ARSCNView prepare crash when SCNMaterialProperty is SpriteKit scene - scenekit

I'm experiencing an ARKit/SceneKit crash.
It happens if I do the following:-
Create SCNPlane and set the SCNMaterialProperty to a SpriteKit
scene
Create SCNNode with SCNPlane
Call prepare on ARSCNView and add SCNNode.
It crashes when I call prepare. However, it does not crash if I add the SCNNode without calling prepare or if the SCNMaterialProperty is not a SpriteKit scene.
See code below:-
var exhibitScene = SKScene(fileNamed: spriteName.lowercased())
exhibitScene?.view?.preferredFramesPerSecond = 60
exhibitScene?.view?.ignoresSiblingOrder = true
exhibitScene?.scaleMode = .aspectFit
exhibitScene?.isPaused = false
let exhibitSize = CGSize.init(width: (exhibitScene?.frame.size.width)! / PIXEL_TO_CENTIMETRE, height: (exhibitScene?.frame.size.height)! / PIXEL_TO_CENTIMETRE)
let exhibitPlane = SCNPlane(width: exhibitSize.width/100, height: exhibitSize.height/100)
exhibitPlane.firstMaterial?.diffuse.contents = exhibitScene
exhibitPlane.firstMaterial?.diffuse.contentsTransform = SCNMatrix4Translate(SCNMatrix4MakeScale(1, -1, 1), 0, 1, 0)
let exhibitNode = SCNNode(geometry: exhibitPlane)
exhibitNode.name = name
exhibitNode.geometry?.firstMaterial?.isDoubleSided = false
exhibitNode.position = SCNVector3(x/100, (y + Float(exhibitSize.height * 0.5))/100, z/100)
self.sceneView.prepare([exhibitNode], completionHandler: { (Bool) in
self.sceneView.scene.rootNode.addChildNode(exhibitNode)
})
Not sure how to fix this.
Do I have to set a parameter on the ARSCNView for it to prepare a SCNNode when the SCNMaterialProperty is set to use a SpriteKit scene?

Not sure about your case, but I had a similar crash when the size of SKScene (and consequently SCNPlane) was more than some limit. The actual reason for the crash was that SCNMaterialProperty.contents may not be bigger than some limit (I believe it was about 4000px or something).

Related

How to eliminate grayish ARKit/SceneKit shadow plane?

I've implemented one of the many ways to add a shadow plane to an ARKit and SceneKit scene. It works pretty well and the shadows look fine.
The problem is that most of the time the plane also has a grayish cast to it. In other words, it's not completely transparent. On the other hand, sometimes the grayish cast goes away only to reappear a few seconds later. I've tried tweaking just about every SCNNode and SCNMaterial property I can think of, but so far, I can't seem to get the gray to reliably go away. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to solve this?
// Make a transparent shadow plane for the Ground.
let shadowPlane = SCNPlane(width: CGFloat(self.width * 2), height: CGFloat(self.depth * 2))
shadowPlane.cornerRadius = 2
let shadowPlaneNode = SCNNode(geometry: shadowPlane)
shadowPlaneNode.name = shadowPlaneNodeName
shadowPlaneNode.eulerAngles.x = -.pi / 2
shadowPlaneNode.castsShadow = false
let material = SCNMaterial()
material.isDoubleSided = false
material.lightingModel = .constant // .shadowOnly does not show any shadows on iOS
material.colorBufferWriteMask = [.alpha]
shadowPlane.materials = [material]
node.addChildNode(shadowPlaneNode)
After more experimentation I found a solution that seems to be working well. Setting the material .lightingModel to .shadowOnly actually works correctly without any gray cast, but only if you set the .shadowModel on the shadow-producing direct light to .forward instead of .deferred.
In addition, I found that there seems to be a bug in .shadowOnly that causes the plane to be rendered completely black if there is any light in the scene with .type == .omni or == .spot.
Here's the code that's working for me:
let shadowPlane = SCNPlane(width: CGFloat(self.width * 1.5), height: CGFloat(self.depth * 1.5))
let shadowPlaneNode = SCNNode(geometry: shadowPlane)
shadowPlaneNode.name = shadowPlaneNodeName
shadowPlaneNode.eulerAngles.x = -.pi / 2
shadowPlaneNode.castsShadow = false
let material = SCNMaterial()
material.isDoubleSided = false
material.lightingModel = .shadowOnly // Requires SCNLight shadowMode = .forward and no .omni or .spot lights in the scene or material rendered black
shadowPlane.materials = [material]
node.addChildNode(shadowPlaneNode)

