called by my UIPinchGestureRecognizer. Answer from: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/21900614/sknode-scale-from-the-touched-point?lq=1
-(void)handleZoomFrom:(UIPinchGestureRecognizer*)recognizer
{
CGPoint anchorPoint = [recognizer locationInView:recognizer.view];
anchorPoint = [self convertPointFromView:anchorPoint];
if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateBegan)
{
// No code needed for zooming...
_player.movementMode = 2; //Stop character from moving from touches.
_pinchingScreen = YES; //Notifies 'didFinishUpdate' method that pinching began & camera position update should stop for now.
}
else if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateChanged)
{
//Technique from the above Stack Overflow link - Commented out.
// CGPoint anchorPointInMySkNode = [_worldNode convertPoint:anchorPoint fromNode:self];
//
// [_worldNode setScale:(_worldNode.xScale * recognizer.scale)];
//
// CGPoint mySkNodeAnchorPointInScene = [self convertPoint:anchorPointInMySkNode fromNode:_worldNode];
// CGPoint translationOfAnchorInScene = CGPointSubtract(anchorPoint, mySkNodeAnchorPointInScene);
//
// _worldNode.position = CGPointAdd(_worldNode.position, translationOfAnchorInScene);
//
// recognizer.scale = 1.0;
//Modified scale: 2.0
if(recognizer.scale > _previousWorldScale)
{
_previousWorldScale = recognizer.scale;
CGPoint anchorPointInMySkNode = [_worldNode convertPoint:anchorPoint fromNode:self];
[_worldNode setScale:2.0];
CGPoint worldNodeAnchorPointInScene = [self convertPoint:anchorPointInMySkNode fromNode:_worldNode];
CGPoint translationOfAnchorInScene = CGPointSubtract(anchorPoint, worldNodeAnchorPointInScene);
_worldNode.position = CGPointAdd(_worldNode.position, translationOfAnchorInScene);
//[_worldNode runAction:[SKAction scaleTo:2.0 duration:0]]; //This works too.
}
//Original scale: 1.0
if(recognizer.scale < _previousWorldScale)
{
_previousWorldScale = recognizer.scale;
CGPoint anchorPointInMySkNode = [_worldNode convertPoint:anchorPoint fromNode:self];
[_worldNode setScale:1.0];
CGPoint worldNodeAnchorPointInScene = [self convertPoint:anchorPointInMySkNode fromNode:_worldNode];
CGPoint translationOfAnchorInScene = CGPointSubtract(anchorPoint, worldNodeAnchorPointInScene);
_worldNode.position = CGPointAdd(_worldNode.position, translationOfAnchorInScene);
//[_worldNode runAction:[SKAction scaleTo:1.0 duration:0]]; //This works too.
}
}
else if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateEnded)
{
// No code needed here for zooming...
_pinchingScreen = NO; //Notifies 'didFinishUpdate' method that pinching has stopped & camera position update should resume.
_player.movementMode = 0; //Resume character movement.
}
}
So could anyone please tell me, by looking at the above code, why the camera/view shifts to the bottom left upon zooming in? I've sat several days on this problem & I still can't figure it out.
Thanks to JKallio, who wrote detailed code in his answer to Zoom and Scroll SKNode in SpriteKit, I've been able to find a piece of code that solves the problem. There's a method called 'centerOnNode' that is small, elegant & solves my problem perfectly. Here it is for anyone that just needs that:
-(void) centerOnNode:(SKNode*)node
{
CGPoint posInScene = [node.scene convertPoint:node.position fromNode:node.parent];
node.parent.position = CGPointMake(node.parent.position.x - posInScene.x, node.parent.position.y - posInScene.y);
}
Then you call that method inside your 'didSimulatePhysics' or inside 'didFinishUpdate' like so:
//"Camera" follows player character.
-(void)didFinishUpdate
{
//IF '_pinchingScreen' == YES then screen pinching is in progress. Thus, camera position update will seize for the duration of pinching.
if (!_pinchingScreen)
{
if (_previousWorldScale > 1.0) //If _worldNode scale is greater than 1.0
{
[self centerOnNode:_player]; //THIS IS THE METHOD THAT SOLVES THE PROBLEM!
}
else if (_previousWorldScale == 1.0) //Standard _worldNode scale: 1.0
{
_worldNode.position = [self pointToCenterViewOn:_player.position];
}
}
}
P.S. Just remember the question wasn't HOW to zoom in. But how to fix the issue with the camera once the world is ALREADY zoomed in.

