Adding perspective to fake 3D animation - javascript

I'm working on a canvas-based animation, and I'm trying to get a 3D effect in a 2D canvas.
So far, things are going well! I've got my "orbiting line of triangles" working very well:
var c = document.createElement('canvas');
c.width = c.height = 100;
document.body.appendChild(c);
var ctx = c.getContext("2d");
function Triangles() {
this.rotation = {
x: Math.random()*Math.PI*2,
y: Math.random()*Math.PI*2,
z: Math.random()*Math.PI*2
};
/* Uncomment this for testing perspective...
this.rotation = {
x: Math.PI/2,
y: 0,
z: 0
};
*/
}
Triangles.prototype.draw = function(t) {
this.rotation.z += t/1000;
var i, points;
for( i=0; i<15; i++) {
points = [
this.computeRotation(Math.cos(0.25*i),-Math.sin(0.25*i),0),
this.computeRotation(Math.cos(0.25*(i+1)),-Math.sin(0.25*(i+1)),-0.1),
this.computeRotation(Math.cos(0.25*(i+1)),-Math.sin(0.25*(i+1)),0.1)
];
ctx.fillStyle = "black";
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(50+40*points[0][0],50+40*points[0][1]);
ctx.lineTo(50+40*points[1][0],50+40*points[1][1]);
ctx.lineTo(50+40*points[2][0],50+40*points[2][1]);
ctx.closePath();
ctx.fill();
}
};
Triangles.prototype.computeRotation = function(x,y,z) {
var rz, ry, rx;
rz = [
Math.cos(this.rotation.z) * x - Math.sin(this.rotation.z) * y,
Math.sin(this.rotation.z) * x + Math.cos(this.rotation.z) * y,
z
];
ry = [
Math.cos(this.rotation.y) * rz[0] + Math.sin(this.rotation.y) * rz[2],
rz[1],
-Math.sin(this.rotation.y) * rz[0] + Math.cos(this.rotation.y) * rz[2]
];
rx = [
ry[0],
Math.cos(this.rotation.x) * ry[1] - Math.sin(this.rotation.x) * ry[2],
Math.sin(this.rotation.x) * ry[1] + Math.cos(this.rotation.x) * ry[2]
];
return rx;
};
var tri = new Triangles();
requestAnimationFrame(function(start) {
function step(t) {
var delta = t-start;
ctx.clearRect(0,0,100,100)
tri.draw(delta);
start = t;
requestAnimationFrame(step);
}
step(start);
});
As you can see it's using rotation matrices for calculating the position of the points after their rotation, and I'm using this to draw the triangles using the output x and y coordinates.
I want to take this a step further by using the z coordinate and adding perspective to this animation, which will make the triangles slightly bigger when in the foreground, and smaller when in the background. However, I'm not sure how to go about doing this.
I guess this is more of a maths question than a programming one, sorry about that!

Define a focal length to control the amount of perspective. The greater the value the less the amount of perspective. Then
var fl = 200; // focal length;
var px = 100; // point in 3D space
var py = 200;
var pz = 500;
Then to get the screen X,Y
var sx = (px * fl) / pz;
var sy = (py * fl) / pz;
The resulting point is relative to the center of the veiw so you need to center it to the canvas.
sx += canvas.width/2;
sy += canvas.height/2;
That is a point.
It assumes that the point being viewed is in front of the view and further than the focal length from the focal point.

I've managed to figure out a basic solution, but I'm sure there's better ones, so if you have a more complete answer feel free to add it! But for now...
Since the coordinate system is already based around the origin with the viewpoint directly on the Z axis looking at the (x,y) plane, it's actually sufficient to just multiply the (x,y) coordinates by a value proportional to z. For example, x * (z+2)/2 will do just fine in this case
There's bound to be a more proper, general solution though!

