COMP 360 Assignment 2 - 3D Glider Flight System

Glider Flight Simulation : Shefreen, Paramvir, and Sahibjeet

This project simulates the movement of a glider along a circular flight path, with visual dots representing the path. The settings and functionality of the code are explained below.

1. Flight Settings

• flight_height: The height at which the glider flies, fixed at 35 units above the ground.
  Note: initially we set it at 20 which made the plane collide with the terrain (by collision we mean that the plane passes through the terrain)

• circle_radius: Defines the radius of the circular flight path, set to 25 units.
  Note: (initially set to 40, however it moves the plane out of the terrain, the intitial scene doesn't appear as good)

• flight_speed: Controls how fast the glider moves along the path.
  Note: All these setting can be adjusted for different speeds.

2. Path Visual Settings

• dot_spacing: Controls how far apart the dots are along the path, set to 1 unit.
• dot_size: Determines the size of each dot, set to 0.12 units.
• path_color: The color of the dots along the path, set to a pinkish color.

These settings can be adjusted to modify the visual appearance of the path.

3. Main Variables

• center_x, center_z: Define the center of the circular path in 3D space (50 units on the X-axis and 70 on the Z-axis).
• path: A Path3D node that holds the curve defining the circular flight path.
• path_follow: A PathFollow3D node that allows the glider to follow the path.
• glider: The 3D model of the glider, which follows the path.

4. Main Functions

_ready()

• Clears any existing paths from the scene.
• Calls create_circular_path() to generate the flight path.
• Calls spawn_glider() to spawn and position the glider along the path.
• Calls create_dotted_path() to generate and place visual dots along the path.
• Stores the initial position of the glider.

create_circular_path()

• Builds the circular path using a Curve3D.
• The circle is generated by calculating points at regular angles around the center (center_x, center_z), at the height of flight_height.
• Tangents (directions of movement) are calculated to ensure smooth curves and turns.
• It creates a PathFollow3D node that will follow this curve continuously, using the loop option to repeat the path.

spawn_glider()

• Loads the glider model from a scene file (glider.tscn), instantiates it, and positions it at the start of the path.
• The glider is positioned and rotated correctly to face forward along the path.
• An extra Node3D (orientation_holder) is used to manage the glider’s orientation, keeping it aligned with the path’s direction.
  Note: we tried other ways to 'fixing' the plane initially including just drag and drop of plane.glb, but due to errors further in code I wasn't able to further use it. me(Shefreen), Paramvir and Sahib then collectively tried to work on it and finalised this method instead after trying other ways various times

update_glider_movement(delta)

• Moves the glider along the circular path.
• The path_follow.progress is incremented based on flight_speed and the time passed (delta), allowing the glider to smoothly progress along the path.

_physics_process(delta)

• This built-in function is called every frame.
• It simply calls update_glider_movement(delta) to update the glider’s position, ensuring smooth movement.

create_dotted_path()

• Clears any existing visual path dots.
• Calculates the total length of the path and determines how many dots should be placed along it based on dot_spacing.
• For each dot, it calculates its position along the curve and creates a new dot (using create_dot()).

create_dot()

• Creates a spherical mesh (using SphereMesh) to represent each dot along the path.
• The material is set with glowing properties (emission) to make the dots appear as glowing spheres.
• The created dot is added to the scene.

How the Script Works Together

1. Circular Path Creation: At the start of the scene, a circular flight path is generated for the glider to follow. This is based on the parameters (center_x, center_z, circle_radius, flight_height).

2. Glider Spawning: A 3D glider is spawned at the beginning of this path and is aligned to move along it.

3. Dotted Path: As the glider flies along the circular path, glowing dots are placed along the path to visualize the glider's route.

4. Movement: The glider moves along the path over time, with its speed controlled by the flight_speed setting. The path is looped, so the glider keeps flying in a circle indefinitely.

