How to combine GBuffers & Entities?

**ReneMiner** · 24-10-2014, 12:07

Is there a possibility to use the functionality of GBuffers ( TBGL_GBufferDefineFromArray ) to blast the data directly into an entity (static) or is there a way if one could send or copy that GBuffer to a displaylist as first?

Or can't i just create some virtual Entity upon the GBuffer?

It's mostly about the speed and i want to use the entity-system.

Passing all data at once is much faster then each vertex line by line.
Also saving to binary would make sense then.

Any ideas? Functionslot is no option here...

Were it possible to add a native (fast) function to load *.obj-files into displayllist/entity? I have to admit, *.obj is not my first choice since they lack vertex-colors but they are widely common and since we don't have no own Entity-Format yet - probably because of slow loading-speed...

**Petr Schreiber** · 25-10-2014, 16:32

Hi Rene,

this is custom GBufferEntity, which you can modify. Let me know...

Petr

**ReneMiner** · 25-10-2014, 19:13

that seems to work.

Now have something to play with

Only bug - you forgot to change %eBox to %eGBuffer in the example when rotating - on first turn it crashed. But thats minor - i found it.

**ReneMiner** · 28-10-2014, 09:39

i played a little around- somehow i fear if i set up different fov/aspect the GBuffer-Entity is not affected by the setting as i know it from 3d-fonts - not tried out yet...

But anyway I wrapped a little -all hidden at heap-memory, be surprised what's possible in thinBasic - and the code reads now like that:

Uses "TBGL" 

#INCLUDE "t_Entity.tBasicU"

Begin Const
  ' -- Scene IDs
  %sScene  = 1
End Const 

Function TBMain()
  Local hWnd As DWord
  Local FrameRate As Double
  
  ' -- Create and show window
  hWnd = TBGL_CreateWindowEx("TBGL script - press ESC to quit",    _
                             640, 480, 32,                         _
                             %TBGL_WS_WINDOWED Or %TBGL_WS_CLOSEBOX ) 
  
  TBGL_ShowWindow 

  ' -- Create scene
  TBGL_SceneCreate(%sScene)

  ' create entities from 0 - don't have even a real local variable

  Local Entity As t_Entity At 0
  
  SetAt( Entity, Entity.Create(%sScene, %TBGL_CAMERA) )

         Entity.SetPos(0, 10, 20)
         Entity.SetTargetPos( 0, 0, 0)  
  %hCamera = GetAt( Entity ) As DWord ' if want to store it...
  
  ' -- Create directional light, don't need its ptr...  
  SetAt( Entity, Entity.Create(%sScene, %TBGL_LIGHT, %TBGL_LIGHTTYPE_DIRECTIONAL) )

         Entity.SetPos(0, 25, 20) ' above camera
         Entity.SetTargetPos( 0, 0, 0)  
         Entity.SetParent( %hCamera )
  
  ' -- Define data for mesh   
  
  ' -- Vertices
  
  Dim VertexA(3) As TBGL_TVECTOR3F At HEAP_Alloc( 3 * SizeOf(TBGL_TVECTOR3F) )    
  
  VertexA(1).x = -2
  VertexA(1).y = -2
  VertexA(1).z = 0
  
  VertexA(2).x = 2
  VertexA(2).y = -2     
  VertexA(2).z = 0  
  
  VertexA(3).x = 0
  VertexA(3).y = 2
  VertexA(3).z = 0  
  
  ' -- Colors
  
  Dim ColorA(3) As TBGL_TRGB At HEAP_Alloc( 3 * SizeOf(TBGL_TRGB) )
  
  ColorA(1).r = 255
  ColorA(1).g = 128
  ColorA(1).b = 64
  
  ColorA(2).r = 0
  ColorA(2).g = 255
  ColorA(2).b = 0  
  
  ColorA(3).r = 0
  ColorA(3).g = 0
  ColorA(3).b = 255 
  
  ' -- Entity                     

  %hTriangle = Entity.Create(%sScene,             _
                             %TBGL_GBufferStatic, _
                             %TBGL_TRIANGLES,     _
                             GetAt(VertexA),      _
                             GetAt(ColorA)        )

  
  
  TBGL_ResetKeyState() 
  
  ' -- Main loop
  While TBGL_IsWindow(hWnd) 
    FrameRate = TBGL_GetFrameRate

    TBGL_ClearFrame 

      TBGL_SceneRender(%sScene)
      
