LibGDX Box2d sample example Tutorial

Box2d is a physics Engine used in any 2d game engine. We will see a very basic example of a box2d implementation in this article.

In core project of your LibGDX project, open the main java class from where the game starts. We will put our code in that class.

Lets start with the basics of Box2d.

Box2d has following useful classes:

– World: which you can assume as a physical environment.
– Body: World has many bodies which can be moved according to physical changes in the environment.

We will create a World instance and a body instance. And then create that body through World instance.

Look at the following code for complete example:

import com.badlogic.gdx.ApplicationAdapter;
import com.badlogic.gdx.Gdx;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.GL20;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.Texture;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.Sprite;
import com.badlogic.gdx.graphics.g2d.SpriteBatch;
import com.badlogic.gdx.math.Vector2;
import com.badlogic.gdx.physics.box2d.*;

public class Physics1 extends ApplicationAdapter {
    SpriteBatch batch;
    Sprite sprite;
    Texture img;
    World world;
    Body body;

    @Override
    public void create() {

        batch = new SpriteBatch();
        // We will use the default LibGdx logo for this example, but we need a 
        sprite since it's going to move
        img = new Texture("badlogic.jpg");
        sprite = new Sprite(img);

        // Center the sprite in the top/middle of the screen
        sprite.setPosition(Gdx.graphics.getWidth() / 2 - sprite.getWidth() / 2,
                Gdx.graphics.getHeight() / 2);

        // Create a physics world, the heart of the simulation.  The Vector 
        passed in is gravity
        world = new World(new Vector2(0, -98f), true);

        // Now create a BodyDefinition.  This defines the physics objects type 
        and position in the simulation
        BodyDef bodyDef = new BodyDef();
        bodyDef.type = BodyDef.BodyType.DynamicBody;
        // We are going to use 1 to 1 dimensions.  Meaning 1 in physics engine 
        is 1 pixel
        // Set our body to the same position as our sprite
        bodyDef.position.set(sprite.getX(), sprite.getY());

        // Create a body in the world using our definition
        body = world.createBody(bodyDef);

        // Now define the dimensions of the physics shape
        PolygonShape shape = new PolygonShape();
        // We are a box, so this makes sense, no?
        // Basically set the physics polygon to a box with the same dimensions 
        as our sprite
        shape.setAsBox(sprite.getWidth()/2, sprite.getHeight()/2);

        // FixtureDef is a confusing expression for physical properties
        // Basically this is where you, in addition to defining the shape of the 
        body
        // you also define it's properties like density, restitution and others 
        we will see shortly
        // If you are wondering, density and area are used to calculate over all 
        mass
        FixtureDef fixtureDef = new FixtureDef();
        fixtureDef.shape = shape;
        fixtureDef.density = 1f;

        Fixture fixture = body.createFixture(fixtureDef);

        // Shape is the only disposable of the lot, so get rid of it
        shape.dispose();
    }

    @Override
    public void render() {

        // Advance the world, by the amount of time that has elapsed since the 
        last frame
        // Generally in a real game, dont do this in the render loop, as you are 
        tying the physics
        // update rate to the frame rate, and vice versa
        world.step(Gdx.graphics.getDeltaTime(), 6, 2);

        // Now update the spritee position accordingly to it's now updated 
        Physics body
        sprite.setPosition(body.getPosition().x, body.getPosition().y);

        // You know the rest...
        Gdx.gl.glClearColor(1, 1, 1, 1);
        Gdx.gl.glClear(GL20.GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT);
        batch.begin();
        batch.draw(sprite, sprite.getX(), sprite.getY());
        batch.end();
    }

    @Override
    public void dispose() {
        // Hey, I actually did some clean up in a code sample!
        img.dispose();
        world.dispose();
    }
}

The image used as sprite will start falling as soon as you play your game after adding the above code. The gravity is applied at -98 pixels per second to the body defined in our world above. So the sprite is moved accordingly.

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