Notes

• The various settings (flight_height, circle_radius, flight_speed, etc.) can be adjusted to customize the behavior and appearance of the flight simulation.
• The use of PathFollow3D ensures smooth, continuous movement along the circular path.

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Terrain Generation Breakdown

Shreyas, Manpreet, and Samardeep

Overview

This section covers the generation of the terrain used in the 3D Glider Flight System. The terrain is procedurally generated using noise algorithms, and it incorporates various settings to control the size, height, and appearance of the terrain. The terrain is displayed as a mesh with a grid of quads, each representing a small part of the landscape.

1. Grid Settings

• grid_size: This variable defines the number of quads in the terrain grid, with default values of 200x200. The terrain is constructed from these quads.
• quad_size: The size of each quad in the grid. A smaller value results in a more detailed terrain mesh.

2. Height Settings

• height_scale: Controls the vertical scaling of the terrain. The default value is 50.0, and this affects how high or low the terrain can go.
• base_height: Sets the baseline height of the terrain. This allows for creating flat or elevated ground as a starting point before adding noise-based variations.

3. Noise Settings

• noise_scale: Controls the frequency of the noise used to generate the terrain. A larger value results in larger, less frequent noise features.
• noise_octaves: Specifies the number of noise layers to be applied, which allows for more complex and varied terrain features.
• noise_lacunarity and noise_gain: These control the roughness and intensity of the noise, respectively. Adjusting these values creates more or less pronounced terrain features.

4. Generating the Height Map

The generate_height_map() function creates the terrain's heightmap by using a FastNoiseLite object to generate 2D noise. The heightmap is calculated based on several factors:

• Noise Generation: Noise is generated using the noise.get_noise_2d() function, which outputs a value between -1 and 1. This value is scaled and smoothed to create more natural-looking terrain.
• Distance-Based Modifications: To make the terrain more interesting, the noise values are modified based on their distance from the center of the grid. A smooth falloff is applied to ensure the terrain is lower at the edges.
• Edge Smoothing: At the edges of the terrain, the height values are reduced to create a more natural boundary. This ensures the terrain smoothly transitions out to the edges rather than abruptly cutting off.

5. Creating the Terrain Mesh

The create_terrain_mesh() function is responsible for converting the heightmap into a 3D mesh, which will be displayed in the scene. Key steps include:

• Vertices Generation: For each point in the heightmap, a vertex is created at that point's coordinates. The vertex height is determined by the corresponding heightmap value.
• Smoothing Heights: Neighboring points' heights are averaged to smooth out sudden height changes, ensuring the terrain looks more natural.
• Normals Calculation: Normals are computed based on the surrounding terrain, allowing for realistic lighting and shading.
• Mesh Creation: The ArrayMesh is created using the generated vertices, texture coordinates, normals, and indices, forming a grid of triangles that represent the terrain surface.

6. Material and Appearance

The terrain is assigned a simple material with the following settings:

• Albedo Color: A slightly blue-tinted white color to simulate a snow-like appearance.
• Roughness: Set to 0.95, which makes the terrain appear rough and diffuse, similar to snow or rough terrain.
• Shading Mode: The material uses vertex colors for shading, ensuring the terrain can reflect the heightmap's variations visually.

Actual Implementation Status

Completed Features

1. Basic circular path implementation
2. Simple camera following system
3. Basic glider movement along path
4. Initial scene setup and organization
5. Red path visualization
6. Proper landscape fixes from Assignment 1
7. Rain
8. Background

Development Process

Version Control

• Git repository: (https://github.com/shefreenkaur/Assignment2-Gadot)
• Branch structure for feature development

Setup and Installation

1. Environment Setup

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/shefreenkaur/Assignment2-Gadot
# Open in Godot 4.x
# Run main scene

2. Required Files

• flight_system.gd
• glider.tscn
• main.tscn

Git Integration Status

Current Structure

• Main development branch
• Feature branches for:
  • Path generation
  • Glider movement
  • Camera system