GSoC2011Ideas
Google Summer of Code 2011 Project Ideas
This is a list of possible student projects for Google Summer of Code 2011. The game engine is written in C++ so you should be familiar with its basics for all the projects below. If there is something in OpenClonk you would like to work on in the scope of GSoC 2011 and which is not in this list then please contact us in IRC or in the forums and if it's a cool idea we can surely find a mentor and make it happen. Also if you have questions to any of the ideas below feel free to ask in IRC, in the forums or talk directly to one of the mentors listed.
Introduce DirectX support (Mentor(s): ck) When we introduced support for 3D mesh rendering we only did so for the OpenGL renderer. Since meshes are required to run the game the DirectX option is currently disabled. However there are many drivers which support DirectX better than OpenGL, and Window handling (such as Tabbing out) works better in DirectX mode, so it would be cool to have it back.
* Difficulty: Easy * Resources: Bug * Requirements: C++ knowledge, Windows OS, ideally some basic understanding of 3D computer graphics.
Mesh Rendering performance (Mentor(s): ck) Some players report poor FPS rates on their otherwise adequate hardware. This task involves finding potential bottlenecks and fixing them. Especially the new mesh rendering code is probably subject to more optimization. Ideas for things to investigate include re-using the depth buffer for multiple meshes, executing skeletal animation on the hardware or adding support for Level-of-Detail for meshes and/or textures.
* Difficulty: Medium * Resources: A forum thread, Another thread * Requirements: C++ knowledge, ideally some basic understanding of 3D computer graphics.
Multi-Device support (Mentor(s): ck) With the overhauled controls in OpenClonk it became impossible to play the game in splitscreen mode because every player needs mouse control. Splitscreen mode can be re-introduced by allowing multiple mices to be used, one for each player. The generic splitscreen code is still in place, so the code that needs to be written needs to manage multiple input devices and propagate events correctly.
* Difficulty: Medium to Hard * Resources: Some initial forum discussion, Bug * Requirements: C++ knowledge, at least two mice/pointing devices :)