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

The right wrench to pound in the screw


The jMonkeyEngine SDK bundles many tools, but a mesh editor is not among them. This is because there are countless flavors of 3D modeling tools: Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, Trimble SketchUp, MilkShape3D, ArtOfIllusion, and many others. The choice depends on your operating system, your work style, your level of expertise, and finally, your wallet.

The jMonkeyEngine does not restrict you to use one particular mesh editor. You can keep using the tools you are familiar with. The only requirement is: your 3D modeling software must be able to export files in a format that jMonkeyEngine can load. At the time of writing, the jMonkeyEngine supports Wavefront, Ogre XML/Ogre DotScene, and Blender binary formats.

Model format

File suffix

Usage

Ogre3D Mesh

.mesh.xml or .meshxml,

.material

A 3D model plus material. You can download the plugin for all major editors. Use the Ogre Mesh format for skeleton animations or static models.

Ogre3D DotScene

.scene

...