VoxelGame3D

A modern, high-performance, and open-source 3D voxel engine built from the ground up in C++.

This project is a foundational voxel rendering engine focused on efficient rendering, smooth chunk management, and solid architectural principles.

Quick Start

Ensure you have a C++17 compiler and CMake 3.16+ installed.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AlexTzamalis/VoxelGame3DCpp.git
cd VoxelGame3DCpp

# Configure and Build
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --config Release

# Run (Windows)
cd build/Release && ./VoxelGame3D.exe
# Run (Linux/macOS)
cd build && ./VoxelGame3D

Technology Stack

• C++17: Core engine logic and multi-threading.
• OpenGL 3.3+ (Core Profile): Hardware-accelerated 3D graphics.
• MDI (Multi-Draw Indirect): High-efficiency rendering pipeline.
• Dear ImGui: Professional UI overlays and settings menus.
• FastNoiseLite: Procedural world generation.
• CMake: Automated dependency management (GLFW, GLM, GLEW, stb).

IDE Setup (CLion)

If you are using CLion, follow these steps to ensure the game finds its shaders and assets:

1. Open Project: Point CLion to the root CMakeLists.txt.
2. Set Working Directory:
   • Go to Run -> Edit Configurations.
   • Select the VoxelGame3D target.
   • Set Working directory to the folder containing the executable (usually $ProjectFileDir$/cmake-build-debug or $ProjectFileDir$/cmake-build-release).
   • Note: Shaders and assets are automatically copied to the build directory during the build process.

Requirements & Compatibility

• OS: Windows (tested), Linux, macOS.
• Graphics: GPU supporting OpenGL 3.3 Core Profile or higher.
• Compiler: Any C++17 compatible compiler (MSVC 2019+, GCC 9+, Clang 10+).

Troubleshooting

• Black Screen / No Textures: Ensure assets/ folder is present in your working directory.
• Missing Shaders Error: The program expects a shaders/ directory in the same folder as the .exe. CMake handles this copy automatically on build.
• Low Performance: Check Settings in-game and ensure "Advanced Shaders" are balanced for your hardware. See Performance Analysis for deeper details.

Documentation

Detailed Build and Run instructions are located in the docs/ directory:

• Build and Run Instructions

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.