This quick overview will help you understand the constructs provided by Babylon React Native and how to use them in a React Native application.
This package has several peer dependencies. If these dependencies are unmet, npm install
will emit warnings. Be sure to add these dependencies to your project.
The react-native-permissions
dependency is required for XR capabilities of Babylon.js (to request camera permissions automatically). Be sure to follow the react-native-permissions
instructions to update your Podfile
and Info.plist
(iOS) and/or AndroidManifest.xml
(Android).
The minimum Android SDK version is 18. This must be set as minSdkVersion
in the consuming project's build.gradle
file.
The minimum deployment target version is 12. This must be set as iOS Deployment Target
in the consuming project's project.pbxproj
, and must also be set as platform
in the consuming project's podfile
.
Babylon React Native platform native packages must also be installed for the platforms and React Native versions being targeted. This is only needed for apps using Babylon React Native, not for libraries (React Native packages) building on top of Babylon React Native.
React Native 0.63 - 0.64 | React Native 0.65 - 0.66 | React Native 0.69 | React Native 0.70 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Android | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-64 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-65 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-69 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-70 |
iOS | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-64 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-65 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-69 | @babylonjs/react-native-iosandroid-0-70 |
Windows | @babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-64 | @babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-65 | @babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-69 | @babylonjs/react-native-windows-0-70 |
useEngine
is a custom React hook that manages the lifecycle of a Babylon engine instance in the context of an owning React component. useEngine
creates an engine instance asynchronously which is used to create and configure scenes. Typically scene initialization code should exist in a useEffect
triggered by an engine
state change. For example:
import { useEngine } from '@babylonjs/react-native';
import { Engine, Scene } from '@babylonjs/core';
const MyComponent: FunctionComponent<MyComponentProps> = (props: MyComponentProps) => {
const engine = useEngine();
useEffect(() => {
if (engine) {
const scene = new Scene(engine);
// Setup the scene!
}
}, [engine]);
return (
<>
</>
);
}
EngineView
is a custom React Native view that presents a camera
from a Babylon scene
. A camera
therefore is assigned to the EngineView
. For example:
import { useEngine, EngineView } from '@babylonjs/react-native';
import { Engine, Scene, Camera } from '@babylonjs/core';
const MyComponent: FunctionComponent<MyComponentProps> = (props: MyComponentProps) => {
const engine = useEngine();
const [camera, setCamera] = useState<Camera>();
useEffect(() => {
if (engine) {
const scene = new Scene(engine);
scene.createDefaultCamera(true);
setCamera(scene.activeCamera!);
// Setup the scene!
}
}, [engine]);
return (
<>
<EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} />
</>
);
}
Also the EngineView
has a boolean isTransparent
flag which defines whether the background of the scene should be transparent or not.
e.g.
<EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} isTransparent={true} />
To configure anti-aliasing, a property called antiAliasing
can be changed to a value of 0 or 1 (disable anti-aliasing, default), 2, 4, 8 or 16 (anti-aliasing samples).
e.g.
<EngineView style={{flex: 1}} camera={camera} MSAA={4} />
Note: Currently only one EngineView
can be active at any given time. Multi-view will be supported in a future release.
The Android specific androidView
property can help set the type of the view used for rendering. Depending on user needs and performance, refer to the table below. TextureView
can be inserted anywhere in the view hierarchy, but is less efficient. SurfaceView
can only be full above or fully below the rest of the UI, but is more efficient.
isTransparent | androidView | Description |
---|---|---|
False | TextureView | Opaque TextureView. |
False | SurfaceView | Simple surfaceView (default when no androidView set with isTransparent=false ). |
False | SurfaceViewZTopMost | SurfaceView with ZTopMost set to true . |
False | SurfaceViewZMediaOverlay | SurfaceView with ZMediaOverlay set to true . |
True | TextureView | Transparent TextureView. |
True | SurfaceView | SurfaceView will stay opaque |
True | SurfaceViewZTopMost | SurfaceView with ZTopMost set to true . Transparent but top most. (default when no androidView set with isTransparent=true ) |
True | SurfaceViewZMediaOverlay | SurfaceView with ZMediaOverlay set to true . Only Transparent on top of other SurfaceViews. |
More infos on TextureView Vs SurfaceView performance here: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/TextureView