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[rogerlevy]

Yo-

Just wondering if anyone uses it.  I'm making a game featuring jellyfish and I'm about to try to use chains of particles and constraints to simulate the tentacles part of the jellyfish, to make the tentacles realistically trail behind the jellyfish as it moves around and rotates - basically the same behavior as a tail. 

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

link?

[Iamthejuggler]

http://www.cove.org/ape/

I have used it in the past. It's pretty straightforward to get into, and powerful. It should be able to do what you want. If not then i know Box2D would be able to. (http://www.box2d.org/)

[BorisTheBrave]

Disclaimer: I'm a Box2D developer and junkie, so maybe a tiiiny bit biased.

APE's biggest advantage is that it is easy to get into, and has a straightforward API. Uh, it's only advantage.
For a jellyfish, it sounds fine, but if you find yourself wanting the following features I consider relevant, reconsider:
* Non-rectangular polygons (e.g. triangles)
* Joints (not the same as APE's stiff springs); for use for making tentacle ropes.
* If you are willing to download code from the SVN, there's also buoyancy code in Box2D (if you need the jellyfish to interact with the water's edge).

http://www.box2d.org/wiki/index.php?title=Comparison_with_APE

[tylerjhutchison]

There is also Glaze http://code.google.com/p/glaze/  Which I have been playing around with and is really quite nice and very speedy since it is based on Chipmunk(a super fast 2d physics engine.)  I have been using it with Flex and everything seems pretty legit.

You may also want to look into physAxe http://code.google.com/p/physaxe/ which is a combination of Glaze(Chipmunk) and Box2D.  It seems pretty spiffy, but you would have to do all your scripting in haXe... which is actually a pretty cool language.

APE looks like it is very well documented and a good place to wet your feet... but APE was originally designed for accuracy over speed.  This is really good if you only have a few things on screen, but if you plan on having lots and lots of objects on screen... look into Glaze or Box 2D, they are less accurate but much speedier (Also no one will really notice the difference in accuracy.)

[rogerlevy]

There is also Glaze http://code.google.com/p/glaze/  Which I have been playing around with and is really quite nice and very speedy since it is based on Chipmunk(a super fast 2d physics engine.)  I have been using it with Flex and everything seems pretty legit.

You may also want to look into physAxe http://code.google.com/p/physaxe/ which is a combination of Glaze(Chipmunk) and Box2D.  It seems pretty spiffy, but you would have to do all your scripting in haXe... which is actually a pretty cool language.

APE looks like it is very well documented and a good place to wet your feet... but APE was originally designed for accuracy over speed.  This is really good if you only have a few things on screen, but if you plan on having lots and lots of objects on screen... look into Glaze or Box 2D, they are less accurate but much speedier (Also no one will really notice the difference in accuracy.)

Cool!  Thanks, tylerjhutchison !

[Iamthejuggler]

Disclaimer: I'm a Box2D developer and junkie, so maybe a tiiiny bit biased.

APE's biggest advantage is that it is easy to get into, and has a straightforward API. Uh, it's only advantage.
For a jellyfish, it sounds fine, but if you find yourself wanting the following features I consider relevant, reconsider:
* Non-rectangular polygons (e.g. triangles)
* Joints (not the same as APE's stiff springs); for use for making tentacle ropes.
* If you are willing to download code from the SVN, there's also buoyancy code in Box2D (if you need the jellyfish to interact with the water's edge).

http://www.box2d.org/wiki/index.php?title=Comparison_with_APE

Is Box2D still under development? I had no idea. Kinda assumed it had stopped after 2.0. Also when you say you are a Box2D developer do you mean you develop with box or you develop the actual engine. If it's the latter then ... hi! *swoon*

[hexageek]

OOT: I always wanted to make a jellyfish like the one in this demo: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=18342 It looks so minimalist and wonderful

[BorisTheBrave]

Iamthejuggler:
Box2D is still under active development. Releases aren't done regularly, but stuff is getting added to the SVN repository, actual features rather than just bugfixes. For the Flash version, most recent commits bear my name, so yes, an actual engine developer.

Your admiration is probably directed at Erin Catto, the founder of of the engine who did all the "hard bits". He also wrote its predecessor, Box2D Lite, from which most 2d physics engines are based, or "inspired". APE is the exception, as far as I know, it was written from scratch.

[Μarkham]

It's also still in alpha stage, and hasn't seen any releases (or website updates, even) for over a year-and-a-half.