Related

Javascript 3d Terrain Without Three.js

I have searched around but I can't find anything like what I'm trying to do that doesn't use Three.js in some way (I can't use Three.js because my computer is too old to support Webgl). Here's what I've got so far:
HTML:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<script type="text/javascript" src="terrain.js"></script>
<title>Terrain</title>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="canvas" height="400" width="400"></canvas>
</body>
</html>
Javascript:
var canvas, ctx, row1 = [], row2 = [], intensity = 15, width = 20, height = 20, centery = 200, centerx = 200, minus, delta = 1.6, nu = .02;
window.onload = function() {
canvas = document.getElementById('canvas'), ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
ctx.lineStyle = '#000'
for (var i = 0; i < height; i++) {
row2 = [];
minus = 200
for (var j = 0; j < width; j++) {
row2[j] = {
x: centerx - (minus * (delta * (nu * i))),
y: Math.floor(Math.random() * intensity) + (height * i)
}
minus -= height;
}
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(row2[0].x,row2[0].y)
for (var k = 1; k < row2.length; k++) {
ctx.lineTo(row2[k].x,row2[k].y)
if (k == row2.length) {ctx.clostPath()}
}
ctx.stroke();
if (row1[0] && row2[0]) {
for (var l = 0; l < row2.length; l++) {
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(row2[l].x,row2[l].y)
ctx.lineTo(row1[l].x,row1[l].y)
ctx.closePath();
ctx.stroke();
}
}
row1 = row2;
}
}
Currently, the result looks like a Christmas tree but I want it to look more like actual 3d wireframe terrain.
3D wire frame basics
3D can be done on any systems that can move pixels. Thought not by dedicated hardware Javascript can do alright if you are after simple 3d.
This answers shows how to create a mesh, rotate and move it, create a camera and move it, and project the whole lot onto the 2D canvas using simple moveTo, and lineTo calls.
This answer is a real rush job so apologies for the typos (if any) and messy code. Will clean it up in the come few days (if time permits). Any questions please do ask in the comments.
Update
I have not done any basic 3D for some time so having a little fun I have added to the answer with more comments in the code and added some extra functionality.
vec3 now has normalise, dot, cross functions.
mat now has lookat function and is ready for much more if needed.
mesh now maintains its own world matrix
Added box, and line that create box and line meshs
Created a second vector type vec3S (S for simple) that is just coordinates no functionality
Demo now shows how to add more objects, position them in the scene, use a lookat transform
Details about the code.
The code below is the basics of 3D. It has a mesh object to create objects out of 3D points (vertices) connected via lines.
Simple transformation for rotating, moving and scaling a model so it can be placed in the scene.
A very very basic camera that can only look forward, move up,down, left,right, in and out. And the focal length can be changed.
Only for lines as there is no depth sorting.
The demo does not clip to the camera front plane, but rather just ignores lines that have any part behind the camera;
You will have to work out the rest from the comments, 3D is a big subject and any one of the features is worth a question / answer all its own.
Oh and coordinates in 3D are origin in center of canvas. Y positive down, x positive right, and z positive into the screen. projection is basic so when you have perspective set to 400 than a object at 400 units out from camera will have a one to one match with pixel size.
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
// some usage of vecs does not need the added functionality
// and will use the basic version
const vec3Basic = { x : 0, y : 0, z: 0};
const vec3Def = {
// Sets the vector scalars
// Has two signatures
// setVal(x,y,z) sets vector to {x,y,z}
// setVal(vec) set this vector to vec
setVal(x,y = x.y,z = x.z + (x = x.x) * 0){
this.x = x;
this.y = y;
this.z = z;
},
// subtract v from this vector
// Has two signatures
// setVal(v) subtract v from this returning a new vec3
// setVal(v,vec) subtract v from this returning result in retVec
sub(v,retVec = vec3()){
retVec.x = this.x - v.x;
retVec.y = this.y - v.y;
retVec.z = this.z - v.z;
return retVec;
},
// Cross product of two vectors this and v.
// Cross product can be thought of as get the vector
// that is perpendicular to the plane described by the two vector we are crossing
// Has two signatures
// cross(vec); // returns a new vec3 as the cross product of this and vec
// cross(vec, retVec); // set retVec as the cross product
cross (v, retVec = vec3()){
retVec.x = this.y * v.z - this.z * v.y;
retVec.y = this.z * v.x - this.x * v.z;
retVec.z = this.x * v.y - this.y * v.x;
return retVec;
},
// Dot product
// Dot product of two vectors if both normalized can be thought of as finding the cos of the angle
// between two vectors. If not normalised the dot product will give you < 0 if v points away from
// the plane that this vector is perpendicular to, if > 0 the v points in the same direction as the
// plane perpendicular to this vector. if 0 then v is at 90 degs to the plane this is perpendicular to
// Using vector dot on its self is the same as getting the length squared
// dot(vec3); // returns a number as a float
dot (v){ return this.x * v.x + this.y * v.y + this.z * this.z },
// normalize normalizes a vector. A normalized vector has length equale to 1 unit
// Has two signitures
// normalise(); normalises this vector returning this
// normalize(retVec); normalises this vector but puts the normalised vector in retVec returning
// returning retVec. Thiis is unchanged.
