SFML

Drop shadows in SFML

Drop shadows are created using a Gaussian blur drawn underneath the original element. You can do this using either a fixed texture or a post-processing fragment shader.

A Comparison of GUI Libraries for SFML: TGUI vs SFGUI vs IMGui and more

SFML is an excellent library that can be used to create 2D games in C++. It’s an abstraction over OpenGL and various system APIs, presenting a consistent and nice interface.

There are many different approaches and use-cases to creating GUIs which a standard approach embedded in SFML would not be able to cover, which is why SFML leaves it to other libraries. Additionally, whilst the S in SFML stands for Simple, GUI code rarely is.

There are many different options to choose from when attempting to implement GUIs, some of these will be detailed below.

Rendering a topdown world with multiple layers and z-levels using SFML

Ruben’s Virtual World Project is a game I’ve been working on for almost 4 years now. Recently I rewrote the rendering code to support voxel lighting and multiple z-level - heights of the map.

Multiplayer Topdown Sandbox Game in C++

For the last two years, I have been working on a very ambitious game. The game is a top-down sandbox with multiplayer support. I’m aiming towards a city-based game, where players can wander around a procedurally generated city. One of the main reasons I started creating this game is to learn about multiplayer networking at a low level - client-side prediction, server-side reconcilliation, cheat preventation, and reducing the visual effect of latency.

How to emit a single particle using SFML's Thor Particle System

Usecase: shells dropping in sync with firing, fake bullets, etc

You must use a particle emitter to create particles, however this doesn’t mean it’s impossible to create single particles on command. You can create a particle emitter which simply adds particles from a queue to the system

How to center a SFGUI window (sfg::Window)

Simply get the SFGUI window size using GetAllocation, the sfml window size using getSize, then do this arithmetic:

auto window = sfg::Window::Create();
auto win_rect = window->GetAllocation();
sf::Vector2f size(win_rect.width, win_rect.height);
window->SetPosition(((sf::Vector2f)rwindow->getSize() - size) / 2.0f);