    TBGL_DrawFrame 

    ' -- ESCAPE key to exit application
    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_ESCAPE) Then Exit While 

    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_LEFT) Then

      SetAt( Entity, %hTriangle )
             Entity.Turn( 0,-90/FrameRate, 0)

    ElseIf TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_RIGHT) Then

      SetAt( Entity, %hTriangle )
             Entity.Turn( 0, 90/FrameRate, 0)

    ElseIf TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_UP) Then

      SetAt( Entity, %hCamera )
             Entity.Move( 0, 16/FrameRate, 0 )
             Entity.SetTarget( %hTriangle )  

    ElseIf TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_DOWN) Then

      SetAt( Entity, %hCamera )
             Entity.Move( 0, -16/FrameRate, 0 )
             Entity.SetTarget( %hTriangle )  

    EndIf

  Wend 

  TBGL_DestroyWindow
End Function

just a raw sketch, the entity does not have a texture yet, neither is the DisplayList-creation done...

As you probably see- it's all arranged to have a future Mesh-udt that's single entities (groups) can have different types of data.

**ReneMiner** · 29-10-2014, 13:58

one more question:

is it possible to retrieve the pointers of vertex-, color-, normal- and texel-array from a once setup-GBuffer again?
Or do i have to save them to some variable?

**Petr Schreiber** · 29-10-2014, 21:18

Hi Rene,

I would recommend to store them to data of the GBufferEntity - it should be fast enough.

Petr

**ReneMiner** · 10-11-2014, 09:02

one more about this topic, help says for TBGL_GBufferCreate

Syntax
TBGL_GBufferCreate( gType, gDims )

parameter-description for gType

Use one of the following equates:
%TBGL_POINTS
%TBGL_LINES
%TBGL_LINESTRIP
%TBGL_LINELOOP
%TBGL_TRIANGLES
%TBGL_TRIANGLEFAN
%TBGL_TRIANGLELOOP
%TBGL_QUADS
%TBGL_QUADSTRIP
%TBGL_POLYGON

this can not be correct.
There is missing %TBGL_TRIANGLESTRIP while %TBGL_TRIANGLELOOP is not recognized as keyword by thinAir...

however- it took me a while to find out what went wrong and how to solve it...

**Petr Schreiber** · 12-11-2014, 22:05

Hi Rene,

my apologies - nothing worse than bad docs, and now I fell into this category!
I will fix it for next release!

Petr

**primo** · 15-01-2018, 11:41

the Entity from Gbuffers deserve to be added to the official thinbasic distribution Like Entity from display List or from a Function
it is much speedier than display list for some tasks
here is a proof using the Petr example above
galaxy shape from display list: 600000 points : FPS= 20
galaxy shape from Gbuffer: 600000 points : FPS= 60

from display list:

'adapted from:
' The entity skeleton for TBGL
' Petr Schreiber, started on 10-25-2014
'
#Include Once "%APP_INCLUDEPATH%\thinbasic_gl.inc"
#Include Once "%APP_INCLUDEPATH%\thinbasic_glu.inc" 

Uses "TBGL" 

Begin Const
  ' -- Scene IDs
  %sScene  = 1
 
  ' -- Entity IDs 
  %eCamera = 1
  %lMyPoints 'display List number
  %ePoints   'the number to represent the Entity made from the Display List      
End Const 

Function TBMain()
  Local hWnd As DWord
  Local FrameRate As Long 'Double
  Global tot As Long
  
  ' -- Create and show window
  hWnd = TBGL_CreateWindowEx("TBGL script - press ESC to quit", 640, 480, 32, %TBGL_WS_WINDOWED Or %TBGL_WS_CLOSEBOX) 
  TBGL_ShowWindow 

  ' -- Create scene
  TBGL_SceneCreate(%sScene)

  ' -- Create basic entities
  ' -- Create camera to look from 15, 15, 15 to 0, 0, 0 
  TBGL_EntityCreateCamera(%sScene, %eCamera)
    TBGL_EntitySetPos(%sScene, %eCamera, 0, 3, 8)
    TBGL_EntitySetTargetPos(%sScene, %eCamera, 0, 0, 0)  
  
  TBGL_EntityCreateDLSlot(%sScene, %ePoints, 0, %lMyPoints)
  TBGL_EntityCreateDLSlot(%sScene, %ePoints, 0, %lMyPoints) 
   
    TBGL_EntitySetColor(%sScene, %ePoints, 255, 255, 255)
    TBGL_EntitySetPos(%sScene, %ePoints, 0, 0, 0)
  
