C++ and GLUT smooth movement - c++

Question

I am new at using graphics with C++ and I have the following code from this
tutorial
here is the code
#include <windows.h>
#ifdef __APPLE__
#include <GLUT/glut.h>
#else
#include <GL/glut.h>
#endif
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <math.h>
float angle = 0.0f;
float lx = 0.0f, lz = -1.0f;
float x = 0.0f, z = 5.0f;
float deltaAngle = 0.0f;
float deltaMove = 0;
void drawSnowMan(){
glColor3f(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f);
glTranslatef(0.0f, 0.75f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.75f, 20, 20);
glTranslatef(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.25f, 20, 20);
glPushMatrix();
glColor3f(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f);
glTranslatef(0.5f, 0.10f, 0.18f);
glutSolidSphere(0.05f, 10, 10);
glTranslatef(-0.1f, 0.0f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.05f, 10, 10);
glPopMatrix();
glColor3f(1.0f, 0.5f, 0.5f);
glutSolidCone(0.8f, 0.5f, 10, 2);
}
void changeSize(int w, int h){
if(h == 0)
h = 1;
float ratio = 1.0*w/h;
glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
glLoadIdentity();
glViewport(0,0,w,h);
gluPerspective(45.0f, ratio, 0.1f, 100.0f);
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
}
void computePos(float deltaMove){
x += deltaMove * lx * 0.1f;
z += deltaMove * lz * 0.1f;
}
void computeDir(float deltaAngle){
angle += deltaAngle;
lx = sin(angle/75.0);
lz = -cos(angle/75.0);
}
void pressKey(int key, int xx, int yy){
switch(key){
case GLUT_KEY_LEFT: deltaAngle = -0.5f; break;
case GLUT_KEY_RIGHT: deltaAngle = 0.5; break;
case GLUT_KEY_UP: deltaMove = 0.5f; break;
case GLUT_KEY_DOWN: deltaMove = -0.5f; break;
}
}
void relaseKey(int key, int x, int y){
switch(key){
case GLUT_KEY_LEFT:
case GLUT_KEY_RIGHT: deltaAngle = 0.0f; break;
case GLUT_KEY_UP:
case GLUT_KEY_DOWN: deltaMove = 0; break;
}
}
void renderScene(void){
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
glLoadIdentity();
if(deltaMove)
computePos(deltaMove);
if(deltaAngle)
computeDir(deltaAngle);
gluLookAt( x, 1.0f, z,
x+lx, 1.0f, z+lz,
0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f
);
glColor3f(0.9f, 0.9f, 0.9f);
glBegin(GL_QUADS);
glVertex3f(-100.0f, 0.0f, -100.0f);
glVertex3f(-100.0f, 0.0f, 100.0f);
glVertex3f(100.0f, 0.0f, 100.0f);
glVertex3f(100.0f, 0.0f, -100.0f);
glEnd();
angle += 0.1f;
for(int i = -3; i < 3; i++){
for(int j = -3; j < 3; j++){
glPushMatrix();
glTranslatef(i*10.0,0, j*10.0);
drawSnowMan();
glPopMatrix();
}
}
glutSwapBuffers();
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
glutInit(&argc, argv);
glutInitWindowSize(320,320);
glutInitWindowPosition(100,100);
glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_RGB | GLUT_DOUBLE | GLUT_DEPTH);
glutCreateWindow("Lighthouse 3D");
glutDisplayFunc(renderScene);
glutReshapeFunc(changeSize);
glutIdleFunc(renderScene);
glutSpecialFunc(pressKey);
glutIgnoreKeyRepeat(1);
glutSpecialUpFunc(relaseKey);
glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);
glutMainLoop();
return 1;
}
My problem is the following, when i try to turn to the left and i keep the left key pressed everything works perfectly fine. When i try to hit the left once the action is not smooth at all. In some cases if the button stroke is too fast it even turns to the opposite direction!