SceneKit ARKit glowing effect

Hi I'm trying to have a glowing effect around a node.
I used the SCNNode filters property and set to an array of CIFilter.
It works and renders only when the node has no node behind it which I don't understand. I tried to set the rendering order and the readDepth options without success. I'm really stuck at this point and would appreciate your input!
Please see the screenshot for an example and the code sample.
func addBloom() -> [CIFilter]? {
let bloomFilter = CIFilter(name:"CIBloom")!
bloomFilter.setValue(10.0, forKey: "inputIntensity")
bloomFilter.setValue(30.0, forKey: "inputRadius")
return [bloomFilter]
}
Calling this using:
myNode.filters = addBloom()
A final note, I noticed that for CIFilter to work with Metal the antiAliasing needs to be set to .none
arSceneView.antialiasingMode = .none
Thanks a lot!
Adrien
Have you tried setting the writesToDepthBuffer to false for those nodes which you aren't apply the filters to?
For your information writesToDepthBuffer refers to:
SceneKit’s rendering process uses a depth buffer to determine the
ordering of rendered surfaces relative to the viewer. The default
value of this property is YES, specifying that SceneKit saves depth
information for each rendered pixel for use by later rendering passes.
Typically, you disable writing to the depth buffer when rendering
semitransparent objects, because later stages of the rendering process
may require depth information about the opaque objects behind them.
This example seems to be working fine:
/// Generates An SCNPlane & A Red & Green SCNSphere
func generateNodes(){
let planeNode = SCNNode(geometry: SCNPlane(width: 1, height: 0.5))
planeNode.geometry?.firstMaterial?.diffuse.contents = UIColor.black
planeNode.position = SCNVector3(0, 0, -1)
let redSphereNode = SCNNode(geometry: SCNSphere(radius: 0.1))
redSphereNode.geometry?.firstMaterial?.diffuse.contents = UIColor.red
redSphereNode.position = SCNVector3(-0.3, 0, -1)
redSphereNode.filters = addBloom()
let greenSphereNode = SCNNode(geometry: SCNSphere(radius: 0.1))
greenSphereNode.geometry?.firstMaterial?.diffuse.contents = UIColor.green
greenSphereNode.position = SCNVector3(0.3, 0, -1)
greenSphereNode.filters = addBloom()
self.augmentedRealityView.scene.rootNode.addChildNode(planeNode)
self.augmentedRealityView.scene.rootNode.addChildNode(redSphereNode)
self.augmentedRealityView.scene.rootNode.addChildNode(greenSphereNode)
planeNode.geometry?.firstMaterial?.writesToDepthBuffer = false
}
/// Creates An Array Of CIBloom Filters
///
/// - Returns: [CIFilter]?
func addBloom() -> [CIFilter]? {
let bloomFilter = CIFilter(name:"CIBloom")!
bloomFilter.setValue(10.0, forKey: "inputIntensity")
bloomFilter.setValue(30.0, forKey: "inputRadius")
return [bloomFilter]
}
One thing to note however, which I did notice was that if I used an image with a transparent background for the contents of the SCNPlane it didn't work, although with another image it was fine.
Hope it points you in the right direction...

