The Physics Xtra is a high-performance tool that helps developers create 3D worlds in which objects interact. The Xtra performs calculations to determine the results of collisions, factoring in object properties such as mass, velocity, and rotation. Forces can be applied, and objects can be connected to each other with constraints. The constraints available are 6 degree of freedom joints, linear joints, angular joints, and spring joints.

Additonally, terrains and raycasting are supported. A terrain is similar to a bumpy plane that is infinite in two dimensions and defines an elevation along the third. Raycasting is the mechanism of collision detection with rays. Raycasting can be done against all types of rigid bodies and terrains.

With this Xtra, developers can focus on game play and user interaction, and not worry about creating a real-time physics engine with Lingo scripts.

The Physics (dynamiks) Xtra is a fully integrated rigid body physics simulation engine for Adobe Director. The dynamics Xtra is supported on Windows and MAC platforms.

The physics engine for Director has the following features. Refer to the rest of the chapter for their details.