Handling Contacts on Collision

To create sparks, we are going to use the VFX add-on (you can install it via the Add-Ons section of UNIGINE SDK Browser).

Create a new project in UNIGINE SDK Browser with the VFX add-on included.

Open the project in the UnigineEditor and add some primitive objects to the default scene.

Let’s get some information about the contacts the blue box will have with other objects.

On collision, contacts are distributed randomly between the interacting bodies to optimize performance: some are handled by the first body, others by the second. For a body, contacts that it handles itself are internal (access to them is fast), and contacts handled by other bodies are external.

The box is a high-priority body for us and we want to track its collisions with maximum efficiency. We can make the box handle most of its contacts itself (so that most of them are internal). To do so, select the box and check High Priority Contacts in the Physics tab (or do it via code).

We will use a Particle System to create a node that simulates sparks.

1. In the UnigineEditor, click Create -> Particle System -> Particles. Place the object somewhere in the world, rename it to sparks, and adjust its parameters:
   • Number Per Spawn = 10
   • Radius = 0.02
   • Life Time = 0.2
   • Period = inf
   • Duration = 0
2. In the Surface Material section, assign library_spark1.mat material (it is located in the data -> vfx -> materials -> library_vfx folder of your project).
3. Switch to the data folder in the Asset Browser. Right-click the sparks node and select Create a Node Reference. A sparks.node file will be generated in the data folder.
4. Delete the sparks object from the scene, we no longer need it since it will be loaded via code.

Let's use the C++ Component System to implement this logic. We will create a C++ component and assign it to the box node.

1. Open your project in an IDE.
   Notice

   It is recommended to use Visual Studio as a default IDE.
2. In the IDE create a new C++ class (*.h and *.cpp files) and call it ContactsHandler. Make sure it inherits from the Unigine::ComponentBase class.
3. Copy the code below, paste it to the corresponding files in your project and save them in your IDE.
   ContactsHandler.h (C++)

   #pragma once
   #include <UnigineComponentSystem.h>
   #include <UnigineGame.h>
   #include <time.h>
   
   class ContactsHandler :
   	public  Unigine::ComponentBase
   {
   public:
   	// declare constructor and destructor for our class and define a property name. 
   	COMPONENT_DEFINE(ContactsHandler, ComponentBase)
   		// declare methods to be called at the corresponding stages of the execution sequence
   		COMPONENT_INIT(init);
   	COMPONENT_UPDATE(update);
   
   	// A node that will be loaded on contact (a hit effect)
   	PROP_PARAM(File, hitEffect);
   
   	bool debug = true;
   
   protected:
   	void init();
   	void update();
   	void OnContactEnter(Unigine::BodyPtr, int);
   
   private:
   	// Time, position and some info of the last occurred contact
   	time_t lastContactTime;
   	Unigine::Math::vec3 lastContactPoint;
   	Unigine::String lastContactInfo;
   };

   ContactsHandler.cpp (C++)

   #include "ContactsHandler.h"
   #include <UnigineNode.h>
   #include <UnigineVisualizer.h>
   
   using namespace Unigine;
   using namespace Math;
   
   REGISTER_COMPONENT(ContactsHandler);
   
   void ContactsHandler::init()
   {
   	BodyPtr body = node->getObjectBody();
   	if (body)
   	{
   		// For debug purposes, we can render certain contacts depending on their type    
   		body->addContactsCallback(MakeCallback([](BodyPtr b) {b->renderInternalContacts(); }));
   		// A callback to be fired when each contact emerges
   		body->addContactEnterCallback(MakeCallback(this, &ContactsHandler::OnContactEnter));
   	}
   }
   
   // This function takes the body and the index of the contact
   void ContactsHandler::OnContactEnter(Unigine::BodyPtr body, int num)
   {
   	// Enable Visualizer to see the rendered contact points
   	Visualizer::setEnabled(true);
   
   	if (body->isContactInternal(num))
   	{
   		if (debug)
   		{
   			// The time of the contact
   			lastContactTime = time(NULL);
   			// The position of the contact
   			lastContactPoint = body->getContactPoint(num);
   
   			// We get both physical bodies participating in this contact
   			BodyPtr body0 = body->getContactBody0(num);
   			BodyPtr body1 = body->getContactBody1(num);
   
   			BodyPtr touchedBody = NULL;
   
   			// We check if our object has hit another physical object.
   			// If any of the bodies exists and it's not the body of our object
   			// then we have found another physics-driven object that hit it
   			if (body0 && body0 != body) touchedBody = body0;
   			if (body1 && body1 != body) touchedBody = body1;
   
   			if (touchedBody)
   			{
   				// Our object has touched a physics-driven object.
   				// We save the info about the body
   				lastContactInfo = String::format("body %s of object %s ", touchedBody->getName(), touchedBody->getObject()->getName());
   				// Render it in the viewport
   				Visualizer::renderObject(touchedBody->getObject(), Math::vec4_blue, 0.5f);
   			}
   			else
   			{
   				// It has touched a surface with Collision enabled
   				lastContactInfo = String::format("surface #%d of object %s", body->getContactSurface(num), body->getContactObject(num)->getName());
   				// Highlighting the surface
   				Visualizer::renderObjectSurface(body->getContactObject(num), body->getContactSurface(num), Math::vec4_blue, 0.5f);
   			}
   
   			// You can add details you are interested in (e.g., the contact impulse)
   			lastContactInfo += String::format("\nimpulse: %f", body->getContactImpulse(num));
   		}
   
   		// We spawn a hit effect if the impulse is strong enough
   		if (body->getContactImpulse(num) > 0.3f && hitEffect)
   		{
   			NodePtr Effect = World::loadNode(hitEffect);
   			Effect->setPosition(Vec3(body->getContactPoint(num)));
   		}
   	}
   
   }
   
   void ContactsHandler::update()
   {
   	// Here we can display the info and create a slow motion effect for one second
   	if (debug)
   	{
   		if (int(time(NULL) - lastContactTime) < 1.0f)
   		{
   			// Slow motion effect
   			Game::setScale(0.3f);
   
   			Visualizer::renderMessage3D(lastContactPoint, Math::vec3_one, ("last contact: \n" + lastContactInfo).get(), Math::vec4_green, 2, 24);
   		}
   		else  // All the other time the speed will be normal
   		{
   			Game::setScale(1.0f);
   		}
   	}
   }

4. Before you can use C++ components, you should initialize the Component System. Modify the init() method of the AppSystemLogic class as shown below (AppSystemLogic.cpp file).
   AppSystemLogic.cpp (C++)

   #include <UnigineComponentSystem.h>
   
   int AppSystemLogic::init()
   {
   	// initialize ComponentSystem and register all components
   	ComponentSystem::get()->initialize();
   
   	return 1;
   }

5. Build and run the project via your IDE (press Ctrl + F5 in Visual Studio). The Component System will generate a property file (ContactsHandler.prop) in the data -> ComponentSystem folder of your project.

Switch back to the UnigineEditor and select the box node. Click Add New Property in the Parameters window and assign the newly generated ContactsHandler property. Specify the sparks.node asset to be loaded and spawned on collision.