Reading nodes position after physics simulation

So I'm trying to make an app where you pick up objects with your finger, it moves with your finger and then you flick it away to throw it. I found some threads for similar games but not with this particular problem.
Since I couldn't really keep the object along with my finger by applying force or impulse I disable the physics on it while I'm "holding it", measure velocity so when I release it I apply that vector as an impulse.
This works excellent visually but when I try to read the position of the object it's not synced up with "reality". I've made a condition so if velocity isn't strong enough when you release the object it is supposed to return to its starting position but it doesn't move at all (except if you manage to throw it, that works fine) so when I tried to output the .position to the console it didn't correlate to what I was seeing on the screen.
Any ideas? I know you shouldn't set position and simulate physics at the same time but I disable the physics for when I'm dragging the object. Why won't it keep track of .position just because it is moving it with physics?
Here I try to throw a potion:
- (void)handlePan:(UIPanGestureRecognizer *)recognizer {
if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateBegan) { //Picked up
potion.physicsBody.dynamic = NO;
potion.physicsBody.velocity = CGVectorMake(0.0, 0.0);
potion.physicsBody.angularVelocity = 0.0;
potion.zRotation = 0.0;
CGPoint touchLocation = [recognizer locationInView:recognizer.view];
touchLocation = [self convertPointFromView:touchLocation];
[self selectNodeForTouch:touchLocation];
} else if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateChanged) { //Moved around
CGPoint translation = [recognizer translationInView:recognizer.view];
translation = CGPointMake(translation.x, -translation.y);
[self panForTranslation:translation];
[recognizer setTranslation:CGPointZero inView:recognizer.view];
velocity = CGVectorMake(translation.x, translation.y);
} else if (recognizer.state == UIGestureRecognizerStateEnded) { //Dropped
_selectedNode = nil;
potion.physicsBody.dynamic = YES;
if (potion.position.y < 250 && velocity.dy < 20) { //Returned to starting position
NSLog(#"Pos:%f,%f",potion.position.x,potion.position.y);
potion.physicsBody.velocity = CGVectorMake(0.0, 0.0);
potion.physicsBody.angularVelocity = 0.0;
potion.zRotation = 0.0;
potion.position = CGPointMake(gameWidth / 2, 150);
NSLog(#"Returning potion");
NSLog(#"Pos:%f,%f",potion.position.x,potion.position.y);
} else { //Flung away
[potion.physicsBody applyImpulse:velocity];
NSLog(#"Add impulse: %f, %f", velocity.dx, velocity.dy);
NSLog(#"Pos:%f,%f",potion.position.x,potion.position.y);
}
}
}
EDIT:After some more testing I've observed that if it has never been thrown (dynamic with impulse) it always shows (160, 150) as its position no matter where it is. Sometimes it shows something like 160.00031 and I don't know why. After it has been thrown it shows the correct position in the NSLog but changing the position still doesn't work
EDIT2: Just saw that it doesn't show the correct position after a throw. Just different but they seem offset. I throw objects in the +y direction (up) and when I put it down in the left corner the position.x is correct but position.y is offset by about 300. So where y should be 0 it's 300.

