#3d maze screensaver resize code#
#3d maze screensaver resize series#

If the above screenshots look sort of comically empty, IвЂ™ll defend it by saying it feels better than it looks. IвЂ™ve also got it banking very slightly, so when you go around a big bend you kind of lean into it a bit. This seems more natural and less mechanical than just turning in unison with the curves. The camera aims itself at the hoop a few steps ahead, which means it begins turning just slightly before you reach the curve. As you proceed, it takes the hoop behind you and places it at the end of the tunnel to give the вЂњinfinite tunnelвЂќ effect. Three different overlapping sine waves are used to create the side-to-side curves.ДЇor movement: The camera just moves from the center of one hoop to the next. Sine waves govern the height and width of the hoops, so sometimes the passage is tight and sometimes itвЂ™s wide but low and sometimes itвЂ™s tall but narrow. Sine waves govern the lengths of the line segments of the hoops, so sometimes itвЂ™s round and sometimes itвЂ™s more octagonal or hexagonal. What we have here is a blend of many, many sine waves. Once in a while I catch myself staring during testing, hypnotized by the color and motion. In motion itвЂ™s fast-moving and visually stimulating. IвЂ™m kind of shocked at how dull the thing looks in stillframe. Lets have the shape of the tunnel deform as we go. Who opening is kind of dull when deprived of titles and names and theme music and Tardises.

It was very much a process of doing random crap just to see what it would look like.Д«ut still. IвЂ™m not sure I can even re-trace the steps of what might very generously be called logic to get from there to here.

#3d maze screensaver resize series#

After about an hour of experimentation and tweaking, I find myself flying through what amounts to a series of glowing hoops.ДЄt last, a simulation that gives us the view from a croquet ball at a rave. I suppose if I was smart IвЂ™d have taken more screenshots of the work in progress, but I wasnвЂ™t and I didnвЂ™t. What if I made the wireframe glow? Then I could have the camera flying through glowing rings, which might be kind of fun. Even making the tunnel twist around doesnвЂ™t do much to liven it up. The wireframe is kind of interesting, though. I think itвЂ™s a leftover from the example code. Not sure what the rectangle is in this shot. The lighting makes the tube look kind of flat and lifeless. I try adding lighting, and itвЂ™s actually even less interesting. I try just coloring the polygons, but itвЂ™s still kind of boring. And since IвЂ™m doing this for fun I donвЂ™t want to trouble myself with the un-fun task of making an interface where the user can choose textures. I mean, if I use a texture then IвЂ™ll be stuck with bricks or metal or whatever texture I pick. IвЂ™m aiming for something a little more abstract. But IвЂ™m not sure IвЂ™m crazy about introducing textures to this. You canвЂ™t even tell youвЂ™re moving unless the walls have some texture.

Of course, a straight tube is pretty boring. I start by making a simple straight tube of polygons and having the camera fly down it. This saves you a lot of work, although it also makes your program about as non-portable as possible. This is a good thing, since it saves you from having to write (or more likely, copy & paste) a couple hundred lines of code. (Like, if thereвЂ™s any input, the program exits.) You donвЂ™t have to worry about window resizing, menus, and a bunch of other stuff. That library handles creating a window and all the other stuff thatвЂ™s common to all screensavers.

#3d maze screensaver resize code#

Instead, that code is packed in this external library. In non-programmer talk, you donвЂ™t start with the usual first bit of code common to nearly all c++ programs. When written in C or C++, you donвЂ™t have a main (). So, I open an empty project and use this example to set up the boilerplate code. Was there some other sci-fi show that used the endless tunnel gag in the opening sequence? Maybe Lost in Space or Twilight Zone? I canвЂ™t remember. Who existed back then, but IвЂ™m pretty sure I hadnвЂ™t seen it yet. I used to picture plunging down an infinite circular tunnel as I drifted off to sleep. When I was a kid, I was fascinated by infinite tunnels. I need to wait for some of the feedback and suggestions to sink in, and until then I can twiddle my thumbs doing something else. But hasty changes arenвЂ™t any better than hasty driving.

I feel like thereвЂ™s something wrong with my game, and I want to HURRY UP AND FIX IT so I can stop worrying about it. If youвЂ™ve ever noticed how some people tend to drive faster when they get lost, then you have a good idea of how I feel right now. IвЂ™m feeling the itch to code, but I think I need to let Good Robot alone right now.