Answer 1

I assume you mean keyboard instead of mouse, in which case to have a "smoother" and "slower" feel you need to adjust your deltaAngle values, which might be too high.
This is only a temporary fix, since those values may affect other machines in different ways - some may be faster, some may be slower. You need to calculate the host machine's FPS in your render loop and multiply your delta values with it, to have the same performance on every computer. This is called time-based movement and is an essential feature of every modern graphics application.
This is exactly what is happening in the following tutorial, when a dot is moving too fast on the screen.
http://lazyfoo.net/SDL_tutorials/lesson32/index.php

Answer 2

A glutIdleFunc() will eat all your battery/CPU/GPU, use a glutTimerFunc() instead to redraw on a predictable, sane schedule.
Accumulate your input state between frames and apply it in your glutTimerFunc() instead of trying to do it right in your keyup/keydown callbacks.
No need for a glutResizeFunc(), do all that just before your draw.
You're using C++ so you should use the C++ versions of C headers, like <cmath> instead of <math.h>.
All together:
#include <GL/glut.h>
#include <cmath>
#include <map>
std::map< int, bool > keys;
void pressKey(int key, int xx, int yy)
{
keys[ key ] = true;
}
void relaseKey(int key, int x, int y)
{
keys[ key ] = false;
}
float angle = 0.0f;
float lx = 0.0f, lz = -1.0f;
float x = 0.0f, z = 5.0f;
void update()
{
const float angleStep = 0.5f;
if( keys[ GLUT_KEY_LEFT ] ) angle -= angleStep;
if( keys[ GLUT_KEY_RIGHT ] ) angle += angleStep;
const float moveStep = 0.5f;
float move = 0.0f;
if( keys[ GLUT_KEY_DOWN ] ) move -= moveStep;
if( keys[ GLUT_KEY_UP ] ) move += moveStep;
x += move * lx * 0.1f;
z += move * lz * 0.1f;
lx = sin(angle/75.0);
lz = -cos(angle/75.0);
}
void drawSnowMan()
{
glColor3f(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f);
glTranslatef(0.0f, 0.75f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.75f, 20, 20);
glTranslatef(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.25f, 20, 20);
glPushMatrix();
glColor3f(0.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f);
glTranslatef(0.5f, 0.10f, 0.18f);
glutSolidSphere(0.05f, 10, 10);
glTranslatef(-0.1f, 0.0f, 0.0f);
glutSolidSphere(0.05f, 10, 10);
glPopMatrix();
glColor3f(1.0f, 0.5f, 0.5f);
glutSolidCone(0.8f, 0.5f, 10, 2);
}
void renderScene(void)
{
glEnable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);
glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT | GL_DEPTH_BUFFER_BIT);
glMatrixMode(GL_PROJECTION);
glLoadIdentity();
const double w = glutGet( GLUT_WINDOW_WIDTH );
const double h = glutGet( GLUT_WINDOW_HEIGHT );
gluPerspective(45.0f, w / h, 0.1f, 100.0f);
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
glLoadIdentity();
gluLookAt
(
x, 1.0f, z,
x+lx, 1.0f, z+lz,
0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f
);
glColor3f(0.9f, 0.9f, 0.9f);
glBegin(GL_QUADS);
glVertex3f(-100.0f, 0.0f, -100.0f);
glVertex3f(-100.0f, 0.0f, 100.0f);
glVertex3f(100.0f, 0.0f, 100.0f);
glVertex3f(100.0f, 0.0f, -100.0f);
glEnd();
for(int i = -3; i < 3; i++)
{
for(int j = -3; j < 3; j++)
{
glPushMatrix();
glTranslatef(i*10.0,0, j*10.0);
drawSnowMan();
glPopMatrix();
}
}
glutSwapBuffers();
}
void timer( int value )
{
update();
glutTimerFunc( 16, timer, 0 );
glutPostRedisplay();
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
glutInit(&argc, argv);
glutInitWindowSize(320,320);
glutInitDisplayMode(GLUT_RGB | GLUT_DOUBLE | GLUT_DEPTH);
glutCreateWindow("Lighthouse 3D");
glutDisplayFunc(renderScene);
glutSpecialFunc(pressKey);
glutSpecialUpFunc(relaseKey);
glutTimerFunc( 0, timer, 0 );
glutMainLoop();
return 1;
}