MiniRT

Introduction

MiniRT is a ray tracer coded in C, normed and humble but functional. Ray tracing is a method for rendering 3-dimensional computer-generated images, developed for the first time in 1968. It is more computationally expensive than the commonly used "Rasterization" method, but it produces a much higher degree of visual realism. The main goal of miniRT is to prove that you can implement any mathematics or physics formulas without being a mathematician. We will only implement the most basic ray tracing features here.

Installation

To install MiniRT, follow these steps:

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone --recursive https://github.com/Sylsee/miniRT.git
   

   If you've already cloned the repository without the --recursive flag, you can initialize and update the submodules with:

   git submodule update --init --recursive
   

2. Compile the project using the Makefile:

   make
   

Usage

To use MiniRT, you have several options:

1. To generate an image:

   ./miniRT [file].rt
   

2. To save the generated image:

   ./miniRT [file].rt --save
   

3. To generate a video:

   ./miniRT [file].rt --video [directory]
   

Capabilities

MiniRT comes with a wide range of features that allow for complex scene rendering:

• Object Selection: Select objects and apply desired changes.

• Light Management: Handle ambient light, spotlights, and shadows.

• Object: Handle spheres, planes, and cylinders.

• Status and Progress Bar: Monitor the rendering process with a progress bar.

• Scene Interactions: Interact with the scene in real-time.

• Multicam: Switch between multiple camera views.

• Screen Capture: Capture the current view as an image.

• Video Generation: Generate a video by rendering a sequence of images.

• Multithreading: Speed up rendering by using multiple threads.

• Reflection and Refraction: Simulate realistic light reflection and refraction.

• Fresnel Effect: Simulate the Fresnel effect, which changes the amount of reflection based on the viewing angle.

• Antialiasing: Smooth out jagged edges with antialiasing.

• Specular Light: Simulate the bright spot of light that appears on shiny objects.

• Reflection on Objects: Reflect other objects in shiny surfaces.

• Multi Spots and Colored Light: Use multiple spotlights and colored lights.

Controls

• Escape and red cross to quit
• WASD to move camera or light
• Caps to change camera mode (translate or rotate)
• Tab to change camera or light selection
• Space and Shift to go up and down
• EQ to switch camera and light
• V to start/stop video mode
• Arrow key, O and P to move selected object
• Ctrl to change object mode
• HJKL to change object properties

Authors

• Arnaud Guillard - GitHub
• Sylvio Poliart - GitHub

License

MiniRT is MIT licensed.

Contact

If you want to contact me you can reach me at [email protected].