VL.Stride.Text3d

Set of nodes to create and render (extruded) 3d text in VL.Stride.

Since version 2.0 the library is powered by Silk.NET (Direct2D/DirectWrite bindings) instead of the discontinued SharpDX, and all nodes are implemented in C#.

The extrusion geometry is based on Extruder.cs, ExtrudingSink.cs and OutlineRenderer.cs that come with dx11-vvvv by Julien Vulliet aka mrvux, ported to Silk.NET. His code is licensed under BSD 3, refer to DX11-vvvv-License.md for details.

The library itself is released under MIT license.

Requirements

Version 2.x requires vvvv gamma 7.4 or later (net8.0, Stride 4.2). For older vvvv versions use version 1.0.2 of this package.

Using the library

In order to use this library with VL you have to install the nuget that is available via nuget.org. For information on how to use nugets with VL, see Managing Nugets in the VL documentation. As described there you go to the commandline and then type:

For vvvv gamma 7.4+

nuget install VL.Stride.Text3d

For 5.0

nuget install VL.Stride.Text3d -version 1.0.2

For 2021.4

nuget install VL.Stride.Text3d -version 0.4.0

Try it with vvvv, the visual live-programming environment for .NET Download: http://visualprogramming.net

Changes in 2.2

• New pins on the Text3d/Text3dMesh nodes (defaults reproduce the previous behavior exactly):
  • Extrude Origin (Center/Front/Back) — where the mesh sits relative to Z = 0.
  • Flattening Tolerance (default 0.1) — curve quality of the outlines; smaller values give finer curves and more vertices.
  • Smoothing Angle (in cycles, default 1/6 = 60°) — side-wall edges sharper than this stay hard, flatter ones are shaded smooth.
• The entity nodes regained the Name pin.
• All enum members now carry tooltips.

Changes in 2.1

• Side-wall lighting corrected: the extrusion's side walls now use the true outward surface normal (a bug inherited from the original dx11-vvvv code mirrored it, so extruded surfaces shaded incorrectly). Silhouette, front/back caps and UVs are unchanged — only the shading of the extruded sides differs.

Breaking changes in 2.0

• Requires vvvv gamma ≥ 7.4 (net8.0); the SharpDX dependency is gone.
• All node definitions moved from the VL document into the C# assembly. Existing patches will show the Text3d nodes red once, re-pick them via the node browser (names, categories and pins are unchanged).
• The enum types (TextAlignment, FontWeight, …) are now defined by the library itself. Member names are unchanged, but enum IOBoxes must be re-created once.
• The two advanced overloads are now named Text3d (Advanced) and Text3dMesh (Advanced) (they take a FontAndParagraph).
• SetBasicFontPorperties was renamed to SetBasicFontProperties.
• Removed: Text3dMesh (Async) (was obsolete) and the internal Services node.
• The advanced nodes no longer accept a raw SharpDX TextLayout; build layouts with FontAndParagraph.
• Empty text no longer throws, it yields an empty mesh.

Maintenance notes

The 2.x package is version-coupled to what vvvv bundles:

this library	vvvv gamma	Silk.NET	Stride
2.x	7.4	2.22.0 (exact pin)	4.2.1.2487

When vvvv updates its bundled Silk.NET or Stride, this package needs a matching release: bump Silk.NET.Direct2D (exact [x.y.z] pin) and the Stride.* versions in src/VL.Stride.Text3d.csproj plus the nuspec dependency, rebuild, and run the test suite. Two things to preserve when touching the interop:

• Never use Silk.NET's managed-String overloads for DirectWrite calls — they marshal the WCHAR parameters with the wrong encoding (silent font fallback, intermittent E_INVALIDARG). Always pass pinned UTF-16 char* (see src/Interop/Native.cs).
• The vertex-output regression fixtures in tests/baselines are font/machine-dependent (DirectWrite output varies with installed font versions). After moving to a new machine, regenerate them once with REGENERATE_BASELINES=1 dotnet test.

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License

MIT