[JAVA][Beginning Java 8 Games Development]

Chapter 4 ■ An Introduction to JavaFX 8: Exploring the Capabilities of the Java 8 Multimedia Engine
Table 4-2. (continued)
Package Name Functions Description of Contents
javafx.print Printing Printing classes
javafx.scene Scene control Classes related to scene creation, organization, control, and realization
javafx.stage Stage creation Stage creation classes
javafx.util JavaFX utility JavaFX utility classes
netscape.javascript JavaScript Allows Java code to invoke JavaScript methods and examine
JavaScript properties
I have discussed some of these already, such as the javafx.application package (see Chapters 2 and 3) and the
javafx.scene package (see the section “JavaFX Scene Package: Sixteen Powerful Java 8 Classes”). There are a few other
JavaFX packages that you should take a closer look at here, as they (along with the javafx.scene package) contain
classes that you will want to use in your Java 8 game development (still others, such as the javafx.print, javafx.fxml,
javafx.beans, and javafx.embed packages are not likely to be used in your Java game design and development work
process); these are javafx.animation, javafx.stage, javafx.geometry, javafx.concurrent, and javafx.event. Let’s take
an in-depth look at what these packages provide for your game development objectives next.
JavaFX Animation for Games: Using javafx.animation Classes
The javafx.animation package contains the Animation superclass, which has the Timeline and Transition subclasses
as well as the AnimationTimer, Interpolator, KeyFrame, and KeyValue classes. Animation is an important design
element in Java 8 games, and these animation classes are already coded for us, thanks to JavaFX, so all you have to do
to add animation to your games is use them properly!
The JavaFX Animation Class: The Foundation for Animation Objects
The Animation class (or object, actually) provides the core functionality of animation in JavaFX. The Animation
class contains two (overloaded) Animation() constructor methods; these are Animation() and Animation(double
targetFramerate), and they will create in memory the Animation object, which will control an animation and its
playback characteristics and life cycle.
The Animation class contains the .play() method, the .playFrom(cuePoint) or .playFrom(Duration time)
method, and a .playFromStart() method. These methods are used to start playback for the Animation object. There
are also the .pause() method, which can pause the animation playback, and a .stop() method, to stop animation
playback. The .jumpTo(Duration time) and .jumpTo(cuePoint) methods are used to jump to predefined positions
in an animation.
You can set the animation playback speed (also called the frame rate or frames per second [FPS]) by using the
rate property. The cycleCount property (variable) allows you to specify how many times an animation will loop,
and a delay property lets you specify a delay time before the animation starts. If your animation is looping, this delay
property will specify the delay time between loops, which can help you create some realistic effects.
You can specify a seamless animation loop by setting the cycleCount attribute or property (variable) to
INDEFINITE and then using the autoReverse property (set to false), or you can use pong (back and forth) animation
looping by specifying the true value for the autoReverse property. You can also set the cycleCount to a numeric value
(use 1 if you want the animation to play only one time) if you do not want the animation to loop indefinitely.
The .setRate() method sets the animation playback rate property, the .setDelay() method sets the delay
property, and the .setCycleCount() and .setCycleDuration() methods control the cycling characteristics. There
are also similar .get() methods to “get” the currently set values for these Animation object variables (properties,
attributes, parameters, or characteristics; however you prefer to look at these data fields is fine).
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