Issue regarding TouchesMoved using the method CGRectContainsPoint

My issue occurs when I drag the uiimageview accross the screen on, which is set to only be dragable in the x axis direction.
The code sort of works. The uiimageview is moving alright and it's limited to the x axis only, which is exactly what it should.
BUT when you start dragging outside the frame of the uiimageview, it stops moving along side my finger.
This obliviously has something to do with this method: CGRectContainsPoint.
Bare in mind it's very necessary in my code as I only want the uiimageview to move, when a user has set it's finger on it.
If I didn't use this method CGRectContainsPoint, the image would still move even when a users finger wouldn't touch the image. Any work around this is much appreciated.
here's my code:
- (void)touchesMoved:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event {
NSLog(#"Touches Moved is running");
UITouch *touch = [[event allTouches] anyObject];
CGPoint location = [touch locationInView:self.view];
if (CGRectContainsPoint(UIImageView, location) && UIImageView >= 40)
{
NSLog(#"Contains Point UIImageView Center!");
CGPoint xLocation = CGPointMake(location.x,UIImageView);
UIImageView = xLocation;
//here it comes.. big block of code//
if (location.x <= 40) {
NSLog(#"Start Dragging Point");
CGPoint newLocation = CGPointMake(40
, 402);
UIImageView = newLocation;
}
else if(location.x >= 273) {
NSLog(#"End Dragging Point");
CGPoint newLocation = CGPointMake(273
, 402);
UIImageView = newLocation;
}
}
Move CGRectContainsPoint(UIImageView, location) from -(void)touchesMoved:... to -(void)touchesBegan:....
Set an ivar there that points to the view only when you began the touch inside the view. Use this ivar from -(void)touchesMoved:... to boundlessly move the view. You can then unset this variable both in -(void)touchesEnded:... and -(void)touchesCancelled:....

RayCasting in Box2D?

i am creating a project in which i have random Box2d bodies. Now i am drawing a line on basis of TouchesMoved by user in the DRAW method. i need to use the RayCasting method of Box2d to check for intersection between that line and the Box2D bodies.
i am using the following code for it in my Draw method
for(int i = 0; i < [pointTouches count]; i+=2)
{
CGPoint startPoint = CGPointFromString([pointTouches objectAtIndex:i]);
CGPoint endPoint = CGPointFromString([pointTouches objectAtIndex:i+1]);
ccDrawLine(startPoint, endPoint);
b2Vec2 start=[self toMeters:startPoint];
b2Vec2 end=[self toMeters:endPoint];
[self checkIntersectionbtw:start:end];
}
-(void)checkIntersectionbtw:(b2Vec2)point1:(b2Vec2)point2
{
RaysCastCallback callback;
world->RayCast(&callback, point1,point2);
if (callback.m_fixture)
{
NSLog(#"intersected");
checkPoint = true;
}
}
-(void)ccTouchesMoved:(NSSet *)touches withEvent:(UIEvent *)event
{
UITouch *myTouch = [touches anyObject];
CGPoint currentTouchArea = [myTouch locationInView:[myTouch view]];
CGPoint lastTouchArea = [myTouch previousLocationInView:[myTouch view]];
currentTouchArea = [[CCDirector sharedDirector] convertToGL:currentTouchArea];
lastTouchArea = [[CCDirector sharedDirector] convertToGL:lastTouchArea];
[pointTouches addObject:NSStringFromCGPoint(currentTouchArea)];
[pointTouches addObject:NSStringFromCGPoint(lastTouchArea)];
}
but the callback only tells the intersection when the line drawn completely passes the bodies. when user starts from some point outside and leaves the point inside the box2d body the callback doesn't say the line intersected. what am i possibly doing wrong??
Are you drawing a line or a curve? For a line, I assume that you only use the first point and the last point detected. For a curve, you use all the points detected to form the curve that you are drawing.
If you are drawing a curve then think I understand the problem. You are calculating the intersection line using the consecutive points detected by the touch system. These consecutive points are very close to each other which makes very small ray casts, and what might be happening is that you might be casting the line with a starting and ending point inside the balls, which might issue a negative collision.
If the objective is to detect if you are touching the balls, I suggest using a sensor maintained under the touch, and then checking a collision with this code in your update method:
for (b2ContactEdge* ce = sensorbody->GetContactList(); ce; ce = ce->next)
{
b2Contact* c = ce->contact;
if(c->IsTouching())
{
const b2Body* bodyA = c->GetFixtureA()->GetBody();
const b2Body* bodyB = c->GetFixtureB()->GetBody();
const b2Body* ballBody = (bodyA == sensorbody)?bodyB:bodyA;
...
}
}
If you really want to use a raycast, then I suggest saving a few consecutive points and make a vector with them, to avoid the small ray cast.
edit: Sorry, The example I wrote is in C++, but you should be able to find an equivalent for Objective-C.
Box2D's raycasts ignore any 'back' facing edges they hit, so if the ray starts inside a fixture, that fixture will be ignored. Simplest thing to do is cast the same ray in both directions.

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