Book Image

jMonkeyEngine 3.0 : Beginner's Guide

Book Image

jMonkeyEngine 3.0 : Beginner's Guide

Overview of this book

jMonkeyEngine 3.0 is a powerful set of free Java libraries that allows you to unlock your imagination, create 3D games and stunning graphics. Using jMonkeyEngine's library of time-tested methods, this book will allow you to unlock its potential and make the creation of beautiful interactive 3D environments a breeze."jMonkeyEngine 3.0 Beginner's Guide" teaches aspiring game developers how to build modern 3D games with Java. This primer on 3D programming is packed with best practices, tips and tricks and loads of example code. Progressing from elementary concepts to advanced effects, budding game developers will have their first game up and running by the end of this book.From basic concepts and project creation to building a complex 3D Game, you will learn to layout 3D scenes, make them interactive and add various multi-media effects.You will find answers to common questions including best practices and approaches, how game characters can act and interact, how to simulate solid walls and physical forces, how to take it online to play over a network and much more.From Zero to Hero, start your journey to make your game idea a reality.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
jMonkeyEngine 3.0 Beginner's Guide
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Coordinating global game mechanics


Now you know three modular ways of running code as part of the main update loop: you can implement the simpleUpdate() method in the main class, you can add controls to spatials, and you can attach AppState objects.

You can activate or deactivate an individual chunk of behavior by adding or removing a control, or by attaching and detaching an AppState object. You can move whole chunks of the scene graph out of the main simpleInitApp() method, and make them part of an AppState object. For example, a hypothetical OutdoorsAppState object's initialize() method attaches bright lights and a forest sound loop; its cleanup() method detaches what the AppState object brought, so you can switch to the IndoorsAppState object, which itself brings dim fluorescent lights and a factory sound loop. This modularization helps you keep your code reusable and maintainable.

Since your game behavior interacts, you have to be aware of the order in which its pieces execute during...