Source Code Documentation

This is the internal documentation for the Periapsis code base, including utilities, libraries and various application programs. The Sourceforge project page is here .

What is Periapsis?

The Periapsis program is a general-purpose spaceflight simulator.

You'll notice that the code re-invents a lot of wheels; this is because it has been my personal learning project for several years, and I wanted to do everything myself.

Currently it only builds on Windows, using Visual Studio 2005 (see PlatformDevelopment).

Please see the Tracker for a list of tasks that you can help with.

Organization

The code consists of several loosely-coupled modules:

• gsgl stands for "Gordon's Stupid Graphics Library". It contains basic data structures, mathematical functions, graphics primitives, and a scene graph designed for displaying scenes on the scale of the solar system:
  • gsgl::data contains basic data structures and IO functionality.
  • gsgl::math contains vectors, matrices, quaternions and more mathy goodness.
  • gsgl::platform contains functionality for doing low-level graphics things: textures, shaders, models, fonts, etc.
  • gsgl::scenegraph contains the scene graph functionality.
  • gsgl::physics contains a very basic rigid-body physics model.
  • gsgl::framework contains an application framework and basic UI stuff.
• periapsis contains code that is specific to the Periapsis spaceflight simulator.
  • periapsis::space contains code for displaying stars and planets and even a very basic spaceship model.
  • periapsis contains the startup code for the game itself.

Start with periapsis::periapsis_app to see how the game is set up. Follow that to gsgl::framework::application, which contains the framework of the application. gsgl::scenegraph::simulation contains the main simulation loop.

If you want to see a simple spaceship model, uncomment the section of code in gsgl::scenegraph::simulation::simulation() that mentions the spaceship.

License

Copyright (c) 2008, The Periapsis Project. All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

• Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
• Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
• Neither the name of the The Periapsis Project nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.