normalize(retVec = this){
// could have used len = this.dot(this) but for speed all functions will do calcs internaly
const len = Math.sqrt(this.x * this.x + this.y * this.y + this.z * this.z);
// it is assumed that all vector are valid (have length) so no test is made to avoid
// the divide by zero that will happen for invalid vectors.
retVec.x = this.x / len;
retVec.y = this.y / len;
retVec.z = this.z / len;
}
}
// Created as a singleton to close over working constants
const matDef = (()=>{
// to seed up vector math the following closed over vectors are used
// rather than create and dispose of vectors for every operation needing them
// Currently not used
const V1 = vec3();
return {
// The matrix is just 3 pointers one for each axis
// They represent the direction and scale in 3D of each axis
// when you transform a point x,y,z you move x along the x axis,
// then y along y and z along the z axis
xAxis : null,
yAxis : null,
zAxis : null,
// this is a position x,y,z and represents where in 3D space an objects
// center coordinate (0,0,0) will be. It is simply added to a point
// after it has been moved along the 3 axis.
pos : null,
// This function does most of the 3D work in most 3D environments.
// It rotates, scales, translates, and a whole lot more.
// It is a cut down of the full 4 by 4 3D matrix you will find in
// Libraries like three.js
transformVec3(vec,retVec = {}){
retVec.x = vec.x * this.xAxis.x + vec.y * this.yAxis.x + vec.z * this.zAxis.x + this.pos.x;
retVec.y = vec.x * this.xAxis.y + vec.y * this.yAxis.y + vec.z * this.zAxis.y + this.pos.y;
retVec.z = vec.x * this.xAxis.z + vec.y * this.yAxis.z + vec.z * this.zAxis.z + this.pos.z;
return retVec;
},
// resets the matrix
identity(){ // default matrix
this.xAxis.setVal(1,0,0); // x 1 unit long in the x direction
this.yAxis.setVal(0,1,0); // y 1 unit long in the y direction
this.zAxis.setVal(0,0,1); // z 1 unit long in the z direction
this.pos.setVal(0,0,0); // and position at the origin.
},
init(){ // need to call this before using due to the way I create these
// objects.
this.xAxis = vec3(1,0,0);
this.yAxis = vec3(0,1,0);
this.zAxis = vec3(0,0,1);
this.pos = vec3(0,0,0);
return this; // must have this line for the constructor function to return
},
setRotateY(amount){
var x = Math.cos(amount);
var y = Math.sin(amount);
this.xAxis.x = x;
this.xAxis.y = 0;
this.xAxis.z = y;
this.zAxis.x = -y;
this.zAxis.y = 0;
this.zAxis.z = x;
},
// creates a look at transform from the current position
// point is a vec3.
// No check is made to see if look at is at pos which will invalidate this matrix
// Note scale is lost in this operation.
lookAt(point){
// zAxis along vector from pos to point
this.pos.sub(point,this.zAxis).normalize();
// use y as vertical reference
this.yAxis.x = 0;
this.yAxis.y = 1;
this.yAxis.z = 0;
// get x axis perpendicular to the plane described by z and y axis
// need to normalise as z and y axis may not be at 90 deg
this.yAxis.cross(this.zAxis,this.xAxis).normalize();
// Get the y axis that is perpendicular to z and x axis
// Normalise is not really needed but rounding errors can be problematic
// so the normalise just fixes some of the rounding errors.
this.zAxis.cross(this.xAxis,this.yAxis).normalize();
},
}
})();
// Mesh object has buffers for the
// model as verts
// transformed mesh as tVerts
// projected 2D verts as dVerts (d for display)
// An a array of lines. Each line has two indexes that point to the
// vert that define their ends.
// Buffers are all preallocated to stop GC slowing everything down.
const meshDef = {
addVert(vec){
this.verts.push(vec);
// vec3(vec) in next line makes a copy of the vec. This is important
// as using the same vert in the two buffers will result in strange happenings.
this.tVerts.push(vec3S(vec)); // transformed verts pre allocated so GC does not bite
this.dVerts.push({x:0,y:0}); // preallocated memory for displaying 2d projection
// when x and y are zero this means that it is not visible
return this.verts.length - 1;
},
addLine(index1,index2){
this.lines.push(index1,index2);
},
transform(matrix = this.matrix){
for(var i = 0; i < this.verts.length; i++){
matrix.transformVec3(this.verts[i],this.tVerts[i]);
}
},
eachVert(callback){
for(var i = 0; i < this.verts.length; i++){
callback(this.tVerts[i],i);
}
},
eachLine(callback){
for(var i = 0; i < this.lines.length; i+= 2){
var ind1 = this.lines[i];
var v1 = this.dVerts[ind1]; // get the start
if(v1.x !== 0 && v1.y !== 0){ // is valid
var ind2 = this.lines[i+ 1]; // get end of line
var v2 = this.dVerts[ind2];
if(v2.x !== 0 && v2.y !== 0){ // is valid
callback(v1,v2);
}
}
}
},
init(){ // need to call this befor using
this.verts = [];
this.lines = [];
this.dVerts = [];
this.tVerts = [];
this.matrix = mat();
return this; // must have this line for the construtor function to return
}
}
const cameraDef = {
projectMesh(mesh){ // create a 2D mesh
mesh.eachVert((vert,i)=>{
var z = (vert.z + this.position.z);
if(z < 0){ // is behind the camera then ignor it
mesh.dVerts[i].x = mesh.dVerts[i].y = 0;
}else{
var s = this.perspective / z;
mesh.dVerts[i].x = (vert.x + this.position.x) * s;
mesh.dVerts[i].y = (vert.y + this.position.y) * s;
}
})
},
drawMesh(mesh){ // renders the 2D mesh
ctx.beginPath();
mesh.eachLine((v1,v2)=>{
ctx.moveTo(v1.x,v1.y);
ctx.lineTo(v2.x,v2.y);
})
ctx.stroke();
}
}
// vec3S creates a basic (simple) vector
// 3 signatures
//vec3S(); // return vec 1,0,0
//vec3S(vec); // returns copy of vec
//vec3S(x,y,z); // returns {x,y,z}
function vec3S(x = {x:1,y:0,z:0},y = x.y ,z = x.z + (x = x.x) * 0){ // a 3d point
return Object.assign({},vec3Basic,{x, y, z});
}
// vec3S creates a basic (simple) vector
// 3 signatures
//vec3S(); // return vec 1,0,0
