Category Archives: pixel manipulation

QuickBox2D 1.1 (2 major bug fixes)

Since the release of QuickBox2D 1.0 two bugs were discovered by numerous developers. The first bug was the inability to properly destroy group objects. The second bug was a small memory leak that caused most QuickObjects to remain in memory. Both of these bugs are now resolved.

Download QuickBox2D 1.1

Testing the memory leak. In QuickBox2D 1.0 if you created and destroyed 100s of rigid bodies, the ram would very slowly rise... Sometimes it would get garbage collected, but the memory would never fully be released. I created a simple test to make sure this is fixed in 1.1:

Actionscript:
  1. import com.actionsnippet.qbox.*;
  2.  
  3. var sim:QuickBox2D = new QuickBox2D(this, {debug:false});
  4.  
  5. sim.createStageWalls();
  6.  
  7. var levelParts:Array = [];
  8. const TWO_PI:Number = Math.PI * 2;
  9.  
  10. // destroys and then creates a bunch of rigid bodies
  11. // called every second
  12. buildRandomLevel();
  13. setInterval(buildRandomLevel, 1000);
  14.  
  15. var txt:TextField = TextField(addChild(new TextField()));
  16. txt.x = txt.y = 30;
  17. txt.backgroundColor = 0xFFFFFF;
  18. sim.start();
  19.  
  20. // display amount of ram used, to make sure garbage collection is working
  21. sim.addEventListener(QuickBox2D.STEP, onStep);
  22. function onStep(evt:Event):void{
  23.     txt.text = (System.totalMemory / 100000).toFixed(2) + "mb";
  24. }
  25.  
  26. function buildRandomLevel():void{
  27.     // destroy all rigid bodies
  28.     for (var i:int = 0; i<levelParts.length; i++){
  29.         levelParts[i].destroy();
  30.     }
  31.     levelParts = [];
  32.     // create a bunch of circles and boxes
  33.     for (i = 0; i<16; i++){
  34.         var rad:Number = 0.4 ;
  35.         levelParts.push(sim.addCircle({x:1 + i * rad * 4, y : 2, radius:rad - Math.random()*0.3}));
  36.        
  37.         var rot:Number = Math.random() * TWO_PI;
  38.         levelParts.push(sim.addBox({x:4+Math.random() * i * 2, y:4+Math.random()*i,
  39.                     width:3, height:0.25, angle:rot, density:0}));
  40.     }
  41. }

This snippet creates and destroys a bunch of rigid bodies again and again.... On my macbook 2.6 Ghz intel core duo... the ram runs between 79mb and 112mb. I let it run for 40 minutes and this did not change - it always eventually returned down to 79mb.


Have a look at the swf...

Thanks to all the people who gave feedback that lead to the discover of these bugs.

Also posted in Box2D, QuickBox2D, motion | Tagged , , , | 25 Comments

BitmapData Frame Animation (w/ linked list)

Actionscript:
  1. [SWF(width = 100, height = 100)]
  2. var circle:Shape = new Shape();
  3. with(circle.graphics) beginFill(0x000000), drawCircle(20,20,20);
  4.  
  5. var currFrame:Frame;
  6.  
  7. // populate the linked list
  8. generateAnimation();
  9.  
  10. var canvas:BitmapData = new BitmapData(stage.stageWidth,stage.stageHeight,false, 0x000000);
  11. addChild(new Bitmap(canvas));
  12. var loc:Point = new Point(20, 20);
  13.  
  14. addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onLoop);
  15. function onLoop(evt:Event):void {
  16.     // clear the canvas
  17.     canvas.fillRect(canvas.rect, 0x000000);
  18.     // draw the current frame
  19.     canvas.copyPixels(currFrame.bitmap, currFrame.bitmap.rect, loc, null, null, true);
  20.     // get the next frame of the animation
  21.     currFrame = currFrame.next;
  22. }
  23.  
  24. // generate and capture 40 bitmaps by altering the colorTransform of the circle shape
  25. function generateAnimation():void{
  26.     var channel:uint = 0;
  27.     var ct:ColorTransform = new ColorTransform();
  28.     var increase:Boolean = true;
  29.     var firstFrame:Frame;
  30.     var pFrame:Frame;
  31.     for (var i:int = 0; i<40; i++){
  32.         if (increase){
  33.            channel += 10;
  34.            if (channel == 200){
  35.               increase = false;  
  36.            }
  37.         }else{
  38.            channel -= 10;
  39.         }
  40.         ct.color = channel <<16 | channel <<8 | channel;
  41.         circle.transform.colorTransform = ct;
  42.         // populate linked list
  43.         currFrame = capture(circle);
  44.         if (pFrame){
  45.            pFrame.next = currFrame;
  46.         }
  47.         if (i == 0){
  48.            firstFrame = currFrame;
  49.         }
  50.         pFrame = currFrame;
  51.     }
  52.     // close the list
  53.     currFrame.next = firstFrame;
  54.     currFrame = firstFrame;
  55. }
  56.  
  57. // create the Frame instance and draw the circle to it
  58. // preserving the colorTransform information
  59. function capture(target:Shape):Frame{
  60.     var frame:Frame = new Frame();
  61.     frame.bitmap = new BitmapData(target.width, target.height, true, 0x00000000);
  62.     frame.bitmap.draw(target, null, target.transform.colorTransform);
  63.     return frame;
  64. }

