This project is a C++ implementation of a 3D rendering engine that utilizes ray tracing techniques to generate photorealistic images from scratch. By parsing a scene description in NFF (Neutral File Format), the program constructs a virtual scene complete with a camera and various geometric objects.
The project was done as part of a 3D Programming course at the IST (University of Lisbon) in 2019 by Yannek Nowatzky and Ferdous Nasri.
- Raycasting & Ray Tracing: The engine implements advanced rendering techniques that simulate the way light interacts with objects, producing high-quality images.
- Grid Search Acceleration: Utilizes a grid-based acceleration structure to improve rendering performance, enabling faster ray-object intersection tests.
- Reflections, Refractions, and Soft Shadows: Implements reflective materials (mirror-like) and soft shadow effects for more realistic lighting, allowing for gradual transitions between light and shadow and bouncing light rays.
- Anti-Aliasing: Reduces visual artifacts by smoothing edges through multi-sampling techniques, resulting in clearer and more detailed images.
- Depth of Field Effects: Simulates realistic depth of field, adding a sense of focus and blur that enhances the visual quality of rendered scenes.
- Scene Definition: Users can define their 3D scenes using NFF input files, allowing for easy customization of the camera position, object properties, and light sources.
- Multi-threading Support: The rendering process is optimized for performance with multi-threading capabilities, enabling faster image generation on modern multi-core processors.
Below is a rendered image showcasing the ray tracing engine's capabilities, including reflective materials, soft shadows, and anti-aliasing. A subtle depth of field effect is applied, keeping the third sphere in focus while adding gentle blurring to the foreground and background for a slight sense of depth.
Requires the OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT)
sudo apt-get install freeglut3-dev
Download the repository and change (cd) into the directory. Build the project with
make
This will create an executable filled, called app, which can be run from command line:
./app --scene <PATH TO SCENE>
Sample scenes are found in the scenes directory. Consult the program's help function (-h) for adjusting camera properties and special effects.
./app -h
Usage:
--scene [path] : Set scene file path
--res_x [value] : Set custom resolution width
--res_y [value] : Set custom resolution height
--antialiasing [0/1] : Enable or disable antialiasing
--n [value] : Set number n of pixel jitter for antialiasing
--softshadows [0/1] : Enable or disable soft shadows
--depth_of_field [0/1] : Enable or disable depth of field
--aperture [value] : Aperture for depth of field (Default 0.04)
--focal_distance [value] : Distance to focal plane for depth of field (Default 3.0)
--grid_acceleration [0/1]: Enable or disable grid acceleration
-h
If you are running the program on MacOS Mojave, please look in the main.cpp file and set MojaveWorkAround to true and uncomment the three lined with the #include files, while commenting out the #include file listed under For Linux. You can then build the program using the following command:
g++ main.cpp Scene.cpp Camera.cpp Object.cpp Sphere.cpp Plane.cpp Triangle.cpp VectorMath.cpp RayCast.cpp Cylinder.cpp AABB.cpp Vector.cpp Cell.cpp Grid.cpp RandomSampler.cpp -o app -framework OpenGL -framework GLUT -Wno-deprecated --std=c++17
Multi-threading is currently causing issues.
In theory, you can build the project with multi-threading by adding the tag -fopenmp to the Makefile compile flags. By default, all cores will be used. If need be, this can be changed by uncommenting a line in the main.cpp.
We currently only accept NFF. You can change the input file in main.cpp by changing scene_path. The scene we have made to show the depth of field and the other new features is under this path: "./scenes/dof_example.nff". This is already set as the default path for the program.