//vec3S(vec); // returns copy of vec
//vec3S(x,y,z); // returns {x,y,z}
function vec3(x = {x:1,y:0,z:0},y = x.y ,z = x.z + (x = x.x) * 0){ // a 3d point
return Object.assign({},vec3Def,{x,y,z});
}
function mat(){ // matrix used to rotate scale and move a 3d point
return Object.assign({},matDef).init();
}
function mesh(){ // this is for storing objects as points in 3d and lines conecting points
return Object.assign({},meshDef).init();
}
function camera(perspective,position){ // this is for displaying 3D
return Object.assign({},cameraDef,{perspective,position});
}
// grid is the number of grids x,z and size is the overal size for x
function createLandMesh(gridx,gridz,size,maxHeight){
var m = mesh(); // create a mesh
var hs = size/2 ;
var step = size / gridx;
for(var z = 0; z < gridz; z ++){
for(var x = 0; x < gridx; x ++){
// create a vertex. Y is random
m.addVert(vec3S(x * step - hs, (Math.random() * maxHeight), z * step-hs)); // create a vert
}
}
for(var z = 0; z < gridz-1; z ++){
for(var x = 0; x < gridx-1; x ++){
if(x < gridx -1){ // dont go past end
m.addLine(x + z * gridx,x + 1 + z * gridx); // add line across
}
if(z < gridz - 1){ // dont go past end
m.addLine(x + z * (gridx-1),x + 1 + (z + 1) * (gridx-1));
}
}
}
return m;
}
function createBoxMesh(size){
var s = size / 2;
var m = mesh(); // create a mesh
// add bottom
m.addVert(vec3S(-s,-s,-s));
m.addVert(vec3S( s,-s,-s));
m.addVert(vec3S( s, s,-s));
m.addVert(vec3S(-s, s,-s));
// add top verts
m.addVert(vec3S(-s,-s, s));
m.addVert(vec3S( s,-s, s));
m.addVert(vec3S( s, s, s));
m.addVert(vec3S(-s, s, s));
// add lines
/// bottom lines
m.addLine(0,1);
m.addLine(1,2);
m.addLine(2,3);
m.addLine(3,0);
/// top lines
m.addLine(4,5);
m.addLine(5,6);
m.addLine(6,7);
m.addLine(7,4);
// side lines
m.addLine(0,4);
m.addLine(1,5);
m.addLine(2,6);
m.addLine(3,7);
return m;
}
function createLineMesh(v1 = vec3S(),v2 = vec3S()){
const m = mesh();
m.addVert(v1);
m.addVert(v2);
m.addLine(0,1);
return m;
}
//Create a land mesh grid 20 by 20 and 400 units by 400 units in size
var land = createLandMesh(20,20,400,20); // create a land mesh
var box = createBoxMesh(50);
var box1 = createBoxMesh(25);
var line = createLineMesh(); // line conecting boxes
line.tVerts[0] = box.matrix.pos; // set the line transformed tVect[0] to box matrix.pos
line.tVerts[1] = box1.matrix.pos; // set the line transformed tVect[0] to box1 matrix.pos
var cam = camera(200,vec3(0,0,0)); // create a projection with focal len 200 and at 0,0,0
box.matrix.pos.setVal(0,-100,400);
box1.matrix.pos.setVal(0,-100,400);
land.matrix.pos.setVal(0,100,300); // move down 100, move away 300
var w = canvas.width;
var h = canvas.height;
var cw = w / 2; // center of canvas
var ch = h / 2;
function update(timer){
// next section just maintains canvas size and resets state and clears display
if (canvas.width !== innerWidth || canvas.height !== innerHeight) {
cw = (w = canvas.width = innerWidth) /2;
ch = (h = canvas.height = innerHeight) /2;
}
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0); // reset transform
ctx.globalAlpha = 1; // reset alpha
ctx.fillStyle = "black";
ctx.fillRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
// end of standard canvas maintenance
// render from center of canvas by setting canvas origin to center
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,canvas.width / 2,canvas.height / 2)
land.matrix.setRotateY(timer/1000); // set matrix to rotation position
land.transform();
// move the blue box
var t = timer/1000;
box1.matrix.pos.setVal(Math.sin(t / 2.1) * 100,Math.sin( t / 3.2) * 100, Math.sin(t /5.3) * 90+300);
// Make the cyan box look at the blue box
box.matrix.lookAt(box1.matrix.pos);
// Transform boxes from local to world space
box1.transform();
box.transform();
// set camera x,y pos to mouse pos;
cam.position.x = mouse.x - cw;
cam.position.y = mouse.y - ch;
// move in and out
if (mouse.buttonRaw === 1) { cam.position.z -= 1 }
if (mouse.buttonRaw === 4) {cam.position.z += 1 }
// Converts mesh transformed verts to 2D screen coordinates
cam.projectMesh(land);
cam.projectMesh(box);
cam.projectMesh(box1);
cam.projectMesh(line);
// Draw each mesh in turn
ctx.strokeStyle = "#0F0";
cam.drawMesh(land);
ctx.strokeStyle = "#0FF";
cam.drawMesh(box);
ctx.strokeStyle = "#00F";
cam.drawMesh(box1);
ctx.strokeStyle = "#F00";
cam.drawMesh(line);
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,cw,ch / 4);
ctx.font = "20px arial";
ctx.textAlign = "center";
ctx.fillStyle = "yellow";
ctx.fillText("Move mouse to move camera. Left right mouse move in out",0,0)
requestAnimationFrame(update);
}
requestAnimationFrame(update);
// A mouse handler from old lib of mine just to give some interaction
// not needed for the 3d
var mouse = (function () {
var m; // alias for mouse
var mouse = {
x : 0, y : 0, // mouse position
buttonRaw : 0,
buttonOnMasks : [0b1, 0b10, 0b100], // mouse button on masks
buttonOffMasks : [0b110, 0b101, 0b011], // mouse button off masks
bounds : null,
event(e) {
m.bounds = m.element.getBoundingClientRect();
m.x = e.pageX - m.bounds.left - scrollX;
m.y = e.pageY - m.bounds.top - scrollY;
if (e.type === "mousedown") { m.buttonRaw |= m.buttonOnMasks[e.which - 1] }
else if (e.type === "mouseup") { m.buttonRaw &= m.buttonOffMasks[e.which - 1] }
e.preventDefault();
},
start(element) {
m.element = element === undefined ? document : element;
"mousemove,mousedown,mouseup".split(",").forEach(name => document.addEventListener(name, mouse.event) );
document.addEventListener("contextmenu", (e) => { e.preventDefault() }, false);
return mouse;
},
}
m = mouse;
return mouse;
})().start(canvas);
canvas { position:absolute; top : 0px; left : 0px;}
<canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

