Book Image

Going the Distance with Babylon.js

By : Josh Elster
Book Image

Going the Distance with Babylon.js

By: Josh Elster

Overview of this book

Babylon.js allows anyone to effortlessly create and render 3D content in a web browser using the power of WebGL and JavaScript. 3D games and apps accessible via the web open numerous opportunities for both entertainment and profit. Developers working with Babylon.js will be able to put their knowledge to work with this guide to building a fully featured 3D game. The book provides a hands-on approach to implementation and associated methodologies that will have you up and running, and productive in no time. Complete with step-by-step explanations of essential concepts, practical examples, and links to fully working self-contained code snippets, you’ll start by learning about Babylon.js and the finished Space-Truckers game. You’ll also explore the development workflows involved in making the game. Focusing on a wide range of features in Babylon.js, you’ll iteratively add pieces of functionality and assets to the application being built. Once you’ve built out the basic game mechanics, you’ll learn how to bring the Space-Truckers environment to life with cut scenes, particle systems, animations, shadows, PBR materials, and more. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to structure your code, organize your workflow processes, and continuously deploy to a static website/PWA a game limited only by bandwidth and your imagination.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Part 1: Building the Application
7
Part 2: Constructing the Game
13
Part 3: Going the Distance

Extended Topics

There is always more content and ideas than there are time and space to implement them, so here are some ways that you can push yourself further with the content from this chapter. Before moving on to the next chapter, or at any time later, think of these as launch pads for you to clarify and fold the lessons learned here in the forge of experience:

  • Add a new particle system based on the Sparks particle sample that is triggered when the cargo collides with something during the route planning’s flight phase.
  • The world of Space-Truckers is rich and varied, and the game could display more of that richness. Use an animated particle system to bring these areas to life:
    • Orbital manufacturing might look like a series of flashing lights from maneuver thrusters and welding torches clustering around shadowed block structures
    • Traffic in the Space-Construction and Space-Highway zones could similarly be approximated with clusters of flashing lights zipping around...