    ' -- Define data for it
  DrawPoints()
  
  ' -- Resets status of all keys 
  TBGL_ResetKeyState() 
  
  'TBGL_PointSize 2
  'glEnable(%GL_POINT_SMOOTH)
  TBGL_UseLighting %FALSE
  ' -- Main loop
  While TBGL_IsWindow(hWnd) 
    FrameRate = TBGL_GetFrameRate                                                    
    TBGL_SetWindowTitle( hWnd, "FPS = "+Str$(FrameRate)+"  points = "+Str$(tot))
    
    TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %ePoints, 0,30/FrameRate, 0)
    TBGL_ClearFrame 

      TBGL_SceneRender(%sScene)
      
    TBGL_DrawFrame 

    ' -- ESCAPE key to exit application
    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_ESCAPE) Then Exit While 

    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_LEFT) Then
      TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %ePoints, 0,-90/FrameRate, 0)
    ElseIf TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_RIGHT) Then
      TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %ePoints, 0, 90/FrameRate, 0)
    End If

  Wend 

  TBGL_DestroyWindow
End Function

Sub DrawPoints()
Dim e As Single
Dim x, y, z, y1 As Single
Dim rand, indx As Long
e = 2.718281828459
x=-4: z=-4
TBGL_NewList %lMyPoints
TBGL_BeginPoly %GL_POINTS
     While z<= 4
     'Randomize
        While x<=4
        'Randomize
        tot = tot + 1
        If x*x+z*z<=13 Then
          y = Pow(e,(0.1-x*x-z*z)) ' the formula  
        'Repeat
         rand = Rnd(-1,1)'Rnd(-2,2)
        'Until rand <> 0 ' To Get rid of Value zero
        y1 = y * rand + Rndf(0.1, 0.4)' y * rand: let the point go up And down the galaxy disk, Rndf(0.1, 0.4): And let the disk have Some thickness like a sponge
        
        Select Case y
          Case <=0.00005
            TBGL_Point(x,y1, z)
            TBGL_Color(50,255,0)
          Case <=0.001
            TBGL_Point(x,y1, z)
            TBGL_Color(255,200,0) 'orange 
          Case <=0.01
            TBGL_Point(x,y1, z)
            TBGL_Color(255,20,0) 'red
          Case <=0.8
            TBGL_Point(x,y1, z)
            TBGL_Color(0,160,255) 'bluesh
          Case >0.8
            TBGL_Point(x,y1, z)
            TBGL_Color(255,255,255) 'white
         End Select 
          
     End If
     
   x+0.01
   Wend
   x = -4
  
 z+0.01
 Wend
 '================================================
  
 TBGL_EndPoly
 TBGL_EndList  
  
End Sub

from Gbuffer: needs the file "GBufferEntity.tBasicU" inside GBufferAsEntity.zip by Petr posted above

'adapted from:
' The entity skeleton for TBGL
' Petr Schreiber, started on 10-25-2014
'
#Include Once "%APP_INCLUDEPATH%\thinbasic_gl.inc"
#Include Once "%APP_INCLUDEPATH%\thinbasic_glu.inc" 

Uses "TBGL" , "Console"
#Include "GBufferEntity.tBasicU"

Begin Const
  ' -- Scene IDs
  %sScene  = 1
 
  ' -- Entity IDs 
  %eCamera = 1
  '%eLight
  %eGBuffer            
End Const 

Function TBMain()
  Local hWnd As DWord
  Local FrameRate As Long 'Double
  Global i  As Long ' number of points
  
  ' -- Create and show window
  hWnd = TBGL_CreateWindowEx("TBGL script - press ESC to quit", 640, 480, 32, %TBGL_WS_WINDOWED Or %TBGL_WS_CLOSEBOX) 
  TBGL_ShowWindow 

  ' -- Create scene
  TBGL_SceneCreate(%sScene)

  ' -- Create basic entities
  ' -- Create camera to look from 15, 15, 15 to 0, 0, 0 
  TBGL_EntityCreateCamera(%sScene, %eCamera)
    TBGL_EntitySetPos(%sScene, %eCamera, 0, 3, 8)
    TBGL_EntitySetTargetPos(%sScene, %eCamera, 0, 0, 0)  
 
  TBGL_EntitySetPos(%sScene, %eGbuffer, 0, 0, 0)
  
  %eGbuffer = GbufferEntity_Create(%sScene, %TBGL_POINTS, %TBGL_3D)
  
