Draw line in direction of raycaster in three.js - three.js

In three.js, I'm using PointerLock controls the make a basic first person shooter.
I use
function onDocumentMouseDown( event ) {
var raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
mouse3D.normalize();
controls.getDirection( mouse3D );
raycaster.set( controls.getObject().position, mouse3D );
var intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects( objects );
...
}
to detect a collision with an object, which means you "shot" the object.
Now, I want to visualize the path the bullet took. I was thinking about drawing a line from where the user is looking to, in direction of the raycaster, but I can't figure out how to do this... Anyone who can help me? I'm new to three.js, never thought drawing a line would be this hard.
Update:
I'm trying to draw a line using:
var geometry = new THREE.Geometry();
geometry.vertices.push(...);
geometry.vertices.push(...);
var line = new THREE.Line(geometry, material);
scene.add(line);
but I can't figure out what to put in place of the "..." . How can I detect which point the line should go to? And how to determine which point it starts from? The player is able to move and even jump so the starting point is always different too.

You can use the following (using r83):
// Draw a line from pointA in the given direction at distance 100
var pointA = new THREE.Vector3( 0, 0, 0 );
var direction = new THREE.Vector3( 10, 0, 0 );
direction.normalize();
var distance = 100; // at what distance to determine pointB
var pointB = new THREE.Vector3();
pointB.addVectors ( pointA, direction.multiplyScalar( distance ) );
var geometry = new THREE.Geometry();
geometry.vertices.push( pointA );
geometry.vertices.push( pointB );
var material = new THREE.LineBasicMaterial( { color : 0xff0000 } );
var line = new THREE.Line( geometry, material );
scene.add( line );
Codepen at: https://codepen.io/anon/pen/evNqGy

You can use something like this:
function animate_Line(frame, totalFrames) {
//Calculate how much of the line should be drawn every iteration
var delta = lineDistance/(totalFrames);
var deltaSpeed = delta * frame;
for(var i=0; i<f_Ray_List[0].length; i++) {
for(var j=0; j<f_Ray_List[1].length; j++) {
//Change Offsets
line.geometry.vertices[1].y = line.geometry.vertices[0].y - deltaSpeed;
//Update Rays = true (Make FRT rays draw-able)
line.geometry.verticesNeedUpdate = true;
}
}
}
where frame is the current frame (a counter in your animate function), totalFrames would be the amount of frames that the line would take to be animated. The lineDistance can be calculated by using this:
lineDistance = line.geometry.vertices[0].y - line.vertices[1].y; //Add this line where you create the line object.
and remember to call line.geometry.verticesNeedUpdate = true; in every line individually, so that the line would able to be animated.
Notice that this is only based on Line.y axis. This would not be great at first. I'm currently working on converting this to Polar coordinates instead but I have no idea what is going on hahah.

Related

Three.js raycasting collision not working

I am working on an arcade style Everest Flight Simulator.
In my debugger where I am building this, I have a terrain and helicopter class which generate the BufferGeometry terrain mesh, the Groups for the helipad Geometries, and the group for the helicopter Camera and Geometry.
My issue is that currently I can't seem to get any collision to detect. I imagine it may not support BufferGeometries so that is an issue for me because I need the terrain to be a Buffer since it's far too expansive... as a standard geometry it causes a memory crash in the browser.
However, testing the helipad geometries alone it still does not trigger. They are in a group so I add the groups to a global window array and set the collision check to be recursive but to no avail.
Ultimately, I am open to other forms of collision detection and may need two types as I have to use buffer geometries. Any ideas on how to fix this or a better solution?
The Helicopter Object Itself
// Rect to Simulate Helicopter
const geometry = new THREE.BoxGeometry( 2, 1, 4 ),
material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial(),
rect = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
rect.position.x = 0;
rect.position.y = terrain.returnCameraStartPosY();
rect.position.z = 0;
rect.rotation.order = "YXZ";
rect.name = "heli";
// Link Camera and Helicopter
const heliCam = new THREE.Group(),
player = new Helicopter(heliCam, "OH-58 Kiowa", 14000);
heliCam.add(camera);
heliCam.add(rect);
heliCam.position.set( 0, 2040, -2000 );
heliCam.name = "heliCam";
scene.add(heliCam);
Adding Objects to Global Collision Array
// Add Terrain
const terrain = new Terrain.ProceduralTerrain(),
terrainObj = terrain.returnTerrainObj(),
helipadEnd = new Terrain.Helipad( 0, 1200, -3600, "Finish", true ),
helipadStart = new Terrain.Helipad( 0, 2000, -2000, "Start", false ),
helipadObjStart = helipadStart.returnHelipadObj(),
helipadObjEnd = helipadEnd.returnHelipadObj();
window.collidableMeshList.push(terrainObj);
window.collidableMeshList.push(helipadObjStart);
window.collidableMeshList.push(helipadObjEnd);
Collision Detection Function Run Every Frame
collisionDetection(){
const playerOrigin = this.heli.children[1].clone(); // Get Box Mesh from Player Group
for (let i = playerOrigin.geometry.vertices.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
const localVertex = playerOrigin.geometry.vertices[i].clone(),
globalVertex = localVertex.applyMatrix4( playerOrigin.matrix ),
directionVector = globalVertex.sub( playerOrigin.position ),
ray = new THREE.Raycaster( playerOrigin, directionVector.clone().normalize() ),
collisionResults = ray.intersectObjects( window.collidableMeshList, true ); // Recursive Boolean for children
if ( collisionResults.length > 0 ){
this.landed = true;
console.log("Collision");
}
// if ( collisionResults.length > 0 && collisionResults[0].distance < directionVector.length() ){
// this.landed = true;
// console.log("Collision with vectorLength")
// }
}
}
It's hard to tell what's going on inside your custom classes, but it looks like you're using an Object3D as the first argument of the raycaster, instead of a Vector3 when you use this.heli.children[1].clone(). Why don't you try something like:
var raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
var origin = this.heli.children[1].position;
raycaster.set(origin, direction);
Also, are you sure you're using a BufferGeometry? Because when you access a vertex value like this: playerOrigin.geometry.vertices[i], it should give you an error. There is no vertices attribute in a BufferGeometry so I don't know how you're determining the direction vector.