Requires this little Frame class

Actionscript:
  1. package {
  2.     import flash.display.*;
  3.     final public class Frame{
  4.         public var bitmap:BitmapData;
  5.         public var next:Frame;
  6.     }
  7. }

This is a small test I did today to see how easy it would be to use a circular linked list to loop an animation of bitmaps. I did this because I was thinking about using some animated sprites in conjunction with Utils3D.projectVectors() to do an orthographic 3D demo with lots of animating sprites. In the past I've had up to 7,000 animated sprites running nicely using arrays and copyPixels... figured it would be interesting to try and do the same with a circular linked list.

When compiled, this test simply draws a circle that fades from black to gray and back again... Pretty boring, but I threw it up over at wonderfl anyway... check it out.

I recently saw a few tweets (forget who from) about using the final keyword on linked list nodes... haven't tested it myself but it's supposed to be faster...

Also posted in BitmapData, Data Structures, misc, motion | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Flowing Leaves (optical illusion)


Saw this optical illusion today... figured I'd make a snippet to create a few variations on the illusion...

Actionscript:
  1. [SWF( backgroundColor=0x2E7999, width=780, height = 600) ]
  2.  
  3. var leafNum:Number = 375;
  4. var spacing:Number = 12;
  5. var cols:Number = 25;
  6. var hh:Number = stage.stageHeight / 2;
  7. var hw:Number = stage.stageWidth / 2;
  8.  
  9. for (var i:Number = 0; i<leafNum; i++){
  10.     var leaf:Shape = makeLeaf();
  11.     leaf.scaleX = leaf.scaleY = 0.25;
  12.     leaf.rotation = 90;
  13.     leaf.x = 50 + (i % cols) * (leaf.width + spacing);
  14.     leaf.y = 40 + int(i / cols) * (leaf.height + spacing);
  15.     var dx:Number = leaf.x - hw;
  16.     var dy:Number = leaf.y - hh;
  17.     leaf.rotation = Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dy * dy);
  18. }
  19.  
  20. function makeLeaf():Shape{
  21.     var leaf:Shape = Shape(addChild(new Shape()));
  22.     leaf.graphics.beginFill(0x9DC4D4);
  23.     scaleYcircle(leaf.graphics, 50, .65, false);
  24.     leaf.graphics.endFill();
  25.     leaf.graphics.lineStyle(2, 0x003366, 1, false, "none", CapsStyle.SQUARE, JointStyle.MITER);
  26.     scaleYcircle(leaf.graphics, 50, .65);
  27.     leaf.graphics.lineStyle(2, 0xFFFFFF, 1, false, "none", CapsStyle.SQUARE, JointStyle.MITER);
  28.     scaleYcircle(leaf.graphics, -50, .65);
  29.     return leaf;
  30. }
  31.  
  32.  
  33. // original circle function by senocular (www.senocular.com) from here http://www.actionscript.org/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=30328
  34. // circle that can be scaled on the y axis
  35. function scaleYcircle(g:Graphics, r:Number, s:Number = 1, isHalf:Boolean=true):void {
  36.      
  37.     var c1:Number = r * (Math.SQRT2 - 1);
  38.     var c2:Number = r * Math.SQRT2 / 2;
  39.     var rs:Number = r * s, c1s:Number = c1 * s, c2s:Number = c2 * s;
  40.     var x_r:Number =  -r, y_r:Number = -rs, x_c2:Number =  -c2;
  41.     var y_c2:Number =  -c2s, x_c1:Number =  -c1, y_c1:Number =  -c1s
  42.     g.moveTo(r, 0), g.curveTo(r, c1s, c2, c2s);
  43.     g.curveTo(c1, rs, 0, rs), g.curveTo(x_c1,rs, x_c2, c2s);
  44.     g.curveTo(x_r, c1s, x_r, 0);
  45.     if (!isHalf){
  46.      g.curveTo(x_r,y_c1,x_c2,y_c2);
  47.      g.curveTo(x_c1,y_r,0,y_r), g.curveTo(c1,y_r,c2,y_c2);
  48.      g.curveTo(r,y_c1,r,0);
  49.     }
  50. }

