Project Outpost
Synopsis
Creating software to simulate crewed space missions to planet Mars. Targeting the Linux and Windows operating systems on the PC platform. Inspired by the Mars Direct paper from Dr. Robert Zubrin.
This project is a work in progress, and intended to be released as free Open Source software when it’s done.
3D Graphics Programming
- Writing my own custom engine in C++ from scratch.
- Using the OpenGL programmable pipeline for rendering 3D vector graphics.
- Currently implemented model and mesh loading, texture mapping, camera using Euler angles, Blinn-Phong lighting model, skybox using cubemapping, instancing and normal mapping.
- Working on scene graph and visibility culling (view-frustum and occlusion).
- Reading up on computational astronomy (Lawrence, J.L., 2018. “Celestial Calculations”. MIT Press), and orbital mechanics (Howard D. Curtis, 2010. “Orbital Mechanics for Engineering Students”. Butterworth-Heinemann).
Preview
System Requirements
The following specs match the development machine and are known to work:
- OS: Linux Kernel version 5.18
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, 8GB, OpenGL 4.5
- Display: 5120x1440 (or dual 2560x1440)
- Additional Notes: SSD