Raycaster Set getting Z value for respective XY

I have array of XY coordinates from which i have to get the respective Z positions. I have created the following code to achieve same.
This function loops through array and calls further function to get the Z value.
function generate_section(){
for(var i=0;i<points.length;i++){
//temporary try to get for the same.
var pts = points[i];
var z = sectioncall(pts.x,pts.y);
console.log(pts,z);
}
}
The following function is a raycaster which cast the ray for the provided x& y value and cast a downward ray.
function sectioncall(x,y){ //grabs the Z value for the provided XY
var top = new THREE.Vector3(x, y , 30 );
var bottom = new THREE.Vector3(x , y , -30 );
var direction = new THREE.Vector3();
direction = direction.subVectors( bottom, top ).normalize();
//start raycaster
var raycaster = new THREE.Raycaster();
raycaster.set( top, direction );
// calculate objects intersecting the picking ray
var intersects = rayCaster.intersectObjects(scene.getObjectByName('MyObj_s').children);
var rpt = intersects[0].point;
//draw a line the way ray caster casting the ray
var geometry = new THREE.Geometry();
geometry.vertices.push( top );
geometry.vertices.push( rpt );
var material = new THREE.LineBasicMaterial( { color : 0xff0000 } );
var line = new THREE.Line( geometry, material );
scene.add( line );
return rpt;
}
With the above code i get the result like this:
but what i want to achive is the result like this:
So that the returning values will be about for respective XY instead of last XY as you see on the console.
You have slightly made a mistake in the code.
it should be
var intersects = raycaster.intersectObjects(scene.getObjectByName('MyObj_s').children);
you misspelled it as rayCaster.

Raycasting against a mesh is not found where it 's visible in the scene

I'm having a strange problem with raycasting. My scene consists of a room with a couple of components that you can move around inside that room. When the component is moving i'm measuring the distances to the walls, an invisible roof and floor. The problem is that the roof which is a ShapeGeometry is visible where it should be at the top of the walls but not hit when raycasting.
Here's where i create the mesh for the invisible roof
const roofShape = new THREE.Shape();
roofShape.moveTo(roofPoints[0].x, roofPoints[0].y);
for (let i = 1; i < roofPoints.length; i++) {
roofShape.lineTo(roofPoints[i].x, roofPoints[i].y);
}
roofShape.lineTo(roofPoints[0].x, roofPoints[0].y);
const geometry = new THREE.ShapeGeometry(roofShape);
const material = new THREE.MeshBasicMaterial({color: 0x000000, side: THREE.DoubleSide});
material.opacity = 0;
material.transparent = true;
const mesh = new THREE.Mesh(geometry, material);
mesh.position.x = 0;
mesh.position.y = 0;
mesh.position.z = room._height;
mesh.name = "ROOF";
mesh.userData = <Object3DUserData> {
id: IntersectType.INVISIBLE_ROOF,
intersectType: IntersectType.INVISIBLE_ROOF,
};
The function that's invoking the raycasting. The direction vector is(0, 0, 1) in this case. And the surfaces parameter is an array which only contains the mesh created above.
function getDistanceToSurface(componentPosition: THREE.Vector3, surfaces: THREE.Object3D[], direction: THREE.Vector3): number {
const rayCaster = new THREE.Raycaster(componentPosition, direction.normalize());
const intersections = rayCaster.intersectObjects(surfaces);
if (!intersections || !intersections.length) {
return 0;
}
const val = intersections[0].distance;
return val;
}
By changing the z direction to -1 i found that the raycaster found the roof at z=0. It seems that the geometry is still at position z=0.
I then tried to translate the geometry shape
geometry.translate(0, 0, room._height);
And now the raycaster finds it where i expect it to be. But visually it it's double the z position(mesh opacity=1). Setting the mesh position z to 0 makes it visibly correct and the raycasting still works.
I've been looking at the examples of raycasting but can't find anywhere where a ShapeGeometry needs do this.
Am i doing something wrong? Have i missed something? Do i have to set z position of the geometry, is it not enough with positioning the mesh?
As hinted in the comment by #radio the solution was as described in How to update vertices geometry after rotate or move object
mesh.position.z = room._height;
mesh.updateMatrix();
mesh.geometry.applyMatrix(mesh.matrix);
mesh.matrix.identity();

