DRONE SIMULATOR

Computer Graphics 2024/25 – Politecnico di Milano

About Us

Meet Our Team

Moein PeyghambarZadeh MSc in Geoinformatics Engineering @POLIMI BSc in Computer Engineering @Shdu Mail | GitHub | LinkedIn

Filippo Paris MSc in Music & Acoustic Engineering @POLIMI BSc in Computer Engineering @UniBo Mail | GitHub | LinkedIn

Francesco Moretti MSc in Music & Acoustic Engineering @POLIMI BSc in Computer Engineering @Unipi Mail | GitHub | LinkedIn

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Key Features
3. How to Install
4. Getting Started
5. Technologies Behind the Game
6. Code Architecture
7. Visual Preview
8. License & Usage Terms

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Overview

Drone Simulator is a 3D interactive game developed using Vulkan and C++ in CLion, designed as part of the Computer Graphics course.
The objective is to control a drone and pass through 10 golden rings within a time limit. This experience emphasizes spatial awareness, control precision, and timing.

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Key Features

• Drone Control via keyboard (WASD, QE, RF, arrow keys)
• Four terrain mountains serve as the simulation environment
• 10 golden rings to collect, disappearing when passed through
• Start station and animated drone model
• On-screen HUD with:
  • Timer
  • Collected ring counter
  • Victory/defeat screen
• Skybox with dynamic lighting
• Multiple difficulty levels and responsive controls

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How to Install

Requirements

• Vulkan SDK (latest version - shaders use #version 450)
• CMake ≥ 3.10
• Git
• C++17 compatible compiler (GCC, Clang, MSVC)
• Compatible OS: Windows, Linux, macOS

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Installation Steps

git clone https://github.com/fparismusic/ComputerGraphics-Project.git
cd DroneSimulator
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
./DroneSimulator

All required assets (models, textures, shaders) are included in the repository. External libraries and course-provided files (Starter.hpp, Scene.hpp, TextMaker.hpp) are already integrated.

🚨 Large Asset Warning (IMPORTANT!)

Some models used in this project are large in size (>100 MB) and are tracked using Git LFS (Large File Storage).
If you don’t install Git LFS before cloning, some model files in assets/models/ will appear as text pointer files and your build will fail or show missing objects.

✅ Option 1: Recommended — Install Git LFS

Before cloning:

git lfs install
git clone https://github.com/fparismusic/ComputerGraphics-Project.git
cd DroneSimulator

If you already cloned without LFS:

git lfs pull

❗ Option 2: Manual Download (Fallback)

If you don’t want to use Git LFS, you can manually download the large model files and copy them to the correct folder:

• Download from: This link
• Then copy the files to:

assets/models/

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Getting Started

Controls

• W / A / S / D → Move forward/backward/left/right
• Q / E → Rotate left/right
• R / F → Ascend/descend
• Arrow Keys → Adjust orientation

Goal

Fly through 10 golden rings as fast as possible.

Win Condition

All rings collected before time runs out.

Lose Condition

Time expires before collecting all rings.

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Technologies Behind the Game

• Vulkan – real-time graphics API
• Phong shading model
• Physically Based Rendering (PBR)
• Skybox with environment mapping
• HUD via TextMaker and images
• JSON-based scene loading
• Shader-driven ring disappearance logic
• Multiple difficulty levels
• Real-time ring counter and timer
• Course-provided headers: Starter.hpp, Scene.hpp, TextMaker.hpp

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Code Architecture

• The main game class DroneSimulator inherits from BaseProject
• Scene is defined in external .json files

Core Lifecycle Methods

Method	Purpose
setWindowParameters()	Define window size, title, and vsync settings
onWindowResize(int w, int h)	Handle viewport and framebuffer adjustments on window resize
localInit()	Load Vulkan models and textures, initialize Descriptor Set Layouts, load shaders
pipelinesAndDescriptorSetsInit()	Create Vulkan pipelines and descriptor sets
pipelinesAndDescriptorSetsCleanup()	Destroy pipelines and descriptor sets (temporary)
localCleanup()	Fully destroy models, textures, layouts and pipelines
populateCommandBuffer()	Record all drawing commands to be submitted to the GPU
updateUniformBuffer()	Update camera, lighting and game-related uniforms each frame

Drone Game-Specific Logic

Method	Description
setCameraMode(GLFWwindow*)	Switch between different camera modes
getDroneInput(GLFWwindow*, float deltaT)	Handle real-time drone controls via keyboard
updateGlobalUBO(GlobalUniformBufferObject&, float elapsedTime)	Change lighting color dynamically over time
reset()	Reset the game state after win/lose
loadMountainPoints(std::vector<glm::vec3>&)	Extract mountain geometry to detect collisions
isTooCloseToMountain(...)	Prevent drone from clipping into terrain
checkRingPassage(...)	Detect if the drone successfully passed through a ring

• Assets and textures are included in the assets/models and assets/textures folder, sourced from Sketchfab
• Rendering pipelines:
  • Phong shading for environment (e.g., terrain)
  • PBR rendering for the drone model
  • Skybox
• Live updates on:
  • Elapsed time
  • Collected rings
  • Win/lose state

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Visual Preview

Figure 1: Game menu.

Figure 2: Drone at start.

Figure 3: Flying drone with ring.

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License & Usage Terms

DRONE-SIMULATOR © 2025 All Rights Reserved. No part of this project may be reproduced, copied, or used for commercial or academic purposes without explicit permission from the authors.

This game was developed as an academic project for educational purposes only.