  Global NumOfPoints = 641601
  ' -- Define data for it
  Global VertexA(NumOfPoints) As TBGL_TVECTOR3F
  Global ColorA(NumOfPoints)  As TBGL_TRGB   
                            
  GBufferEntity_DefineFromArray(%sScene, %eGbuffer, %TBGL_DYNAMIC, NumOfPoints, VertexA(1), ColorA(1))  
                   
    ' -- Define data for it
  DrawPoints()
  
  ' -- Resets status of all keys 
  TBGL_ResetKeyState() 
  
  'TBGL_PointSize 2
  'glEnable(%GL_POINT_SMOOTH)
  TBGL_UseLighting %FALSE
  ' -- Main loop
  While TBGL_IsWindow(hWnd) 
    FrameRate = TBGL_GetFrameRate                                                    
    TBGL_SetWindowTitle( hWnd, "FPS = "+Str$(FrameRate)+"  points = "+Str$(i))
    
    TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %eGbuffer, 0,30/FrameRate, 0)
    TBGL_ClearFrame 

      TBGL_SceneRender(%sScene)
      
    TBGL_DrawFrame 

    ' -- ESCAPE key to exit application
    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_ESCAPE) Then Exit While 

    If TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_LEFT) Then
      TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %eGbuffer, 0,-90/FrameRate, 0)
    ElseIf TBGL_GetWindowKeyState(hWnd, %VK_RIGHT) Then
      TBGL_EntityTurn(%sScene, %eGbuffer, 0, 90/FrameRate, 0)
    End If

  Wend 

  TBGL_DestroyWindow
End Function

Sub DrawPoints()
Dim e As Single
Dim x, y, z, y1 As Single
Dim rand, indx As Long
e = 2.718281828459
x=-4: z=-4

     While z<= 4
     'Randomize
        While x<=4
        'Randomize
         i = i + 1
        If x*x+z*z<=13 Then
          y = Pow(e,(0.1-x*x-z*z)) ' the formula  
        'Repeat
         rand = Rnd(-1,1)'Rnd(-2,2)
        'Until rand <> 0 ' To Get rid of Value zero
        y1 = y * rand + Rndf(0.1, 0.4)' y * rand: let the point go up And down the galaxy disk, Rndf(0.1, 0.4): And let the disk have Some thickness like a sponge
        
        Select Case y
          Case <=0.00005
            VertexA(i).x = x: VertexA(i).y = y1: VertexA(i).z = z
            ColorA(i).r=50: ColorA(i).g=255: ColorA(i).b=0
          Case <=0.001
            VertexA(i).x = x: VertexA(i).y = y1: VertexA(i).z = z 
            ColorA(i).r=255: ColorA(i).g=200: ColorA(i).b=0 'orange 
          Case <=0.01
            VertexA(i).x = x: VertexA(i).y = y1: VertexA(i).z = z
            ColorA(i).r=255: ColorA(i).g=20: ColorA(i).b=0 'red
          Case <=0.8
            VertexA(i).x = x: VertexA(i).y = y1: VertexA(i).z = z
            ColorA(i).r=0: ColorA(i).g=160: ColorA(i).b=255 'bluesh
          Case >0.8
            VertexA(i).x = x: VertexA(i).y = y1: VertexA(i).z = z
            ColorA(i).r=255: ColorA(i).g=255: ColorA(i).b=255 'white
         End Select 
          
     End If
     
   x+0.01
   Wend
   x = -4
  
 z+0.01
 Wend
 '================================================
  
End Sub

suggestion 2: powerBasic lacks a good 3D graphics engine, we can't consider OpenGL an engine for the home users. also the available xors3d and N3xtD depends on DirectX9, the xors3d is abandoned and the N3xtD depends on the DX9. most users of windows 10 usualy don't like to install DX9 on their machines even for psychological reasons only. while Opengl is backward compatible . so the door is open to provide especialy the Petr entity system friendly and easy to use to the powerbasic users. you can sell the engine in windows store for 29$.
https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps
when you do this i will buy powerbasic v10 immediately.

**Petr Schreiber** · 16-01-2018, 08:56

Hi Primo,

thank you very much for your kind words, it really made my day

As for GBuffer entity - I will have a look at it, it would nicely complete the set.

To get further performance improvements... I will check some OpenGL extensions. I am playing with Vulkan as well. It has huge performance boost, but it is very fragile.

Petr