How to clear the canvas without interrupting animations?

I am visualising flight paths with D3 and Canvas. In short, I have data for each flight's origin and destination
as well as the airport coordinates. The ideal end state is to have an indiviudal circle representing a plane moving
along each flight path from origin to destination. The current state is that each circle gets visualised along the path,
yet the removal of the previous circle along the line does not work as clearRect gets called nearly constantly.
Current state:
Ideal state (achieved with SVG):
The Concept
Conceptually, an SVG path for each flight is produced in memory using D3's custom interpolation with path.getTotalLength() and path.getPointAtLength() to move the circle along the path.
The interpolator returns the points along the path at any given time of the transition. A simple drawing function takes these points and draws the circle.
Key functions
The visualisation gets kicked off with:
od_pairs.forEach(function(el, i) {
fly(el[0], el[1]); // for example: fly('LHR', 'JFK')
});
The fly() function creates the SVG path in memory and a D3 selection of a circle (the 'plane') - also in memory.
function fly(origin, destination) {
var pathElement = document.createElementNS(d3.namespaces.svg, 'path');
var routeInMemory = d3.select(pathElement)
.datum({
type: 'LineString',
coordinates: [airportMap[origin], airportMap[destination]]
})
.attr('d', path);
var plane = custom.append('plane');
transition(plane, routeInMemory.node());
}
The plane gets transitioned along the path by the custom interpolater in the delta() function:
function transition(plane, route) {
var l = route.getTotalLength();
plane.transition()
.duration(l * 50)
.attrTween('pointCoordinates', delta(plane, route))
// .on('end', function() { transition(plane, route); });
}
function delta(plane, path) {
var l = path.getTotalLength();
return function(i) {
return function(t) {
var p = path.getPointAtLength(t * l);
draw([p.x, p.y]);
};
};
}
... which calls the simple draw() function
function draw(coords) {
// contextPlane.clearRect(0, 0, width, height); << how to tame this?
contextPlane.beginPath();
contextPlane.arc(coords[0], coords[1], 1, 0, 2*Math.PI);
contextPlane.fillStyle = 'tomato';
contextPlane.fill();
}
This results in an extending 'path' of circles as the circles get drawn yet not removed as shown in the first gif above.
Full code here: http://blockbuilder.org/larsvers/8e25c39921ca746df0c8995cce20d1a6
My question is, how can I achieve to draw only a single, current circle while the previous circle gets removed without interrupting other circles being drawn on the same canvas?
Some failed attempts:
The natural answer is of course context.clearRect(), however, as there's a time delay (roughly a milisecond+) for each circle to be drawn as it needs to get through the function pipeline clearRect gets fired almost constantly.
I tried to tame the perpetual clearing of the canvas by calling clearRect only at certain intervals (Date.now() % 10 === 0 or the like) but that leads to no good either.
Another thought was to calculate the previous circle's position and remove the area specifically with a small and specific clearRect definition within each draw() function.
Any pointers very much appreciated.
Handling small dirty regions, especially if there is overlap between objects quickly becomes very computationally heavy.
As a general rule, a average Laptop/desktop can easily handle 800 animated objects if the computation to calculate position is simple.
This means that the simple way to animate is to clear the canvas and redraw every frame. Saves a lot of complex code that offers no advantage over the simple clear and redraw.
const doFor = (count,callback) => {var i=0;while(i < count){callback(i++)}};
function createIcon(drawFunc){
const icon = document.createElement("canvas");
icon.width = icon.height = 10;
drawFunc(icon.getContext("2d"));
return icon;
}
function drawPlane(ctx){
const cx = ctx.canvas.width / 2;
const cy = ctx.canvas.height / 2;
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.lineWidth = cx / 2;
ctx.lineJoin = "round";
ctx.lineCap = "round";
ctx.moveTo(cx/2,cy)
ctx.lineTo(cx * 1.5,cy);
ctx.moveTo(cx,cy/2)
ctx.lineTo(cx,cy*1.5)
ctx.stroke();
ctx.lineWidth = cx / 4;
ctx.moveTo(cx * 1.7,cy * 0.6)
ctx.lineTo(cx * 1.7,cy*1.4)
ctx.stroke();
}
const planes = {
items : [],
icon : createIcon(drawPlane),
clear(){
planes.items.length = 0;
},
add(x,y){
planes.items.push({
x,y,
ax : 0, // the direction of the x axis of this plane
ay : 0,
dir : Math.random() * Math.PI * 2,
speed : Math.random() * 0.2 + 0.1,
dirV : (Math.random() - 0.5) * 0.01, // change in direction
})
},
update(){
var i,p;
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
p.dir += p.dirV;
p.ax = Math.cos(p.dir);
p.ay = Math.sin(p.dir);
p.x += p.ax * p.speed;
p.y += p.ay * p.speed;
}
},
draw(){
var i,p;
const w = canvas.width;
const h = canvas.height;
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
var x = ((p.x % w) + w) % w;
var y = ((p.y % h) + h) % h;
ctx.setTransform(-p.ax,-p.ay,p.ay,-p.ax,x,y);
ctx.drawImage(planes.icon,-planes.icon.width / 2,-planes.icon.height / 2);
}
}
}
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
function mainLoop(){
if(canvas.width !== innerWidth || canvas.height !== innerHeight){
canvas.width = innerWidth;
canvas.height = innerHeight;
planes.clear();
doFor(800,()=>{ planes.add(Math.random() * canvas.width, Math.random() * canvas.height) })
}
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0);
// clear or render a background map
ctx.clearRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
planes.update();
planes.draw();
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
}
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
canvas {
position : absolute;
top : 0px;
left : 0px;
}
<canvas id=canvas></canvas>
800 animated points
As pointed out in the comments some machines may be able to draw a circle if one colour and all as one path slightly quicker (not all machines). The point of rendering an image is that it is invariant to the image complexity. Image rendering is dependent on the image size but colour and alpha setting per pixel have no effect on rendering speed. Thus I have changed the circle to show the direction of each point via a little plane icon.
Path follow example
I have added a way point object to each plane that in the demo has a random set of way points added. I called it path (could have used a better name) and a unique path is created for each plane.
The demo is to just show how you can incorporate the D3.js interpolation into the plane update function. The plane.update now calls the path.getPos(time) which returns true if the plane has arrived. If so the plane is remove. Else the new plane coordinates are used (stored in the path object for that plane) to set the position and direction.
Warning the code for path does little to no vetting and thus can easily be made to throw an error. It is assumed that you write the path interface to the D3.js functionality you want.
const doFor = (count,callback) => {var i=0;while(i < count){callback(i++)}};
function createIcon(drawFunc){
