CS 184 Assignment 4 Resources
This page includes links to a number of online resources which may provide
assistance or inspiration during development of OpenGL programs. (It was
originally written several years ago in the context of a video game project
assignment, but should still be relevant for any interactive 3D graphics applications, especially homework 3).
Please send an email to the TAs or instructor if you find problems
with this page.
OpenGL Programming Information
-
The OpenGL Programming Guide book (aka "The Red Book") recommended
for this class is perhaps the best guide to learning OpenGL programming.
Unfortunately, the
online version is an old edition. There is also a link to sample programs.
-
The "official" OpenGL Website. This
site is the most comprehensive collection of information about OpenGL,
including programming tips, tutorials, and developer documentation, as
well as the latest news about new OpenGL applications.
-
Resources for OpenGL
, and including code
samples.
-
Nate Robins's OpenGL
tutorial programs demonstrate basic OpenGL functionality by allow the
user to interactively modify parameters and see the effect on the 3D scene.
Windowing and Interface Toolkits
-
We recommend using GLUT to handle the windowing and event management
for your OpenGL programs. The primary GLUT Web page
has pointers to GLUT information.
-
GLUT by itself provides very limited GUI widget functionality (only menus).
The Micro User Interface (MUI) toolkit comes with GLUT and can be used
for buttons, text fields, sliders, and other widgets. Some brief MUI
documentation is available online.
-
GLUI is yet another
C++ GUI library that sits on top of GLUT and OpenGL.
3D Modeling
- 3dto3d is a 3d format conversion program by Thomas Baier.
(Search online for "3dto3d download" to find a version appropriate to your
operating system).
To convert from a 3ds file to a C file use 3dto3d myobj.3ds /if1
/of18.
-
Ultimate 3D Links is a great starting
point for programs and data for 3D game content. In particular, check out
their links to
shareware
3D modeling programs as well as their numerous links to collections
of thousands of free 3D models and textures (follow the index links
"3D Objects>Free Objects" and "Textures>Free" on the left side of their
Web page).
-
Viewpoint Digital is one of the
leading 3D content providers in the video game industry. Although most
of their models are expensive, it is fun to browse their extensive online
catalogs of 3D
models and textures.
Advanced Rendering Effects
- The
NVIDIA developer relations site has a number of
great demonstrations of advanced rendering
effects in OpenGL, often along with source code, presentation slides, or whitepapers
Text in OpenGL
- A number of libraries exist for doing text better and easier in
OpenGL. One of these is
GLTT.
Sound
- The SL sound
library is a fully portable (except MacOS) audio driver suited
to C++ and GLUT applications.
Game Development Resources