Chapter X: v1.4.2 toolkit

Chapter 1 covers Actor / World / Main. This chapter is the rest of the public surface that shipped with v1.4.2: a unified clock, interpolated drawing, classpath assets, camera, config, and the utils package.

Simulation vs render

GameLoop updates on a fixed tick and sets a render alpha on the world between ticks. Gameplay code should keep using getX() / getY(). If you override paint, draw with the interpolated helpers so motion stays smooth:

• Actor.getRenderX() / getRenderY()
• getRenderPreciseX() / getRenderPreciseY() for sub-pixel
• getRenderDirection()
• World.getRenderAlpha() if you blend something yourself

Missed ticks are absorbed in the loop so a hitch does not spiral. Target FPS still comes from Activerse.properties.

ResourcePaths

Images and sounds resolve through ActiverseUtils.ResourcePaths: existing filesystem path first, otherwise a classpath URL (so java -jar still finds assets). Prefer relative keys such as assets/images/player.png and keep the same layout on disk and in the jar.

setImage(new ActiverseImage("assets/images/player.png"));
ActiverseSound step = new ActiverseSound("assets/sounds/step.wav");

Camera

ActiverseEngine.Camera is a viewport helper for scrolling worlds. World does not construct one for you; create it, call update() each tick, and convert coordinates when you paint or handle clicks.

Camera cam = new Camera(800, 600, 0.1f);
cam.setWorldBounds(worldWidth, worldHeight);
cam.setTarget(player);
cam.update();
double alpha = getRenderAlpha();
int screenX = cam.worldToScreenInterpolated(player.getX(), player.getY(), alpha).x;

• setTarget(Actor) — keep the actor centered
• setClampToWorldBounds(false) — allow effectively infinite maps
• zoomIn() / zoomOut() / setZoom(double) — zoom is clamped about 0.6–1.4
• isVisible(...) — skip drawing off-screen actors
• getInterpolatedOffsetX/Y(alpha) — match the render clock

ConfigPuller

ConfigPuller.getBoolean, getInt, getString read engine keys only from Activerse.properties. Other keys may fall through to settings.ini. The settings menu can persist engine toggles back to disk with saveEngineSettings (writes src/Activerse.properties when a src folder exists, otherwise the working directory copy).

KeyboardInfo extras

• isKeyDown(int) / isKeyDown(char) / isKeyDown("shift")
• isLetterDown(char) — case-insensitive letters
• isAnyKeyDown(...)
• justPressed(keyDown, wasDown) / justReleased(...) — you store the previous sample
• appendAlphaNumeric(current, keyWasDown, allowSpace) — typed names, then syncAlphaNumericState when entering a field so held keys do not dump characters

Actor extras

• setStatic(true) — no debug-list spam; treat as scenery
• isTickInert() — override to return true so World skips act()
• enableInventory(), addItem / removeItem, setInventorySize
• Velocity: getVelocityX/Y, setVelocityX/Y

ActiverseUtils map

Full method lists are in the generated JavaDoc at /Activerse/. For the architecture write-up (clock, interpolation, lineage from v1.0), see Developers Insider Release 2 (PDF). Return to Chapter 0 or the Activerse home page.