viverse-r3f-foundation

name: viverse-r3f-foundation description: Build browser 3D games with React Three Fiber and @react-three/viverse. Use for initial scene setup, character controls, physics body setup, and VIVERSE-ready project foundations. prerequisites: [React, three, @react-three/fiber, VIVERSE app ID] tags: [viverse, r3f, threejs, react, game-foundation]

VIVERSE R3F Foundation

Foundation skill for browser mini-games using @react-three/viverse.

When To Use This Skill

Use when you need:

• a fast R3F + VIVERSE starter scene
• character movement and simple platform/arena gameplay
• physics-ready level geometry for browser mini-games

Read Order

1. This file
2. Viverse simple game tutorial
3. Viverse publish tutorial
4. ../viverse-auth/SKILL.md
5. ../viverse-world-publishing/SKILL.md

Preflight Checklist

• Install deps: three, @react-three/fiber, @react-three/viverse, @react-three/drei
• Have a valid VIVERSE App ID
• Decide env key strategy (VITE_VIVERSE_CLIENT_ID vs VITE_VIVERSE_APP_ID)
• Target a small browser-friendly map and low-poly assets

Implementation Workflow

1. Set up <Canvas> and wrap game content with <Viverse>.
2. Add environment lights and sky.
3. Add controllable player with <SimpleCharacter />.
4. Add collision-ready geometry inside <BvhPhysicsBody>.
5. Add respawn/reset logic in frame update for fail-safe gameplay.
6. Wire auth/profile and publish pipeline from existing VIVERSE core skills.

Full-path controls without avatar (tested pattern)

For games that do not use SimpleCharacter (for example tank/driving games), you can still adopt pmndrs input framework directly:

1. Create an InputSystem on the canvas DOM element (onCreated -> gl.domElement).
2. Register built-in inputs:
   • ScreenJoystickInput (mobile movement joystick)
   • LocomotionKeyboardInput (desktop movement keys)
3. Add one custom input plugin for game-specific actions (for example turret left/right + fire).
4. Define custom InputFields for game-specific actions and map them into your game control state each frame.
5. Keep gameplay/controller logic separate from input providers; swap providers without changing gameplay.

This allows framework-standard mobile joystick UX while preserving non-avatar gameplay.

Input action "one-shot" pattern (required for non-continuous actions)

For actions like weapon switch, interact, or mode-toggle:

1. Define a dedicated custom InputField (for example WeaponSwitchField).
2. Store pending action in custom input plugin state (for example pendingWeaponChoice).
3. Return action once from get(field).
4. Immediately clear pending action after read.

Why:

• Prevents repeated triggers while key/button is held.
• Keeps input deterministic and easy to reason about in frame update loops.

Minimal scaffold:

<Canvas shadows>
  <Viverse>
    <Sky />
    <directionalLight intensity={1.2} position={[5, 10, 10]} castShadow />
    <ambientLight intensity={1} />
    <SimpleCharacter />
    <BvhPhysicsBody>
      <PrototypeBox scale={[10, 1, 15]} position={[0, -0.5, 0]} />
    </BvhPhysicsBody>
  </Viverse>
</Canvas>

Verification Checklist

• Character moves/jumps on map in browser
• Physics collisions work for floor/platforms
• Respawn logic works when falling out of bounds
• Build succeeds and preview runs after publish
• Non-avatar controller can read from InputSystem (desktop + mobile)
• Mobile joystick appears only on touch/coarse-pointer devices
• Arrow/space or mapped action keys do not trigger page scroll/gesture leaks
• One-shot actions (weapon switch/interact) fire exactly once per press
• Combat FX arrays are bounded and cleaned by TTL (no long-session accumulation)
• Timed buffs/weapons expire by timestamp logic (not fragile per-feature timers)
• Hit feedback is readable (for example short emissive pulse via lastHitAt)
• Pickups render only when active and respawn correctly

Critical Gotchas

• Keep scope small for browser mini-games; avoid large maps and heavy shaders.
• Keep auth and App ID config in sync with publish target app.
• Rebuild after env changes before publishing (import.meta.env is build-time).
• Do not duplicate auth state hooks across multiple top-level UI components.
• ScreenJoystickInput alone does not cover custom combat actions; add a custom input plugin for action fields.
• SimpleCharacter is optional; pmndrs input framework can be used directly for vehicle/tank controllers.
• Keep gameplay state deterministic and authoritative; treat visual effects (shot/hit/explosion) as render-layer events with short TTL.
• Cap transient FX collections (for example slice(-N)) to avoid memory/perf drift during long playtests.
• Timestamp-based effects/buffs (until fields) are more robust than many ad-hoc timers spread across components.

References

• pmndrs/viverse repository
• Simple game tutorial
• Publish tutorial