const icon = document.createElement("canvas");
icon.width = icon.height = 10;
drawFunc(icon.getContext("2d"));
return icon;
}
function drawPlane(ctx){
const cx = ctx.canvas.width / 2;
const cy = ctx.canvas.height / 2;
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.strokeStyle = ctx.fillStyle = "red";
ctx.lineWidth = cx / 2;
ctx.lineJoin = "round";
ctx.lineCap = "round";
ctx.moveTo(cx/2,cy)
ctx.lineTo(cx * 1.5,cy);
ctx.moveTo(cx,cy/2)
ctx.lineTo(cx,cy*1.5)
ctx.stroke();
ctx.lineWidth = cx / 4;
ctx.moveTo(cx * 1.7,cy * 0.6)
ctx.lineTo(cx * 1.7,cy*1.4)
ctx.stroke();
}
const path = {
wayPoints : null, // holds way points
nextTarget : null, // holds next target waypoint
current : null, // hold previously passed way point
x : 0, // current pos x
y : 0, // current pos y
addWayPoint(x,y,time){
this.wayPoints.push({x,y,time});
},
start(){
if(this.wayPoints.length > 1){
this.current = this.wayPoints.shift();
this.nextTarget = this.wayPoints.shift();
}
},
getNextTarget(){
this.current = this.nextTarget;
if(this.wayPoints.length === 0){ // no more way points
return;
}
this.nextTarget = this.wayPoints.shift(); // get the next target
},
getPos(time){
while(this.nextTarget.time < time && this.wayPoints.length > 0){
this.getNextTarget(); // get targets untill the next target is ahead in time
}
if(this.nextTarget.time < time){
return true; // has arrivecd at target
}
// get time normalised ove time between current and next
var timeN = (time - this.current.time) / (this.nextTarget.time - this.current.time);
this.x = timeN * (this.nextTarget.x - this.current.x) + this.current.x;
this.y = timeN * (this.nextTarget.y - this.current.y) + this.current.y;
return false; // has not arrived
}
}
const planes = {
items : [],
icon : createIcon(drawPlane),
clear(){
planes.items.length = 0;
},
add(x,y){
var p;
planes.items.push(p = {
x,y,
ax : 0, // the direction of the x axis of this plane
ay : 0,
path : Object.assign({},path,{wayPoints : []}),
})
return p; // return the plane
},
update(time){
var i,p;
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
if(p.path.getPos(time)){ // target reached
planes.items.splice(i--,1); // remove
}else{
p.dir = Math.atan2(p.y - p.path.y, p.x - p.path.x) + Math.PI; // add 180 because i drew plane wrong way around.
p.ax = Math.cos(p.dir);
p.ay = Math.sin(p.dir);
p.x = p.path.x;
p.y = p.path.y;
}
}
},
draw(){
var i,p;
const w = canvas.width;
const h = canvas.height;
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
var x = ((p.x % w) + w) % w;
var y = ((p.y % h) + h) % h;
ctx.setTransform(-p.ax,-p.ay,p.ay,-p.ax,x,y);
ctx.drawImage(planes.icon,-planes.icon.width / 2,-planes.icon.height / 2);
}
}
}
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
function mainLoop(time){
if(canvas.width !== innerWidth || canvas.height !== innerHeight){
canvas.width = innerWidth;
canvas.height = innerHeight;
planes.clear();
doFor(810,()=>{
var p = planes.add(Math.random() * canvas.width, Math.random() * canvas.height);
// now add random number of way points
var timeP = time;
// info to create a random path
var dir = Math.random() * Math.PI * 2;
var x = p.x;
var y = p.y;
doFor(Math.floor(Math.random() * 80 + 12),()=>{
var dist = Math.random() * 5 + 4;
x += Math.cos(dir) * dist;
y += Math.sin(dir) * dist;
dir += (Math.random()-0.5)*0.3;
timeP += Math.random() * 1000 + 500;
p.path.addWayPoint(x,y,timeP);
});
// last waypoin at center of canvas.
p.path.addWayPoint(canvas.width / 2,canvas.height / 2,timeP + 5000);
p.path.start();
})
}
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0);
// clear or render a background map
ctx.clearRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
planes.update(time);
planes.draw();
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
}
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
canvas {
position : absolute;
top : 0px;
left : 0px;
}
<canvas id=canvas></canvas>
800 animated points
#Blindman67 is correct, clear and redraw everything, every frame.
I'm here just to say that when dealing with such primitive shapes as arc without too many color variations, it's actually better to use the arc method than drawImage().
The idea is to wrap all your shapes in a single path declaration, using
ctx.beginPath(); // start path declaration
for(i; i<shapes.length; i++){ // loop through our points
ctx.moveTo(pt.x + pt.radius, pt.y); // default is lineTo and we don't want it
// Note the '+ radius', arc starts at 3 o'clock
ctx.arc(pt.x, pt.y, pt.radius, 0, Math.PI*2);
}
ctx.fill(); // a single fill()
This is faster than drawImage, but the main caveat is that it works only for single-colored set of shapes.
I've made an complex plotting app, where I do draw a lot (20K+) of entities, with animated positions. So what I do, is to store two sets of points, one un-sorted (actually sorted by radius), and one
sorted by color. I then do use the sorted-by-color one in my animations loop, and when the animation is complete, I draw only the final frame with the sorted-by-radius (after I filtered the non visible entities). I achieve 60fps on most devices. When I tried with drawImage, I was stuck at about 10fps for 5K points.
Here is a modified version of Blindman67's good answer's snippet, using this single-path approach.
/* All credits to SO user Blindman67 */
const doFor = (count,callback) => {var i=0;while(i < count){callback(i++)}};
const planes = {
items : [],
clear(){
planes.items.length = 0;
},
add(x,y){
planes.items.push({
x,y,
rad: 2,
dir : Math.random() * Math.PI * 2,
speed : Math.random() * 0.2 + 0.1,
dirV : (Math.random() - 0.5) * 0.01, // change in direction
})
},
update(){
var i,p;
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
p.dir += p.dirV;
p.x += Math.cos(p.dir) * p.speed;
p.y += Math.sin(p.dir) * p.speed;
}
},
draw(){
var i,p;
const w = canvas.width;
const h = canvas.height;
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.fillStyle = 'red';
for(i = 0; i < planes.items.length; i ++){
p = planes.items[i];
var x = ((p.x % w) + w) % w;
var y = ((p.y % h) + h) % h;
ctx.moveTo(x + p.rad, y)
ctx.arc(x, y, p.rad, 0, Math.PI*2);
}
ctx.fill();
}
}
const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
function mainLoop(){
if(canvas.width !== innerWidth || canvas.height !== innerHeight){
canvas.width = innerWidth;
canvas.height = innerHeight;
planes.clear();
doFor(8000,()=>{ planes.add(Math.random() * canvas.width, Math.random() * canvas.height) })
}
ctx.setTransform(1,0,0,1,0,0);
// clear or render a background map
ctx.clearRect(0,0,canvas.width,canvas.height);
planes.update();
planes.draw();
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
}
requestAnimationFrame(mainLoop)
canvas {
position : absolute;
top : 0px;
left : 0px;
z-index: -1;
}
<canvas id=canvas></canvas>
8000 animated points
Not directly related but in case you've got part of your drawings that don't update at the same rate as the rest (e.g if you want to highlight an area of your map...) then you might also consider separating your drawings in different layers, on offscreen canvases. This way you'd have one canvas for the planes, that you'd clear every frame, and other canvas for other layers that you would update at different rate. But that's an other story.

