FUNCTION blog about AS3, PHP 'n tech

Bridge Builder Game! (Concept)

Constraint based bridge simulator

Some of you might remember a game called pontifex or bridge builder if you don’t; it’s a game in which you construct a bridge with beams and than let a train or car drive over it to see whether it holds. It is really fun and quite educational at the same time (equals morally appropriate right?). After some more research into rigid body constraints I found out that pontifex probably used the same stuff like I used in the 2D constraint based rope. So with some minor modifications it was easy to create a bridge simulator and with a littlebit more code even a bridge builder. It is still far from a game suitable for release and profit but it is definatly a playable minigame. Take a look at the working example by clicking the  ‘Continue Reading’ link.

You can build beams by first selecting a particle and than clicking somewhere else (within the ‘build length’) to place a particle to connect it with. To connect two particles with each other select one, and than hover over the other to make it blue and click. To simulate the whether the bridge will hold you need to click the ‘Simulate’ button. Press ‘Stop’ to stop the simulation and return to the old state. In the simulation you can remove beams by clicking on them.