Hello,
I have a keen interest in 3d graphics and animation, and have hence taken up “to design a prototype gaming engine using open gl”, as my Final Year project (Bachelors in Comp Sci). Fact is that though my programming may not be great…I intend to improve on that as I learn more about implementing (or trying to get it somewhat completed)this proposed project.
Like any newbie, I have a flare for 3d and have at most used 3d Studio Max, Maya, Autocad, Viz, Mechanical Desktop, etc… But I have never really programmed for either of them.
So coming back, the problem in hand is to design a “modern” game engine, hopefully with improved lighting and rendering techniques.
My system is pIII-550, 384MB SDRAM, 3dlabs Wildcat VP560 w/64 MB DDR, an 70 GB har drive space, am using WIN XP Professional, and Microsoft VIsual C++.
Hopefully I intend to desing the engine using the specs mentioned, if some expert out there feels I need to upgrade/change/buy something new… to get my engine completed, feel free to advice me on that too.
Now… how does one make a gaming engine? where should I start? I have approx 8-9 months to complete this project. And though my project would only be a protytype I am trying to aim towards the following :
My goal would be something like…SPLINTER CELL, in terms of “graphics”
I am only focusing towards graphics aspect of this engine, and I need to be able to :
1)import 3ds models
2)import characters and be able to animate/control them
3)be able to provide various textures my models
4)be able to provide various lighting to light up different areas of a scene
5)cast shadows
6)be able to perform real time high quality rendering, optimised for open-gl
I have no idea how possible/impossible this might be for me, could someone plz boost my morale here and honestly tell me that 8 months would not be a problem at all and I would be able to grasp at all this after a couple of months(5~6)
Lastly advice me on OPEN GL books to buy… i have made a list of following :
Real-Time Rendering
by Tomas Moller, Eric Haines 49.95
3D Game Engine Design: A Practical Approach to Real-Time Computer Graphics
by David H. Eberly 64.95
Game Programming Gems
by Mark DeLoura (Editor) 69.95
Game Programming Gems 2
by Mark DeLoura (Editor) 55.96
Game Programming Gems 3
by Dante Treglia (Editor), Mark Deloura 55.96
3D Games: Real-Time Rendering and Software Technology, Volume 1 (With CD-ROM)
by Alan Watt (Author), Fabio Policarpo (Author) 65.00
3D Games, Vol. 2: Animation and Advanced Real-Time Rendering
by Alan Watt (Author), Fabio Policarpo (Author) 59.00
The OpenGL Extensions Guide
by Eric Lengyel 47.96
Computer Graphics Using Open GL (2nd Edition)
by Francis S. Hill (Author) 78.00
3D Games: Real-Time Rendering and Software Technology, Volume 1 (With CD-ROM)
by Alan Watt (Author), Fabio Policarpo (Author) 65.00
3D Games, Vol. 2: Animation and Advanced Real-Time Rendering
by Alan Watt (Author), Fabio Policarpo (Author) 59.00
Real-Time 3D Terrain Engines Using C++ and DirectX 9 (Game Development Series)
by Gregory Snook, Greg Snook 39.96
OpenGL® Reference Manual: The Official Reference Document to OpenGL, Version 1.2 (3rd Edition)
by Dave Shreiner (Author), Opengl Architecture Review Board 57.99
OpenGL SuperBible, Second Edition (2nd Edition)
by Richard S. Wright Jr. (Author), Michael R. Sweet (Author) 34.99
Thanks very much, I very much hope someone out there can help me along with this project, it means a lot to me.
Much regards,
Raza Khan