Construct a circle of nested squares

I want to construct a circle of nested squares like this:
In the moment, I am programming in JavaScript/HTML5 canvas. This is my code:
<html>
<head>
<title>Circle of squares</title>
<script type="text/javascript">
var r = 150, u = 20, nests = 200; //radius in pixels, circumference in squares, nests in squares
var w = r; //any number != 0
function getNewW()
{
if(u < 3)
alert("Error: u < 3 (" + u + " < 3)!");
var tangents = new Array(new Array(0, w/2), new Array(Math.sin((1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180))*(w/2), -Math.cos((1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180))*(w/2)));
var sta = new Array(new Array(r, 0), new Array(Math.cos((1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180))*r, Math.sin((1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180))*r));
var end = new Array(new Array(sta[0][0]+tangents[0][0], sta[0][1]+tangents[0][1]), new Array(sta[1][0]+tangents[1][0], sta[1][1]+tangents[1][1]));
var pts = new Array(sta[0], end[0], sta[1], end[1]);
var intersect = new Array(((pts[0][0]*pts[1][1]-pts[0][1]*pts[1][0])*(pts[2][0]-pts[3][0]) - (pts[0][0]-pts[1][0])*(pts[2][0]*pts[3][1]-pts[2][1]*pts[3][0])) / ((pts[0][0]-pts[1][0])*(pts[2][1]-pts[3][1]) - (pts[0][1]-pts[1][1])*(pts[2][0]-pts[3][0])), ((pts[0][0]*pts[1][1]-pts[0][1]*pts[1][0])*(pts[2][1]-pts[3][1]) - (pts[0][1]-pts[1][1])*(pts[2][0]*pts[3][1]-pts[2][1]*pts[3][0])) / ((pts[0][0]-pts[1][0])*(pts[2][1]-pts[3][1]) - (pts[0][1]-pts[1][1])*(pts[2][0]-pts[3][0]))); //Formula from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line%E2%80%93line_intersection
//distTo0 should be equal to distTo1
var distTo0 = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(sta[0][0]-intersect[0], 2) + Math.pow(sta[0][1]-intersect[1], 2));
var distTo1 = Math.sqrt(Math.pow(sta[1][0]-intersect[0], 2) + Math.pow(sta[1][1]-intersect[1], 2));
if(Math.round(distTo0*100)/100 != Math.round(distTo1*100)/100)
alert("Error: distTo0 != distTo1 (" + distTo0 + " != " + distTo1 + ")!");
return distTo0*2;
}
function start()
{
var canvas = document.getElementById("outputCanvas");
canvas.setAttribute("width", 600);
canvas.setAttribute("height", 600);
if(canvas.getContext)
{
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
ctx.translate(300, 300);
w = getNewW();
for(var i=0; i<u; i++)
{
ctx.rotate((1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180));
ctx.fillRect(r, -w/2, w, w);
}
for(var j=1; j<nests; j++)
{
var oldr = r;
var temp1 = 1/(10*j+1);
while(r+w > oldr) //This is the while-loop that makes the program slow
{
r -= temp1;
w = getNewW();
}
if(r < 0) //When the radius gets smaller than 0, the center is reached -> no new squares have to be drawn
break;
var temp2 = (1/u*360)*(Math.PI/180);
for(var i=0; i<u; i++)
{
ctx.rotate(temp2);
ctx.fillRect(r, -w/2, w, w);
}
}
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body id="main" onload="start()">
<canvas style="border:1px #000000 solid;" width="0" height="0" id="outputCanvas">Canvas not supported...</canvas>
<div id="info"> </div>
</body>
</html>
But because I don't have a formula for the solution, I use a while-loop to get closer and closer to the solution (until it has reached zero because of float-inaccuracy), that's why it's quite slow.
So, what formula can be used to calculate the width of the next square inside the (thought) circle and, if necessary, how could the code be optimized elsewhere?
Near the center of the circle, where the squares are small enough, you can approximate the length of the side (w) by the arc length - that is, how long one uth of the inner circle would be if you drew it as an actual circle. That's just the angle in radians (2 π/u) times the radius of the circle that goes through the inner corners of the square. Since you have r varying in your code, I'll call the specific radius value under consideration at a single moment r2; that makes the arc length this:
w_approx = (2 * Math.PI / u) * r2
But for most of the squares in your picture, the difference between that and the actual value of w is too great; if you use that as the side length, you'll get overlapping squares. Fortunately, we can calculate the true value of w directly, too; it just requires a little trigonometry.
If you draw lines from the inner corners of the square to the center of the circle, those two lines plus the inner side of the square form a triangle. We know how long those two lines we just drew are; they're equal to the inner radius. We don't know how long the third side is - that's the value of w we're looking for - but we do know the angle opposite it. Those three pieces of information are enough to calculate w.
Here's a picture to show what I'm talking about:
The angle at the center of the circle, labeled α (alpha) in the picture, is just one uth of a full circle, which is 2 π /u radians (or 360/u degrees, but the trig functions all expect radians):
alpha = 2 * Math.PI / u
The other two angles of the triangle are equal (they have to be, because they're opposite sides that are of equal length), so they're both labeled β. Since the three angles of a triangle always add up to π radians (or 180º), we can calculate β; it's equal to (π - α)/2 radians:
beta = (Math.PI - alpha)/2
By the Law of Sines, if you divide the length of any side of any triangle by the sine of the angle opposite that side, the result is the same no matter which of the three sides you picked. That tells us that w/sin α must be the same as r2/sin β. Solving that equation for w gets us this:
w = r2 * Math.sin(alpha) / Math.sin(beta)
Solution is quite easy :
What are the parameters ?
• The start radius of your circle.
• The end radius of your circle.
• The number of square per circle.
Then what do you need to compute ?
• The rotation to be performed between two circles : easy ,that's just a full rotation divided by the number of square per circle :
var angle = 2 * Math.PI / squaresPerCircle;
• The size of each square, given the current radius. Easy also : compute the circumference of the current circle (2*PI*radius), then the size of one square is approximately this circumference divided by the number of squares (since you want to fill the circle) :
squareSize = 2 * Math.PI * currentRadius / squaresPerCircle;
approximation is good enough even for like 10 squares per circles.
(
Otherwise the 'real' way to get the height when you have radius and angle is done with :
squareSize = 2 * currentRadius * Math.tan(angle/2);
)
Snippet :
// parameters
var startRadius = 5;
var maxRadius = 200;
var squaresPerCircle = 20;
function start() {
// boilerplate
var canvas = document.getElementById("outputCanvas");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
canvas.width = 600;
canvas.height = 600;
//
ctx.save();
ctx.translate(canvas.width / 2, canvas.height / 2);
var currentRadius = startRadius;
var angle = 2 * Math.PI / squaresPerCircle;
// loop on each ring
do {
squareSize = 2 * Math.PI * currentRadius / squaresPerCircle;
// squareSize = 2 * currentRadius * Math.tan(angle/2);
ctx.save();
// loop on every square of a single ring
for (var cIndex = 0; cIndex < squaresPerCircle; cIndex++) {
ctx.fillRect(currentRadius, -squareSize / 2,
squareSize, squareSize);
ctx.rotate(angle);
};
ctx.restore();
currentRadius += squareSize;
} while (currentRadius < maxRadius);
ctx.restore();
}
onload = start;
<canvas style="border:1px #000000 solid;" width="0" height="0" id="outputCanvas">Canvas not supported...</canvas>

