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Seven months after releasing its first version of LiquidFun, a C++ 2D rigid-body physics library that makes it easier for developers to add realistic physics to their games, Google has announced its third and latest improved version that now includes iOS support and can run in a Web browser using JavaScript.
The new Version 1.1 of the open-source LiquidFun library was unveiled by Jason Sanmiya of Google’s Fun Propulsion Labs in a July 17 post on the Google Open Source Blog. Google announced LiquidFun in December 2013 as Version 0.9, according to an eWEEK report.
The newest version, like the original, adds particle simulation to the earlier Box2D engine and can be used as a drop-in replacement for Box2D, wrote Sanmiya. “If your program is written in C++, Java or JavaScript, you can easily use LiquidFun.”
Version 1.1 of LiquidFun gains the ability to run in a Web browser through the use of Emscripten to translate LiquidFun into JavaScript, he wrote. In addition, the new version gains official iOS support, he wrote.
LiquidFun’s particle simulation has also been optimized in the new version to improve its performance on ARM processors, Sanmiya added. Other improvements are also included. “We’ve stabilized the simulation, fixed bugs, and added some cool new functions, including one that automatically splits a particle group into multiple, disjoint particle groups.”
Also included in the latest release are two physics-based, open-source games from Google, which are currently available in the U.S. Play Store, he wrote. The games are VoltAir, which includes “a compelling physics system, plenty of speed and motion, and interesting puzzles,” and LiquidFun Paint, which lets users “create art that moves, shakes, and delights.”
The second edition pf LiquidFun, Version 1.0, debuted in March 2014. More details about how the LiquidFun particle simulation works can be found in a special Inside LiquidFun Website set up to detail the project.
Using LiquidFun, games developers can add particle simulation, motion and other functions to their games.