NVIDIA PhysX SDK 4.1 Documentation

Built April 18, 2021

Contents:

• User's Guide
  • PhysX License
  • Welcome to PhysX
    • About this User Guide
    • A brief overview of PhysX
    • World and Objects
    • Rendering and Visualization
  • Snippets
    • What are PhysX Snippets?
    • HelloWorld: PhysX Basics
    • Using PhysX Visual Debugger with SnippetHelloWorld
  • Building with PhysX
    • Generating projects with CMake
    • Build Configurations
    • Header Files
    • Redistribution
    • Customize CMake presets
  • The PhysX API
    • Introduction
    • Memory Management
    • Error Reporting
    • Math Classes
    • Connecting PhysX Objects with User Application Objects
    • Type Casting
    • Reference Counting
    • Using Different Units
    • Assertions
    • Determinism
  • Startup and Shutdown
    • Introduction
    • Foundation and Physics
    • Cooking
    • Extensions
    • Optional SDK Components
    • Delay-Loading DLLs
    • Shutting Down
  • Threading
    • Introduction
    • Data Access from Multiple Threads
    • Asynchronous Simulation
    • Multithreaded Simulation
  • Geometry
    • Introduction
    • Geometry Types
    • Deformable meshes
    • Mesh Scaling
    • PxGeometryHolder
    • Vertex and Face Data
  • Rigid Body Overview
    • Introduction
    • Rigid Body Object Model
    • The Simulation Loop
  • Rigid Body Collision
    • Introduction
    • Shapes
    • Simulation Shapes and Scene Query Shapes
    • Kinematic Triangle Meshes (Planes, Heighfields)
    • Broad-phase Algorithms
    • Regions of Interest
    • Broad-phase Callback
    • Collision Filtering
    • Aggregates
    • Creating an Aggregate
    • Populating an Aggregate
    • Releasing an Aggregate
    • Amortizing Insertion
    • Trigger Shapes
    • Interactions
  • Rigid Body Dynamics
    • Velocity
    • Mass Properties
    • Applying Forces and Torques
    • Gravity
    • Friction and Restitution
    • Sleeping
    • Kinematic Actors
    • Active Actors
    • Dominance
    • Solver Iterations
    • Immediate Mode
    • Enhanced Determinism
    • Axis locking
    • Temporal Gauss-Seidel
  • Simulation
    • Callback Sequence
    • Simulation memory
    • Completion Tasks
    • Synchronizing with Other Threads
    • Substepping
    • Split sim
    • Split fetchResults
  • Advanced Collision Detection
    • Tuning Shape Collision Behavior
    • Contact Modification
    • Contact reporting
    • Extracting Contact information
    • Continuous Collision Detection
    • Raycast CCD
    • Speculative CCD
    • Persistent Contact Manifold (PCM)
  • Joints
    • Joint Basics
    • Fixed Joint
    • Spherical Joint
    • Revolute Joint
    • Prismatic Joint
    • Distance Joint
    • D6 Joint
    • Custom Constraints
  • Articulations
  • Maximal Coordinate and Reduced Articulations
  • Maximal Coordinate Articulations
    • Creating an Articulation
    • Articulation Joints
    • Driving an Articulation
    • Articulation Projection
    • Articulations and Sleeping
  • Reduced Coordinate Articulations
    • Creating a Reduced Coordinate Articulation
    • Articulation Joints
    • Joint positions and velocities
    • PxArticulationCache
    • Inverse Dynamics
  • Scene Origin
    • Shifting The Scene Origin
  • GPU Rigid Bodies
    • Introduction
    • Using GPU Rigid Bodies
    • What is GPU accelerated?
    • Tuning
    • Performance Considerations
  • Geometry Queries
    • Introduction
    • Raycasts
    • Overlaps
    • Penetration Depth
    • Sweeps
    • Additional PxGeometryQuery functions
    • PxMeshQuery
  • Scene Queries
    • Introduction
    • Basic queries
    • Touching and blocking hits
    • Query modes
    • Filtering
    • User defined hit callbacks for unbounded results
    • Batched queries
    • Single Object Caching
    • PxPruningStructureType
    • PxSceneQueryUpdateMode
    • PxPruningStructure
    • PxBVHStructure
  • Vehicles
    • Introduction
    • Algorithm
    • First Code
    • Snippets
    • Advanced Concepts
    • More Advanced Concepts
    • Tuning Guide
    • Troubleshooting
    • References
  • Character Controllers
    • Introduction
    • Kinematic Character Controller
    • Creating a character controller
    • Overlap Recovery Module
    • Character Volume
    • Volume Update
    • Moving a Character Controller
    • Graphics Update
    • Auto Stepping
    • Climbing Mode
    • Up Vector
    • Walkable Parts & Invisible Walls
    • Obstacle Objects
    • Hit Callback
    • Behavior Callback
    • Character Interactions: CCT-vs-dynamic actors
    • Character Interactions: CCT-vs-CCT
    • Hidden Kinematic Actors
    • Time Stepping
    • Invalidating Internal Geometry Caches
    • Runtime Tessellation
    • Troubleshooting
  • Debug Visualization
    • Introduction
    • Usage
  • PhysX Visual Debugger (PVD)
    • PVD
    • Basic Setup (SDK Side)
    • Advanced Setup
  • Simulation Statistics
    • Interface
    • Usage
  • Serialization
    • Introduction
    • First Code
    • In-depth Discussion
    • Common Use Cases
    • Snippet Discussion
    • Best practices / Troubleshooting
    • PVD
  • Extending Serialization
    • Introduction
    • Overview
    • Binary Serialization of Custom Classes
    • RepX Serialization of Custom Classes
  • Best Practices Guide
    • Introduction
    • Debugging
    • Performance Issues
    • Character Controller Systems using Scene Queries and Penetration Depth Computation
    • Quantizing HeightField Samples
    • Reducing memory usage
    • Behavior issues
    • GPU Rigid Bodies
    • Determinism
  • Migrating From PhysX SDK 2.x to 3.x
    • Removed Features
    • Basics
    • API Design Changes
    • Material Indexes
    • Continuous Collision Detection
    • Pose Description
    • Shape Description
    • Joints
    • Time Stepping
    • Collision Filtering
    • Scene Queries
  • Migrating From PhysX SDK 3.2 to 3.3
    • Math Classes
    • Scene Query API
    • SPU batch queries
    • Core PhysX
    • PhysX Extensions
    • PhysX Character Controller
    • PhysX Vehicles
    • CCD
    • PhysX Visual Debugger
    • PhysX Cloth
    • RepX Serialization
    • Binary Serialization
    • PhysX TaskManager
  • Migrating From PhysX SDK 3.3 to 3.4
    • Deprecated APIs
    • Core PhysX
    • Contact Generation
    • PhysX Cooking
    • Reference Counting
    • PhysX Visual Debugger
    • Scene queries
    • PxExtensions
  • Migrating From PhysX SDK 3.4 to 4.0
    • Deprecated APIs
    • PhysX particles
    • PhysX clothing
    • PhysX distribution
    • Core PhysX
    • PhysX Extensions