Calculating evenly spaced points on the perimeter of a circle

The math behind this question has been asked numerous times, so that's not specifically what I'm after. Rather, I'm trying to program the equation for determining these points into a loop in JavaScript, so that I can display points the evenly around the circle.
So with the equations for the X and Y positions of the points:
pointX = r * cos(theta) + centerX
pointY = r * sin(theta) + centerY
I should be able to calculate it with this:
var centerX = 300;
var centerY = 175;
var radius = 100;
var numberOfPoints = 8;
var theta = 360/numberOfPoints;
for ( var i = 1; i <= numberOfPoints; i++ ) {
pointX = ( radius * Math.cos(theta * i) + centerX );
pointY = ( radius * Math.sin(theta * i) + centerY );
// Draw point ( pointX , pointY )
}
And it should give me the x,y coordinates along the perimeter for 8 points, spread 45° from each other. But this doesn't work, and I'm not understanding why.
This is the output that I get (using the HTML5 Canvas element). The points should reside on the innermost red circle, as that one has a
Incorrect:
When it "should" look like this (although this is with just 1 point, placed manually):
Correct:
Could someone help me out? It's been years since I took trig, but even with looking at other examples (from various languages), I don't see why this isn't working.
Update: Figured it out!
I didn't need to add the centerX and centerY to each calculation, because in my code, those points were already relative to the center of the circle. So, while the canvas center was at point (300, 175), all points were relative to the circle that I created (the stroke line that they need to be placed on), and so the center for them was at (0, 0). I removed this from the code, and split the theta and angle calculations into two variables for better readability, and voila!
totalPoints = 8;
for (var i = 1; i <= totalPoints ; i++) {
drawPoint(100, i, totalPoints);
}
function drawPoint(r, currentPoint, totalPoints) {
var theta = ((Math.PI*2) / totalPoints);
var angle = (theta * currentPoint);
electron.pivot.x = (r * Math.cos(angle));
electron.pivot.y = (r * Math.sin(angle));
return electron;
}
Correct:
cos and sin in Javascript accept an argument in radians, not degrees. You can change your theta calculation to
var theta = (Math.PI*2)/numberOfPoints;
See the Math.cos documentation for details
#Emmett J. Butler's solution should work. The following is a complete working example
// canvas and mousedown related variables
var canvas = document.getElementById("canvas");
var ctx = canvas.getContext("2d");
var $canvas = $("#canvas");
var canvasOffset = $canvas.offset();
var offsetX = canvasOffset.left;
var offsetY = canvasOffset.top;
var scrollX = $canvas.scrollLeft();
var scrollY = $canvas.scrollTop();
// save canvas size to vars b/ they're used often
var canvasWidth = canvas.width;
var canvasHeight = canvas.height;
var centerX = 150;
var centerY = 175;
var radius = 100;
var numberOfPoints = 8;
var theta = 2.0*Math.PI/numberOfPoints;
ctx.beginPath();
for ( var i = 1; i <= numberOfPoints; i++ ) {
pointX = ( radius * Math.cos(theta * i) + centerX );
pointY = ( radius * Math.sin(theta * i) + centerY );
ctx.fillStyle = "Red";
ctx.fillRect(pointX-5,pointY-5,10,10);
ctx.fillStyle = "Green";
}
ctx.stroke();

HTML5 Perspective Grid

I was trying to do a perspective grid on my canvas and I've changed the function from another website with this result:
function keystoneAndDisplayImage(ctx, img, x, y, pixelHeight, scalingFactor) {
var h = img.height,
w = img.width,
numSlices = Math.abs(pixelHeight),
sliceHeight = h / numSlices,
polarity = (pixelHeight > 0) ? 1 : -1,
heightScale = Math.abs(pixelHeight) / h,
widthScale = (1 - scalingFactor) / numSlices;
for(var n = 0; n < numSlices; n++) {
var sy = sliceHeight * n,
sx = 0,
sHeight = sliceHeight,
sWidth = w;
var dy = y + (sliceHeight * n * heightScale * polarity),
dx = x + ((w * widthScale * n) / 2),
dHeight = sliceHeight * heightScale,
dWidth = w * (1 - (widthScale * n));
ctx.drawImage(img, sx, sy, sWidth, sHeight,
dx, dy, dWidth, dHeight);
}
}
It creates almost-good perspective grid, but it isn't scaling the Height, so every square has got the same height. Here's a working jsFiddle and how it should look like, just below the canvas. I can't think of any math formula to distort the height in proportion to the "perspective distance" (top).
I hope you understand. Sorry for language errors. Any help would be greatly appreciatedRegards
There is sadly no proper way besides using a 3D approach. But luckily it is not so complicated.
The following will produce a grid that is rotatable by the X axis (as in your picture) so we only need to focus on that axis.
To understand what goes on: We define the grid in Cartesian coordinate space. Fancy word for saying we are defining our points as vectors and not absolute coordinates. That is to say one grid cell can go from 0,0 to 1,1 instead of for example 10,20 to 45, 45 just to take some numbers.
At the projection stage we project these Cartesian coordinates into our screen coordinates.
The result will be like this:
ONLINE DEMO
Ok, lets dive into it - first we set up some variables that we need for projection etc:
fov = 512, /// Field of view kind of the lense, smaller values = spheric
viewDist = 22, /// view distance, higher values = further away
w = ez.width / 2, /// center of screen
h = ez.height / 2,
angle = -27, /// grid angle
i, p1, p2, /// counter and two points (corners)
grid = 10; /// grid size in Cartesian
To adjust the grid we don't adjust the loops (see below) but alter the fov and viewDist as well as modifying the grid to increase or decrease the number of cells.
Lets say you want a more extreme view - by setting fov to 128 and viewDist to 5 you will get this result using the same grid and angle:
The "magic" function doing all the math is as follows:
function rotateX(x, y) {
var rd, ca, sa, ry, rz, f;
rd = angle * Math.PI / 180; /// convert angle into radians
ca = Math.cos(rd);
sa = Math.sin(rd);
ry = y * ca; /// convert y value as we are rotating
rz = y * sa; /// only around x. Z will also change
/// Project the new coords into screen coords
f = fov / (viewDist + rz);
x = x * f + w;
y = ry * f + h;
return [x, y];
}
And that's it. Worth to mention is that it is the combination of the new Y and Z that makes the lines smaller at the top (at this angle).
Now we can create a grid in Cartesian space like this and rotate those points directly into screen coordinate space:
/// create vertical lines
for(i = -grid; i <= grid; i++) {
p1 = rotateX(i, -grid);
p2 = rotateX(i, grid);
ez.strokeLine(p1[0], p1[1], p2[0], p2[1]); //from easyCanvasJS, see demo
}
/// create horizontal lines
for(i = -grid; i <= grid; i++) {
p1 = rotateX(-grid, i);
p2 = rotateX(grid, i);
ez.strokeLine(p1[0], p1[1], p2[0], p2[1]);
}
Also notice that position 0,0 is center of screen. This is why we use negative values to get out on the left side or upwards. You can see that the two center lines are straight lines.
And that's all there is to it. To color a cell you simply select the Cartesian coordinate and then convert it by calling rotateX() and you will have the coordinates you need for the corners.
For example - a random cell number is picked (between -10 and 10 on both X and Y axis):
c1 = rotateX(cx, cy); /// upper left corner
c2 = rotateX(cx + 1, cy); /// upper right corner
c3 = rotateX(cx + 1, cy + 1); /// bottom right corner
c4 = rotateX(cx, cy + 1); /// bottom left corner
/// draw a polygon between the points
ctx.beginPath();
ctx.moveTo(c1[0], c1[1]);
ctx.lineTo(c2[0], c2[1]);
ctx.lineTo(c3[0], c3[1]);
ctx.lineTo(c4[0], c4[1]);
ctx.closePath();
/// fill the polygon
ctx.fillStyle = 'rgb(200,0,0)';
ctx.fill();
An animated version that can help see what goes on.

Categories