Engine Design Help

-- Start by creating a visual to represent my entity. For this
    -- example I''ll just use a simple textured cube
    local cube   = StdLib.Cube(1, 1, 1)

    local shader = Render.Shader()
    shader.texture = io:fromFile("Data/moon.png")

    local visual = Render.Visual(cube, shader)

    -- Putting it into a Body allows me to attach it to the entity
    local body = Scene.Body()
    body:addVisual(visual)

    -- Finally, assemble the entity. Note that the Pose must appear before any
    -- attributes that it is to effect, so it usually should be first.
    self.entity = Scene.Entity("MyEntity")
    self.entity:addAttribute(body)
 

The Physics attribute provides rigid body simulation, including collision response, to an entity. It works as a drop-in replacement for Pose, and automatically updates itself according to the physical properties which you set. 


    local pose = Scene.Physics()
    pose.body.mass = 10
    pose:setPosition(10, 10, 0)

    entity:addAttribute(pose)

The Surface attribute provides a collision detection volume and collision response parameters. Use this attribute for anything that may be collided with. 


    local surf = Scene.Surface()
    surf:addBoundingShape(Collider.BoundingSphere(1))
    
    local response = Physics.ContactPhysics()
    response.friction = 0
    response.restitution = 0.5
    surf:setContactPhysics(response)
 

quote:

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I''m not sure how to handle the loading of textures and such so that they would be compatible with different APIs. Initially I though I''d store just the bitmap array data, but then I realized that I''m losing all kinds of info that I need like compression. Also storing all textures in memory doesn''t seem like a good idea, and I need some kind of efficient way of requesting a texture and keeping common ones in memory.

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quote:

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Another issues is the sorting of all objects. I can get to every object by starting at the root, but its not the best order for drawing them. Perhaps you guys have some pointers on how I might use texture id''s to render objects using the same texture... and also ideas on how to sort the objects for rendering.

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Texture* myTexture = GlobalTextureManager.LoadTexture("filename");

GlobalTextureManager.BindTexture(myTexture);

GlobalTextureManager.BindTexture(myTexture);
//draw stuff
GlobalTextureManager.BindTexture(myTexture);
//draw more stuff