Accessing the number of elements in an array and applying gravity behaviour

I'm having issues with getting ALL elements of an array to fall using the Gravity module. I have managed to get the LAST element in the array to fall and then the remaining elements just stay at the top of the screen during testing. Upon debugging
I am using UIKit and want to understand this language thoroughly before using other various engines such as SpriteKit and GameplayKit.
func mainGame()
{
let cars = ["car5", "car1", "car6", "car3", "car2", "car4"]
var random2 = Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(cars.count))) + 1
for i in 1...random2
{
let image = UIImage(named: cars[i - 1])
let carView = UIImageView(image: image!)
carView.frame = CGRect(x:i * 52, y:0 , width: 40, height: 50)
view.addSubview(carView)
dynamicAnimator = UIDynamicAnimator(referenceView: self.view)
gravityBehavior = UIDynamicItemBehavior(items: [carView]) //cars falling
dynamicAnimator.addBehavior(gravityBehavior)
collisionBehavior = UICollisionBehavior(items: [carView, mainCar]) //collide
collisionBehavior.translatesReferenceBoundsIntoBoundary = false
gravityBehavior.addLinearVelocity(CGPoint(x: 0, y: 200), for: carView)
dynamicAnimator.addBehavior(collisionBehavior)
}
collisionBehavior.addBoundary(withIdentifier: "Barrier" as NSCopying, for: UIBezierPath(rect: mainCar.frame))
collisionBehavior.removeAllBoundaries()
}
With the game so far the last car in the array falls and the main player car that I control has collision behaviour, which is a big step for me!
You are creating a new UIDynamicAnimator with each iteration of the loop and assigning it to dynamicAnimator. That is why only the last element is working, because it is the last one assigned to that variable.
To fix it, just move this line to somewhere that would only be called once.
dynamicAnimator = UIDynamicAnimator(referenceView: self.view)
viewDidLoad is a possible place that should work.
UIKitDynamics is backwards of most similar frameworks. You don't animate the object. You have an animator and attach objects to it. As Clever Error notes, you only want one animator in this case.
The key point is that you don't attach gravity to cars; you attach cars to behaviors (gravity), and then behaviors to the animator. Yes, that's bizarre and backwards.
I haven't tested this, but the correct code would be closer to this:
func mainGame()
{
let cars = ["car5", "car1", "car6", "car3", "car2", "car4"]
var random2 = Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(cars.count))) + 1
var carViews: [UIImageView] = []
dynamicAnimator = UIDynamicAnimator(referenceView: self.view)
// First create all the views
for i in 1...random2
{
let image = UIImage(named: cars[i - 1])
let carView = UIImageView(image: image!)
carView.frame = CGRect(x:i * 52, y:0 , width: 40, height: 50)
view.addSubview(carView)
carViews.append(carView)
}
// and then attach those to behaviors:
gravityBehavior = UIGravityBehavior(items: carViews) //cars falling
dynamicAnimator.addBehavior(gravityBehavior)
collisionBehavior = UICollisionBehavior(items: carView + mainCar) //collide
collisionBehavior.translatesReferenceBoundsIntoBoundary = false
dynamicAnimator.addBehavior(collisionBehavior)
collisionBehavior.addBoundary(withIdentifier: "Barrier" as NSCopying, for: UIBezierPath(rect: mainCar.frame))
collisionBehavior.removeAllBoundaries()
// You don't need this; it's built into Gravity
// gravityBehavior.addLinearVelocity(CGPoint(x: 0, y: 200), for: carView)
}
The main way that UIKitDynamics is different than most animation frameworks is that things that are animated don't know they're being animated. You can't ask a car what behaviors it has, because it doesn't have any. A UIDynamicAnimator basically is a timing loop that updates the center and transform of its targets. There's really not anything fancy about it (in contrast to something like Core Animation which has many fancy things going on). With a little iOS experience, you could probably implement all of UIKitDynamics by hand with a single GCD queue (it probably doesn't even need that, since it runs everything on main....)

