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For the sake of theory (and general understanding),

I would like to understand in a moderately exhaustive list of all the things that must be done in order to create a "modern" 3D Game Engine (from a coder's perspective)

I seem to have a hard time finding this information anywhere else, so I think that you guys at Stack overflow will have the knowledge I seek.

In terms of "moderately exhaustive", I mean such things as a general explanation of the design stages of such engine, such as Binary Space Partitioning, then actual implementation of such an engine, and the uses of the software ( it would be helpful if the means of rendering other than BSP could be explained).

I don't want to make a 3D Engine, but simply understand what sheer amount of effort is required to make one.

Craig
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  • You ask for a large answer. This site is for specific problems in general. Some of the sister sites might be more appropriate for a theory question. Short answer: It varies dramatically. Shooter? Strategy? Puzzle? The basic parts are: hardware rendering engine, game logic modules, user interface, sound engine, network module (multiplayer only), artist services and editors. Support software varies even more. – warren Aug 22 '15 at 19:00
  • Okay I am fine with the short answer. – Craig Aug 22 '15 at 21:38

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Focusing on 3D rendering alone:

Binary space partitioning, like many elements of 3d rendering, is optional. In this case, it is an optimization, allowing the computer to do less work to render a scene, by cutting out invisible sections.

At its core, rendering is simply a five stage process. First, a list of triangles is generated. Next, the triangles are converted from 3-space to 2-space using matrix multiplication. Next, the triangles are filled in with pixels and meta information. Finally, the pixels are shaded individually using the meta-information. Extra finally, the pixels are drawn to the screen.

Most of those steps are partially or wholly done by a graphics card, meaning the programmer's job is to tell the card which step to perform and provide the input data.

This bare bones engine is not even close to a modern engine, however. Modern engines will be filled with optimizations like binary space partitioning, mesh simplification, background loading and texture compression. They will also be filled with special features like shadows, mirrors, mist and particle effects.

Modern engines have to be able to load and interpret textures and meshes, and in some cases, deform and modify both at runtime. The most common example would be interpolating between keyframes.

Engines may need to interact with game logic modules in order to reuse data for collision detection. Collision detection being the thing that determines if bullets hit something and also the thing that makes makes walls and floors real.

warren
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