Raytracer

A performant raytracer built from scratch in C, featuring realistic lighting, reflections, shadows, and support for complex 3D models.

🌟 Features

• Realistic Rendering: Advanced ray tracing algorithms for lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows
• Multiple Materials: Support for Lambertian (matte), Metal (reflective), and Dielectric (transparent/translucent) materials
• Complex Geometry: Render spheres, triangles, planes, quads, and complex meshes from .obj files
• Scene Parser: Custom scene description language for easy scene composition
• Anti-aliasing: Multi-sampling for smooth, high-quality images
• BVH Optimization: Bounding Volume Hierarchy for efficient rendering of complex scenes
• Motion Blur: Animated scenes with cinematic motion blur effects
• Transformations: Translation and rotation support for dynamic scenes
• Multiple Textures: Solid colors and checkered patterns

🖼️ Gallery

Chess pieces scene showcasing different materials and lighting

Complex tree geometry with detailed branching structure

Eagle model rendered with golden metallic material

Eagle model with silver reflective material

Infinite reflection effect with multiple mirrors

Collection of metallic spheres with varying roughness

Metallic surfaces illuminated by blue lighting

Creative scene composition with mixed materials and lighting

🛠️ How to run

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AhmedBlackEye/ray-tracing
cd raytracer

# Build the project
chmod +x run.sh
./run.sh scene.txt output.ppm

Scene Files

Scene files use a custom text format to describe 3D scenes. Examples can be found in the scenes/ directory:

• heart.txt - Heart-shaped model
• cow.txt - Complex cow mesh
• chess.txt - Chess pieces scene
• crystal_cave.txt - Crystal cave environment
• metal_spheres.txt - Reflective spheres demonstration

Custom Scenes

Create your own scene files using the scene description language. The parser supports:

• Geometric primitives (spheres, planes, triangles, quads)
• .obj file loading for complex meshes
• Material definitions (lambertian, metal, dielectric)
• Lighting and camera configuration
• Transformations and animations

📁 Project Structure

raytracer/
├── app/           # Application layer (camera, scene management)
├── core/          # Core mathematics and utilities (vectors, rays, colors)
├── hittable/      # Geometric objects and intersection testing
├── material/      # Material implementations
├── parsers/       # Scene and .obj file parsers
├── texture/       # Texture implementations
├── models/        # Sample .obj models
├── scenes/        # Pre-made scene files
└── build/         # Build artifacts

🎯 Technical Highlights

Ray Tracing Algorithm

• Backward ray tracing from camera through pixels
• Recursive light bouncing for realistic global illumination
• Monte Carlo sampling for anti-aliasing

Performance Optimizations

• BVH (Bounding Volume Hierarchy): Logarithmic-time intersection testing for complex meshes
• Efficient Memory Management: Custom dynamic arrays and optimized data structures

Advanced Features

• Shadow Acne Prevention: Bias correction for numerical precision errors
• Motion Blur: Time-based ray sampling for animated sequences
• Flexible Camera System: Configurable FOV, position, focus, and aspect ratios

🎨 Sample Renders

The raytracer can handle:

• Complex .obj models with thousands of triangles
• Realistic material properties and lighting
• Transparent and reflective surfaces
• Artistic scenes with multiple light sources

Output format: PPM (Portable Pixmap) files

🔧 Configuration

Camera Settings

• Position and orientation
• Field of view
• Focus distance and aperture
• Image resolution and aspect ratio

Rendering Quality

• Samples per pixel (anti-aliasing)
• Maximum ray bounce depth
• Resolution settings

🤝 Contributing

This project was developed as a group effort.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Ray tracing algorithms inspired by "Ray Tracing in One Weekend" series
• .obj file format support for complex 3D models
• Various online resources for graphics programming techniques