fast-rendering array of CALayers vs array of CAShapeLayers in swift

I'm writing an app in which I need to populate 500 or so layers with previously-defined bezier paths and I'm running into either PERFORMANCE or INTERACTIVITY issues depending on which route I choose. Note that I require no animation features, as the paths i draw are static:
If I use CALayers, drawing the paths to screen takes about 15 seconds (bad), but the resulting interactive experience (i.e moving around the screen) is great.
If I use CAShapeLayers, drawing the paths to screen takes a fraction of a second (good), but the interactivity is terrible.
This is my code with CALayers:
func drawPathToCALayer (myView: UIImageView, pointArray: [CGPoint], bbox: CGRect, color: UIColor) {
// step 1. create path
let path = CGPathCreateMutable()
var pathOffset = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation( (bbox.origin.x * -1), (bbox.origin.y * -1))
CGPathAddLines(path, &pathOffset, pointArray, pointArray.count)
CGPathCloseSubpath(path)
// step 2. draw to context -- this is the part that kills the amount of time that we call this function repeatedly
UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(bbox.size, false, 0)
CGContextAddPath(UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext(), path)
CGContextSetFillColorWithColor(UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext(), color.CGColor)
CGContextFillPath(UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext())
// step 3. assign context drawing to sublayer
let sublayer = CALayer()
let strokeImage = UIGraphicsGetImageFromCurrentImageContext()
sublayer.frame = bbox
sublayer.contents = strokeImage.CGImage
UIGraphicsEndImageContext()
myView.layer.addSublayer(sublayer)
This is the code with CAShapeLayers
func drawPathToCAShapeLayer (myView: UIImageView, pointArray: [CGPoint], bbox: CGRect, color: UIColor) {
// step 1. create path
let path = CGPathCreateMutable()
var pathOffset = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation( (bbox.origin.x * -1), (bbox.origin.y * -1))
CGPathAddLines(path, &pathOffset, pointArray, pointArray.count)
CGPathCloseSubpath(path)
// step 2. assign path to sublayer
let sublayer = CAShapeLayer()
sublayer.path = path
sublayer.fillColor = color
myView.layer.addSublayer(sublayer)
I like the succinctness and speed of the CAShapeLayer approach, but from an interactivity point of view, this route is a no go.
The question is (thanks for hanging in there), is there is a way to do a hybrid approach in which I draw to a CAShapeLayer temporarily, and use it to populate a CALayer like so?
func drawPathToHybrid (myView: UIImageView, pointArray: [CGPoint], bbox: CGRect, color: UIColor) {
// step 1. create path
let path = CGPathCreateMutable()
var pathOffset = CGAffineTransformMakeTranslation( (bbox.origin.x * -1), (bbox.origin.y * -1))
CGPathAddLines(path, &pathOffset, pointArray, pointArray.count)
CGPathCloseSubpath(path)
// step 2. assign path to sublayer
let sublayer = CALayer()
let tmplayer = CAShapeLayer()
tmplayer.path = path
tmplayer.fillColor = color
sublayer.contents = tmplayer.contents // ---> i know this doesn't work, but is there something similar I can take advantage of that doesn't rely on defining a context?
myView.layer.addSublayer(sublayer)
Or better yet, is there some other way that I can populate an array of CALayers with bezier paths to get both good INTERACTIVITY and PERFORMANCE?

Swift - Create circle and add to array

I've been looking for a little while on how to create a circle in Swift, but it seems quite complicated. I want to create a circle at run time, with a specified x and y, and width and height. I then want to add this circle to an array where I can create more circles and add to it.
How do I do this?
Edit: This is what I've tried so far:
var center : CGPoint = touchLocation
var myContext : CGContextRef = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext()
let color : [CGFloat] = [0, 0, 1, 0.5]
CGContextSetStrokeColor (myContext, color);
CGContextStrokeEllipseInRect (myContext, CGRectMake(touchLocation.x, touchLocation.y, 20, 20));
touchLocation is the location of the users finger. This crashes on execution on this line:
var myContext : CGContextRef = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext()
The error says "Unexpectedly found nil while unwrapping an Optional value
Also, this doesn't allow me to add the circle to an array, because I don't know what variable type it is.
There are many ways to draw a circle, here is a snippet that I have been hacking with:
func circleWithCenter(c:CGPoint, radius r:CGFloat,
strokeColor sc: UIColor = UIColor.blackColor(),
fillColor fc: UIColor = UIColor.clearColor()) -> CAShapeLayer {
var circle = CAShapeLayer()
circle.frame = CGRect(center:c, size:CGSize(width:2*r, height:2*r))
circle.path = UIBezierPath(ovalInRect:circle.bounds).CGPath
circle.fillColor = fc.CGColor
circle.strokeColor = sc.CGColor
circle.fillColor = fc == UIColor.clearColor() ? nil : fc.CGColor
return circle
}
Note that I extended CGRect (using Swift specific features) to add a initializer that takes a center, but that is not material to your question.
Your code is not "creating" a circle as an object, it is attempting to draw one in the graphics context. What you need to do is to create a bezier path object, draw into that and save the path in your array. Something like:
var circleArray = [CGMutablePathRef]()
// ...
let path: CGMutablePathRef = CGPathCreateMutable()
CGPathAddArc(path, nil, touchLocation.x, touchLocation.y, radius, 0, M_PI * 2, true)
circleArray += [path]
You then need to stroke the path(s) in your draw routine.

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