Ground shadows: shaped by the light, and laid on any floor

README.md

@@ -61,15 +61,15 @@ Graphics
     - **2D** — `Light2d` as a first-class `Renderable` (multiple dynamic lights, radial-gradient falloff, illumination-only mode, procedural rendering via `drawLight`), plus optional per-pixel normal-map shading on sprites for 3D-looking dynamic lights
     - **3D** — `Light3d` directional, point, spot and ambient lights, added to the world like `Light2d` (half-Lambert diffuse + ambient fill, quadratic falloff and cone angles on the punctual types, runtime-manipulable for day/night), auto-loaded from a glTF scene's authored suns and lamps
     - up to **32 simultaneous lights** on either path, with light data travelling in a uniform buffer — a static light rig costs zero GPU state changes per frame
-- Ground ("blob") shadows for 3D objects — **on by default** — so characters and props read as standing on the floor instead of hovering. An ellipse matching the caster's own footprint and rotation, shrinking and fading with height above the ground; one extra draw per object, and **one for an entire `InstancedMesh` scatter regardless of instance count**. Controllable per object, per glTF scene (`level.load(name, { castGroundShadow })`) or application-wide. Deliberately not shadow mapping: it answers "where is this standing", which is what a 2.5D scene needs
+- Ground ("blob") shadows for 3D objects — **on by default** — so characters and props read as standing on the floor instead of hovering. An ellipse matching the caster's own footprint and rotation, shrinking and fading with height above the ground; one extra draw per object, and **one for an entire `InstancedMesh` scatter regardless of instance count**. Shaped by the light rather than always straight down: `shadowLight` points a blob at a `Light3d` and is re-read every draw, so a day/night cycle carries every shadow with it, while `shadowOffset` slides it out from the caster's feet, `shadowStretch` lengthens it for a low sun, `shadowScale` sizes it independently of the object, and `shadowGroundNormal` lays it on a floor that is not level. All of them work on an `InstancedMesh` too, as one value for the whole set. Controllable per object, per glTF scene (`level.load(name, { castGroundShadow, shadowLight, … })`) or application-wide. Deliberately not shadow mapping: it answers "where is this standing", which is what a 2.5D scene needs
 - Built-in shader effects (Flash, Outline, Glow, Bloom, ToneMapping, Dissolve, CRT, Hologram, etc.) with multi-pass chaining via `addPostEffect()`, plus custom shader support on both GPU backends: `ShaderEffect` for per-sprite fragment effects (GLSL and/or WGSL bodies) and complete custom mesh shader programs via `mesh.shader` (a dual-language `GLShader`: GLSL pair and/or WGSL module)
 - Optional HDR rendering (`hdr: true`) — the camera's render targets become half-float, so additive light stops saturating on every write and `BloomEffect` thresholds on genuinely over-bright pixels instead of merely bright ones, with `ToneMappingEffect` and a `toneMapping` setting to compress the result back into display range when your art calls for it. Off by default and additive: nothing is inserted into your effect chain, so turning it on does not restyle a game whose look is built on clipped whites. On WebGPU it goes one step further — `hdrOutput: true` presents the frame in the display's own dynamic range rather than clamping it to SDR at the last step
 - Trail renderable for fading, tapering ribbons behind moving objects (speed lines, sword slashes, magic trails)
 - System & Bitmap Text with built-in typewriter effect
 - Video sprite playback
 
 Sound
-- Web Audio support with 3D spatial audio and stereo panning based on [Howler](https://howlerjs.com)
+- Web Audio support with 3D spatial audio and stereo panning, plus a procedural tone/noise API. The playback backend began as [howler.js](https://howlerjs.com) and is now a customized derivative vendored into the engine, so this is **not** a runtime dependency (see `src/audio/backend/LICENSE`)
 - Built-in procedural audio primitives (envelope-shaped oscillators, white/pink/brown noise) for SFX without sample assets
 - Direct `AudioContext` / master-gain accessors for custom WebAudio graphs that mix with the engine's master volume / mute
 
@@ -192,6 +192,8 @@ Examples
 * [3D Mesh](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/mesh-3d) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/mesh3d))
 * [3D Mesh Material](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/mesh-3d-material) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/mesh3dMaterial))
 * [AfterBurner Clone](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/after-burner) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/afterBurner)) — `Camera3d` + 3D Mesh arcade shooter
+* [Ground Shadows](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/ground-shadows) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/groundShadows)) — every blob-shadow setting side by side under an orbiting sun, including blobs lying on a slope and a 70-instance scatter that costs one extra draw
+* [Jungle Rabbit](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/jungle-rabbit) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/jungleRabbit)) — a low-poly river endless runner: Blender-modelled props through `InstancedMesh`, a rigged paddling boat, a procedural valley and shadows laid on its banks
 * [glTF Scene](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/gltf) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/gltf)) — a Blender-authored, lit 3D scene loaded with `level.load`
 * [glTF Animated Model](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/gltf-character) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/gltf)) — a rigged character (Kenney Blocky Characters) with node animation, driven by the Sprite-aligned `setCurrentAnimation` / `play` / `pause` / `stop` API
 * [Trail](https://melonjs.github.io/melonJS/examples/#/trail) ([source](https://github.com/melonjs/melonJS/tree/master/packages/examples/src/examples/trail))

packages/examples/LICENSE.md

@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ legally required, credited here as a courtesy.
 The 3D models in `public/assets/jungleRabbit/` — boat, carrot, log, rock, palm,
 fern, leaves, flowers and bird — were modelled for this example and are covered
 by the MIT license above, as is the procedurally generated terrain and water.
+The `groundShadows` example borrows the same models rather than shipping its
+own, so this covers both.
 
 The music track `bgm/jungle-theme.mp3` is by **Vlad Krotov**, published on
 Pixabay: