Box2d - Need to know
by Hitesh Patel · in iTorque 2D · 12/09/2011 (3:52 am) · 51 replies
First of all iTGB has been great. I created 2 games with it and found it really easy to use. But as mentioned by numerous other users there are some limitations which stops me from producing games with better physics. I have seen all threads about how to integrate Box2d in to TGB but nothing about seemless integration in iTGB.
Its been quite a while since the talks about this have been going on. Now I am at a stage where I need to know if this is ever going to happen. I am working on a project which needs a better physics engine in-built. I agree that iTGB is the only one which gives you access to the source code but honestly I dont htink I need that functionlaity. The other engines like Corona SDK dont give access to the source code but the enigne is really powerful and performs better.
I would really appreciate if someone could point me to a resource specifically written for implementing Box2d in iTG and that works 100% or if GG can give any indication if this will be integrated in the engine. If not then I think I will need to start spending some more time learning Corona SDK, I have been through a few tutorials/docs and it seems really powerful.
Its been quite a while since the talks about this have been going on. Now I am at a stage where I need to know if this is ever going to happen. I am working on a project which needs a better physics engine in-built. I agree that iTGB is the only one which gives you access to the source code but honestly I dont htink I need that functionlaity. The other engines like Corona SDK dont give access to the source code but the enigne is really powerful and performs better.
I would really appreciate if someone could point me to a resource specifically written for implementing Box2d in iTG and that works 100% or if GG can give any indication if this will be integrated in the engine. If not then I think I will need to start spending some more time learning Corona SDK, I have been through a few tutorials/docs and it seems really powerful.
#2
12/09/2011 (12:32 pm)
I've gone ahead and moved this thread to the correct section.
#3
12/11/2011 (7:24 am)
Thanks David for the response. I like Corona as well but iTGB is really easy to use comapred to Corona. The unique thing about iTGB is the GUI which makes it so easy to create games. I really believe that if Box2d is added to it iTGB will have great advantage over Corona. I am hoping that a resource is added soon to do this.
#4
12/16/2011 (6:32 am)
Any updates? I was going through the forums and Box2d has been requested by many users since last 2 years. I am surprised this hasnt been implemented by Garage Games. If anyone has intregrated Box2d with iTGB then I would really appreciate some help. 
#5
It was on the plan for 'Torque 2D' the TGB successor if you check out the 2010 blogs, but those plans all were dropped and changed (to whatever) when IA went down etc.
As it seems though Melv May is working for GG again according to what I read on his FB wall. In case that does not mean much to you: Melv is the guy who developed a 2D layer on top of TGE which later become known as T2D, then was renamed to TGB and then was renamed to T2D again ;)
12/16/2011 (8:41 am)
There is a major effort required to hook it into the editor, otherwise it would not make sense for GG to integrate it.It was on the plan for 'Torque 2D' the TGB successor if you check out the 2010 blogs, but those plans all were dropped and changed (to whatever) when IA went down etc.
As it seems though Melv May is working for GG again according to what I read on his FB wall. In case that does not mean much to you: Melv is the guy who developed a 2D layer on top of TGE which later become known as T2D, then was renamed to TGB and then was renamed to T2D again ;)
#6
Box2D was integrated into TGB
code.google.com/p/tgb-box2d-integration
It should be easy to adapt to the current version and iTorque2D.
12/16/2011 (3:21 pm)
@HiteshBox2D was integrated into TGB
code.google.com/p/tgb-box2d-integration
It should be easy to adapt to the current version and iTorque2D.
#7
01/12/2012 (2:30 am)
Hi, can anyone from garage games please respond and let us know if this is going to happen. There are numerous threads that have been going on about this but havent seen anything concrete yet. I have tried to add Box2d using the Michael Woristers thesis but haven't been successfull. 
#8
01/12/2012 (6:25 am)
@Hitesh - Yes, it will happen.
#9
01/12/2012 (6:33 am)
Thanks Michael, any clues when?