Three.js - Double sided plane one side reversed

I used the method of pushing faces to geometry to achieve double sided plane.
for (var i=0, len=geometry.faces.length; i<len; i++) {
var face = geometry.faces[i].clone();
face.materialIndex = 1;
geometry.faces.push(face);
geometry.faceVertexUvs[0].push(geometry.faceVertexUvs[0][i].slice(0));
}
but one side is reversed here is a fiddle http://jsfiddle.net/bN8ZH/
If you want to put two planes back-to-back, the best way is like so:
var geometry = new THREE.PlaneGeometry(80, 116, 20, 20);
var geometry2 = geometry.clone();
geometry2.applyMatrix( new THREE.Matrix4().makeRotationY( Math.PI ) );
THREE.GeometryUtils.merge( geometry, geometry2, 1 );
When you do so, make sure the material for each plane has material.side = THREE.FrontSide.
Updated fiddle: http://jsfiddle.net/bN8ZH/1/
three.js r.63

How do I rotate some moons around a planet with THREE.js?

I think this picture best explains my issue:
First I translate the box along the red line. Next, I want the effect of rotation to be the blue line in a, but what's actually happening is more like the blue line in b. It feels like changing the rotation is always relative to the original object space, but the translation (despite happening first) is always relative to the parent, and doesn't really affect the geometry points in relation to the object space. I apologize if that's confusing; clearly I'm new at this.
The important part of the code which produces this effect is below. Please keep in mind that the orientation of the image is different than this code produces; the image is merely an example to show the effect clearly.
var objectContainer = new THREE.Object3D();
var tubeRadius = 100;
var tubeGeometry = new THREE.CylinderGeometry(tubeRadius, tubeRadius, tubeRadius * 3, 36, 1, false);
var tube = new THREE.Mesh(tubeGeomtry, material);
scene.add( tube );
var boxes = new THREE.Object3D();
var boxEdge = 50;
var boxGeometry = new THREE.CubeGeometry(boxEdge, boxEdge, boxEdge);
var box1 = new THREE.Mesh( boxGeometry, material );
box1.translateX(tubeRadius + boxEdge / 2 + 5);
box1.translateY(boxEdge / 2);
box1.rotation = new THREE.Vector3(0, 2*Math.PI/3*0, 0);
boxes.add(box1);
var box2 = box1.clone();
box2.rotation = new THREE.Vector3(0, 2*Math.PI/3*1, 0);
boxes.add(box2);
var box3 = box1.clone();
box3.rotation = new THREE.Vector3(0, 2*Math.PI/3*2, 0);
boxes.add(box3);
scene.add( boxes );
The only solution I can think of is to wrap each box in another object space and rotate about that, but it seems like excessive work. What is the preferred method to achieve the result I'm looking for?
There are several ways of doing what you want, but I think the easiest is like so:
// parent
parent = new THREE.Group();
scene.add( parent );
// pivots
var pivot1 = new THREE.Object3D();
var pivot2 = new THREE.Object3D();
var pivot3 = new THREE.Object3D();
pivot1.rotation.z = 0;
pivot2.rotation.z = 2 * Math.PI / 3;
pivot3.rotation.z = 4 * Math.PI / 3;
parent.add( pivot1 );
parent.add( pivot2 );
parent.add( pivot3 );
// mesh
var mesh1 = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
var mesh2 = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
var mesh3 = new THREE.Mesh( geometry, material );
mesh1.position.y = 5;
mesh2.position.y = 5;
mesh3.position.y = 5;
pivot1.add( mesh1 );
pivot2.add( mesh2 );
pivot3.add( mesh3 );
Then in your render loop:
parent.rotation.z += 0.01;
three.js r.147
Creating a compound object whose centre will be the point about which the inner objects rotate is one obvious answer, and would be very quick to write. Just create an Object3D and add your box to it.
A similar approach is covered by this question. It shifts the point of the vertices for an object, so it effectively has a new centre.
Alternatively, you can mess around with the matrices by hand. Try this:
var boxGeometry = new THREE.CubeGeometry(boxEdge, boxEdge, boxEdge);
var mr = new THREE.Matrix4();
var mt = new THREE.Matrix4();
mt.setPosition(new THREE.Vector3(0,tubeRadius,0));
var box1 = new THREE.Mesh( boxGeometry, material );
box1.applyMatrix(mt);
var box2 = box1.clone();
mr.makeRotationZ(2 * Math.PI /3);
box2.applyMatrix(mr);
boxes.add(box2);
var box3 = box1.clone();
mr.makeRotationZ(4 * Math.PI /3);
box3.applyMatrix(mr);
boxes.add(box3);
boxes.add(box1);
scene.add( boxes );

Resources