OpenGL-Game-Engine

A 3D game engine built with OpenGL and C++17. Designed with a component-based architecture inspired by Unity3D, this engine provides core rendering, physics, and scene management features for building interactive 3D applications.

Features

• 3D math module using GLM
• Input handling (mouse and keyboard)
• Meshes, materials, shaders & textures
• .obj format importer
• Scene management with hierarchical organization of objects in XML files
• Component system: GameObject, Transform, Camera, MeshRenderer and custom scripts
• Engine compiled as static library, scripting done with C++
• Basic collision detection using Cube Colliders

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Prerequisites & Dependencies

To compile and run this project on Linux, you will need a C++17 compliant compiler (gcc or clang), cmake, and the following development libraries:

• OpenGL (Core Graphics Drivers)
• GLEW (Extension Wrangler)
• GLFW (Windowing & Input)
• FreeGLUT (Utility Toolkit)
• FreeImage (Image Loading)
• GLM (OpenGL Mathematics)

Dependency Installation

CachyOS / Arch Linux

# Install core build tools and standard libraries
sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake glew glfw freeglut glm

# Install FreeImage from the AUR (Do NOT run with sudo)
paru -S freeimage
# OR:
yay -S freeimage

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake libglew-dev libglfw3-dev freeglut3-dev libfreeimage-dev libglm-dev

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Building the Project

You can build the project either directly through the terminal or by using Visual Studio Code.

Method 1: Via Terminal (Standard CMake)

From the project root directory, run the following commands to configure and compile:

# Create and enter the build directory
mkdir build && cd build

# Configure the project
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug ..

# Compile the executable
make

Method 2: Via VS Code (Recommended)

1. Open the project folder in VS Code.

2. Install the following extensions:

   • C/C++ (by Microsoft)
   • CMake Tools (by Microsoft)

3. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P) and run CMake: Select a Kit. Choose your native host compiler (e.g., GCC or Clang).

4. Run CMake: Configure.

5. Click the Build button on the bottom blue status bar (or press F7).

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Running the Application

Important Platform Constraints

1. Working Directory: The application loads assets (Shaders, Textures, Scenes) using relative paths. The executable must be run from the build directory where assets are automatically copied.

2. Wayland Display Server: If you are running a Wayland-based desktop (default on many modern Linux distributions), GLEW requires an X11 context to initialize properly. You must pass the GLFW_PLATFORM=x11 environment variable to force XWayland compatibility.

Running via Terminal

# From the project root folder
cd build/ExampleGame

# Launch the app forcing X11 context compatibility
GLFW_PLATFORM=x11 ./ExampleGame

Running via VS Code (Automated Setup)

To make clicking the Play [▷] button in VS Code work seamlessly, create or update .vscode/settings.json in your project root with the following configuration:

{
    "cmake.debugConfig": {
        "environment": [
            {
                "name": "GLFW_PLATFORM",
                "value": "x11"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Once saved, clicking Launch / Play on the bottom status bar will properly handle display window contexts automatically.

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Usage

For details on how the engine should be used, check the ExampleGame folder which demonstrates:

• Scene loading from XML
• Custom component scripts
• Basic rendering and camera controls
• Collision detection examples