Jolt-JNI project overview

Jolt JNI is a physics-simulation library for Java.

Use it to:

  • add solidity to walls, characters, projectiles, landscapes, and vehicles,

  • detect collisions between complex shapes,

  • perform contact, ray, and sweep tests,

  • simulate characters and buildings collapsing in real time, and

  • simulate cloth, rope, and deformable volumes, including their interactions with rigid bodies.

Tutorials and sample apps are provided to help you get started.

All software in the Jolt-JNI project is free and open-source, including the JVM library, the native libraries, the demo and tutorial apps, and the software used to build, test, and run them.

The underlying simulation software comes from Jolt Physics, a modern, thread-aware physics simulator. But although Jolt Physics is written in C++, you won’t need any knowledge of C++ to use Jolt JNI.

Jolt JNI also incorporates source code from the V-HACD project.

Caveats

Jolt JNI’s focus is on simulating classical mechanics in just enough detail to add verisimilitude to 3-D games. It’s not intended for 2-D platformers, nor for scientific research. For 2-D physics, consider using dyn4j instead.

Jolt JNI and its documentation assume a certain level of proficiency with the Java programming language. The project isn’t aimed at non-programmers, nor developers without prior Java experience. Similarly, it assumes familiarity with vector math and 3-D computer graphics.

While an understanding of classical mechanics is assumed, many of its technical terms are linked (at first use) to the relevant article in the English Wikipedia.

The project’s open-source license disclaims liability for defects. Please don’t use this software in safety-critical applications.

I welcome suggestions concerning the future development of Jolt JNI.

Getting help

A web tutorial with sample code is under development.

For self-help, utilize the javadoc and the source code.

For issues that are best handled privately, contact me by e-mail. My personal e-mail address appears on my homepage and in the source code.