#10
01/12/2012 (6:46 am)
@Hitesh - We have someone working on it. I don't have an estimate on when. Due diligence is required to make sure something is not hacked in.
#11
01/12/2012 (6:49 am)
@Michael - Thats great, I hope its soon. I really need it for my current project.
#12
03/02/2012 (7:50 am)
@Micheal - Any updates with regards to Box2d
#13
03/02/2012 (7:56 am)
Aside from an ETA, what kind of update are you looking for?
#14
03/02/2012 (8:00 am)
Its been 3 months since the last discussion so was wondering how close we were to getting Box2d integrated with iT2d.
#15
1. All Box2D work has been happening in an R&D branch. The developer was given free reign to break the engine to get a proper integration in. He did so in less than a day (the break, not the Box2D integration). It was only last week that he has all T2D based object working and rendering again. Granted, we have sidetracked him a couple of times to help with other engine issues.
2. The branch contains a working runtime for Windows, OS X and iOS. However, the editor build is still broken which means there is no editor support right now.
3. The merge back into trunk will be very tricky and take some time to do right. Most likely we will merge the runtime, then fix the editor in trunk.
4. This integration has had wide-sweeping changes on the codebase. It is safe to say that should this go out the door, backwards compatibility is just not going to be possible. Case in point, the tile map system required a full rewrite. All PUAP code has been disabled or removed, so a manual merge will not be enjoyable.
03/02/2012 (8:06 am)
Hm. Well, here is what I can safely say without promising or hyping. 1. All Box2D work has been happening in an R&D branch. The developer was given free reign to break the engine to get a proper integration in. He did so in less than a day (the break, not the Box2D integration). It was only last week that he has all T2D based object working and rendering again. Granted, we have sidetracked him a couple of times to help with other engine issues.
2. The branch contains a working runtime for Windows, OS X and iOS. However, the editor build is still broken which means there is no editor support right now.
3. The merge back into trunk will be very tricky and take some time to do right. Most likely we will merge the runtime, then fix the editor in trunk.
4. This integration has had wide-sweeping changes on the codebase. It is safe to say that should this go out the door, backwards compatibility is just not going to be possible. Case in point, the tile map system required a full rewrite. All PUAP code has been disabled or removed, so a manual merge will not be enjoyable.
#16
03/02/2012 (9:12 am)
@Hitesh - Acceptable update?
#17
03/02/2012 (11:33 am)
@Micheal - I guess so. I have put my project on hold as I really need box2d for that game. At the moment I am working on another project which doesn't need box2d. I would really (I am sure a lot of other users as well) appreciate the integration of box2d. As mentioned earlier iT2d is a great product and box2d will make it the best product available for iPhone development. 
#18
03/02/2012 (11:38 am)
Michael, sounds exciting :) Any early info on whether performance is improved, the same or worse?
#19
@Scott - I don't have numbers. However, just by eyeballing a running app I can tell you performance is MUCH better. I had over 100 objects flying around the iPad (controlled by gyroscope) without an problems. The only performance issue was the rendering, which we are also going to take care of.
03/02/2012 (11:49 am)
@Hitesh - Fair enough. Also, thanks for the vote of confidence about what iTorque 2D will become with these enhancements.@Scott - I don't have numbers. However, just by eyeballing a running app I can tell you performance is MUCH better. I had over 100 objects flying around the iPad (controlled by gyroscope) without an problems. The only performance issue was the rendering, which we are also going to take care of.
#20
03/02/2012 (1:10 pm)
Michael, excellent news, I'm looking forward to it! 
Associate David Montgomery-Blake
David MontgomeryBlake
As to Corona, I really like what they have since I like LUA a lot. It is a 100% programming engine where you will need to invest in the third-party add on's for any visualization (tile mapping, sprite management, etc). The third party products are quite nice. Many of them came from the Flash community (and many are written as AIR apps).
It really depends on your focus, experience, and needs. I obviously, love iTorque and what it can do to make game development easier, but I also really like Corona as a programmer who isn't afraid to build complete code projects from scratch.