Monday, August 17, 2009

Physics Helper 3: Now with WPF Support!

by andy@andybeaulieu.com via Andy's Blog on 8/17/2009 6:34:00 PM

Several people have asked if the Physics Helper Library for Silverlight could also support WPF. While there are lots of similarities between Silverlight and WPF, there are also LOTS of differences, including the way VisualTreeHelper works - which is something the library uses for its boundary detection.

While I had it somewhere on my TO DO list to incorporate WPF support, it had always been on the backburner in favor of other tasks. But thanks to a new contributor to the code, Bill Seddon, I'm happy to say a new version of the Physics Helper Library is available with WPF support!

This library of Behaviors and Controls for Expression Blend makes it very quick to create physics games and simulations in Silverlight and WPF using the Farseer Physics Engine.

DOWNLOAD PHYSICS HELPER 3

VIEW THE DEMOS

Here are the highlights for this release:

• Special thanks to contributions made by Bill Seddon!
  
  
  • WPF Support has been added
    
  • MagneticBehavior added, allowing two objects to attract
    
  • Behaviors now Categorized in Blend Asset Folder
    
    
• PhysicsSoundBehavior adds support for buffered sound
  
  
• PhysicsJoint has Min and Max angle limits
  
  
• Silverlight Pinball game sample added (video tutorial coming soon)

Falling Astronaut Rag Doll Truck w/Camera Flying Astronaut Pinball Game

Getting Started Videos

I have a couple of quick (10 min) screen casts which show how to use the new Physics Behaviors:

VIDEO ON "THE BASICS": VIEW | DOWNLOAD

VIDEO ON "JOINTS + PROGRAMMING": VIEW | DOWNLOAD