3D Rendering Engine (C)

A minimalistic 3D rendering engine implemented in C, built from scratch to explore the fundamentals of computer graphics. This project provides a foundational understanding of how 3D scenes are rendered, incorporating basic camera controls, lighting, and object interactions.

Inspired by: This project was completed heavily utilizing the concepts and principles laid out in:

@book{gambetta2021computer,
  title={Computer Graphics from Scratch: A Programmer's Introduction to 3D Rendering},
  author={Gambetta, Gabriel},
  year={2021},
  publisher={No Starch Press}
}

The book served as an invaluable guide for understanding the core algorithms and mathematical concepts behind ray tracing.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Preview
• How to Build and Run
• Usage
• License

Features

• Ray Tracing Core: Implements the fundamental ray tracing algorithm to determine pixel colors based on ray-object intersections.
• Sphere Primitives: Renders spherical objects within the scene.
• Basic Lighting: Supports ambient, point, and directional lights.
• Diffuse and Specular Reflection: Calculates how light reflects off surfaces, including Lambertian diffuse and Phong specular components.
• Reflection: Handles recursive ray tracing for reflective surfaces.
• Basic Camera Controls:
  • WASD: Move the camera forward, backward, left, and right relative to its orientation.
  • Space / C: Move the camera up (Space) and down (C) in world space.
  • Arrow Keys: Rotate the camera's view (yaw for left/right, pitch for up/down).

Preview

How to Build and Run

This project requires SDL2. Ensure you have it installed on your system.

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/adamerikoff/rendering_engine.git
   cd rendering_engine

2. Compile: This project uses a Makefile for compilation. Ensure pkg-config is installed and configured correctly for SDL2. To build the Ray Casting Engine (as described in the Features section):

   make build_ray

   If you intend to build the Rasterizing Engine:

   make build_raster

3. Run: To run the Ray Casting Engine:

   ./bin/ray_casting_engine

   Or, using the Makefile target:

   make run_ray

   To run the Rasterizing Engine (if you built it):

   ./bin/rasterizing_engine

   Or, using the Makefile target:

   make run_raster

Usage

Once the application is running, you can interact with the camera:

• Movement:
  • W: Move Forward
  • S: Move Backward
  • A: Move Left
  • D: Move Right
  • Space: Move Up (world Y-axis)
  • C: Move Down (world Y-axis)
• Rotation (Look Around):
  • Left Arrow: Rotate Camera Left (Yaw)
  • Right Arrow: Rotate Camera Right (Yaw)
  • Up Arrow: Look Up (Pitch)
  • Down Arrow: Look Down (Pitch)
• Exit:
  • ESC: Exit the application.
  • Close the window.

License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.