This document provides an overview of useful tools for making video games using Newton Game Dynamics. It summarizes the key features of Newton Game Dynamics including an easy to use C-API, support for collision shapes, joints, callbacks, materials, and integration with rendering engines. It also provides a simplified startup sequence for creating a Newton world, rigid body, and updating the simulation.

1. 1
Useful Tools for Making Video
Games
Part III
An overview of

2. 2
Features
easy to use C-API
available for windows, osx, linux
plethora of convex collision shapes
compound collision shapes
continuous collision mode
hinge, ball, slider, corkscrew,... and custom
joints
special vehicle container
special ragdoll container

3. 3
Startup sequence (simplified)
// create the newton world
NewtonWorld* nWorld = NewtonCreate(…);
// Create the collision shape
NewtonCollision*collision = NewtonCreateBox (…);
// Create the rigid body
NewtonBody* rigidBodyBox = NewtonCreateBody (nWorld, collision);
// set the body mass and inertia
NewtonBodySetMassMatrix (rigidBodyBox, …);
// Set the transformation matrix
NewtonBodySetMatrix (rigidBodyBox, …);
// Animate the body eg. By setting angular velocity
NewtonBodySetOmega (rigidBodyBox, …);
// in game loop update timer, get new transformation matrix
NewtonUpdate (nWorld, timeStep);
NewtonBodyGetMatrix(rigidBodyBox, …); // use this matrix to render a box

4. 4
Using Callbacks
At each update apply force and update
transformation of rendering primitive
// at body creation
NewtonBodySetTransformCallback (boxBody, transCallback);
NewtonBodySetForceAndTorqueCallback (boxBody, forceCallback);
Where
void transCallback (const NewtonBody* body, const dFloat* matrix) {…}
void forceCallback(const NewtonBody* body) {…}

5. 5
Materials
Assign physical properties to Newton bodies
such as friction, softness, elasticity etc.
You need to set the material interactions for
every combination of any two materials in your
scene!
// create material
Int materialId = NewtonMaterialCreateGroupID(nWorld);
NewtonMaterialSetDefaultSoftness (nWorld, defaultID, …);
NewtonMaterialSetDefaultElasticity (nWorld, defaultID, …);
NewtonMaterialSetDefaultCollidable (nWorld, defaultID, …);
NewtonMaterialSetDefaultFriction (nWorld, defaultID, …);
NewtonMaterialSetCollisionCallback (nWorld, defaultID, …);
// set material to body
NewtonBodySetMaterialGroupID (boxBody, materialId);

6. 6
Joints and Constraints
Ball and Socket
Hinge

7. 7
Joints and Constraints
Slider
Corkscrew Universal

8. 8
Joints and Constraints
NewtonJoint* joint =
NewtonConstraintCreate[Ball/Hinge/Slider/Corkscrew/Universal] (…,
body1, body2);
Newton[Ball/Hinge/Slider/Universal]SetUserCallback (joint, callbackFunc);
Also need to set limits, pivot, stiffness, friction
depending on the type of joint
for details look at
samplestutorial_05_UsingJoints
Don’t forget to check out NewtonRaceCar
(samplestutorial_09_SimpleVehicle)

9. 9
Rendering Engine Integration
Already done!
OgreNewt
IrrNewt
Takes care of most of setting up,
updating, allocation/deallocation
and other details

10. 10
References
http://www.newtondynamics.com/
http://www.newtondynamics.com/for
um
http://aresfps.sourceforge.net/irrnew
t.htm
http://walaber.com/index.php?action
=showitem&id=9