Also posted in Graphics, Math, Vector, misc, motion | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Sierpiński Glitch Texture #3

Actionscript:
  1. [SWF(frameRate=60, backgroundColor=0x000000, width=500, height=500)]
  2.  
  3. var canvas:BitmapData = new BitmapData(500,500,false, 0x000000);
  4. addChild(new Bitmap(canvas));
  5. var clone:BitmapData = new BitmapData(500,500,false, 0x000000);
  6. var canvasRect:Rectangle = canvas.rect;
  7. var w:int = canvas.width;
  8. var w2:Number = 1/w;
  9. var w10:Number = 1/(w * 80);
  10. var convert:Number = Math.PI/180;
  11. var size:int = canvas.width * canvas.height;
  12. var pix:Vector.<uint> = new Vector.<uint>(size, true);
  13. var m:Matrix = new Matrix();
  14. m.scale(1,-1);
  15. m.translate(0,canvas.height);
  16. var sin:Number = 0, cos:Number = 0;
  17. var dx:Number = 0, dy:Number = 0;
  18. var pnt:Point = new Point();
  19. var blur:BlurFilter = new BlurFilter(10,10,1);
  20. addEventListener(Event.ENTER_FRAME, onLoop);
  21. function onLoop(evt:Event):void {
  22.     canvas.lock();
  23.     dx +=  (mouseX * 10 - 3000 - dx) / 8;
  24.     dy +=  (mouseY * 4 - dy) / 8;
  25.     for (var i:int = 0; i<size; i++){
  26.         var xp:int = i % w;
  27.         var yp:int = int(i * w2);
  28.         var xp2:int = xp <<1;
  29.         var t:Number;
  30.         t = ((yp|(xp + yp * 0.1)) * (xp + dx) *w10) % 6.14687;
  31.         //compute sine
  32.         // technique from http://lab.polygonal.de/2007/07/18/fast-and-accurate-sinecosine-approximation/
  33.         // by Michael Baczynski
  34.         if (t<0) {
  35.             sin=1.27323954*t+.405284735*t*t;
  36.         } else {
  37.             sin=1.27323954*t-0.405284735*t*t;
  38.         }
  39.         // compute cosine
  40.         t = (xp2|(yp+xp*0.1) + dy) * convert % 6.28;
  41.         t+=1.57079632;
  42.         if (t>3.14159265) {
  43.             t-=6.28318531;
  44.         }
  45.         if (t<0) {
  46.             cos=1.27323954*t+0.405284735*t*t;
  47.         } else {
  48.             cos=1.27323954*t-0.405284735*t*t;
  49.         }
  50.         var c1:int = 31 * (sin - cos);
  51.         if (c1 <0) c1 = 256 - c1;
  52.         c1 = (c1 <<4 | c1) ;
  53.         pix[i] = c1 <<16 | c1 <<8 | c1;
  54.     }
  55.     canvas.setVector(canvasRect, pix);
  56.     clone.copyPixels(canvas, canvasRect, pnt);
  57.     canvas.draw(clone, m, null, BlendMode.SUBTRACT);
  58.     clone.copyPixels(canvas, canvasRect, pnt);
  59.     clone.applyFilter(clone, canvasRect, pnt, blur);
  60.     canvas.draw(clone, null, null, BlendMode.SCREEN);
  61.     canvas.unlock();
  62. }

Decided to do a grayscale version ... also rendered it out large and posted it on flickr...

Check out the swf...


Check out the large flickr version...

Also posted in BitmapData, Operators, Vector | Tagged , , | 2 Comments