I've been writing a 2D basic game engine in OpenGL/C++ and learning everything as I go along. I'm still rather confused about defining vertices and their "position". That is, I'm still trying to understand the vertex-to-pixels conversion mechanism of OpenGL. Can it be explained briefly or can someone point to an article or something that'll explain this. Thanks!
This is rather basic knowledge that your favourite OpenGL learning resource should teach you as one of the first things. But anyway the standard OpenGL pipeline is as follows:
The vertex position is transformed from object-space (local to some object) into world-space (in respect to some global coordinate system). This transformation specifies where your object (to which the vertices belong) is located in the world
Now the world-space position is transformed into camera/view-space. This transformation is determined by the position and orientation of the virtual camera by which you see the scene. In OpenGL these two transformations are actually combined into one, the modelview matrix, which directly transforms your vertices from object-space to view-space.
Next the projection transformation is applied. Whereas the modelview transformation should consist only of affine transformations (rotation, translation, scaling), the projection transformation can be a perspective one, which basically distorts the objects to realize a real perspective view (with farther away objects being smaller). But in your case of a 2D view it will probably be an orthographic projection, that does nothing more than a translation and scaling. This transformation is represented in OpenGL by the projection matrix.
After these 3 (or 2) transformations (and then following perspective division by the w component, which actually realizes the perspective distortion, if any) what you have are normalized device coordinates. This means after these transformations the coordinates of the visible objects should be in the range [-1,1]. Everything outside this range is clipped away.
In a final step the viewport transformation is applied and the coordinates are transformed from the [-1,1] range into the [0,w]x[0,h]x[0,1] cube (assuming a glViewport(0, w, 0, h) call), which are the vertex' final positions in the framebuffer and therefore its pixel coordinates.
When using a vertex shader, steps 1 to 3 are actually done in the shader and can therefore be done in any way you like, but usually one conforms to this standard modelview -> projection pipeline, too.
The main thing to keep in mind is, that after the modelview and projection transforms every vertex with coordinates outside the [-1,1] range will be clipped away. So the [-1,1]-box determines your visible scene after these two transformations.
So from your question I assume you want to use a 2D coordinate system with units of pixels for your vertex coordinates and transformations? In this case this is best done by using glOrtho(0.0, w, 0.0, h, -1.0, 1.0) with w and h being the dimensions of your viewport. This basically counters the viewport transformation and therefore transforms your vertices from the [0,w]x[0,h]x[-1,1]-box into the [-1,1]-box, which the viewport transformation then transforms back to the [0,w]x[0,h]x[0,1]-box.
These have been quite general explanations without mentioning that the actual transformations are done by matrix-vector-multiplications and without talking about homogenous coordinates, but they should have explained the essentials. This documentation of gluProject might also give you some insight, as it actually models the transformation pipeline for a single vertex. But in this documentation they actually forgot to mention the division by the w component (v" = v' / v'(3)) after the v' = P x M x v step.
EDIT: Don't forget to look at the first link in epatel's answer, which explains the transformation pipeline a bit more practical and detailed.
It is called transformation.
Vertices are set in 3D coordinates which is transformed into a viewport coordinates (into your window view). This transformation can be set in various ways. Orthogonal transformation can be easiest to understand as a starter.
http://www.songho.ca/opengl/gl_transform.html
http://www.opengl.org/wiki/Vertex_Transformation
http://www.falloutsoftware.com/tutorials/gl/gl5.htm
Firstly be aware that OpenGL not uses standard pixel coordinates. I mean by that for particular resolution, ie. 800x600 you dont have horizontal coordinates in range 0-799 or 1-800 stepped by one. You rather have coordinates ranged from -1 to 1 later send to graphic card rasterizing unit and after that matched to particular resolution.
I ommited one step here - before all that you have an ModelViewProjection matrix (or viewProjection matrix in some simple cases) which before all that will cast coordinates you use to an projection plane. Default use of that is to implement a camera which converts 3D space of world (View for placing an camera into right position and Projection for casting 3d coordinates into screen plane. In ModelViewProjection it's also step of placing a model into right place in world).
Another case (and you can use Projection matrix this way to achieve what you want) is to use these matrixes to convert one range of resolutions to another.
And there's a trick you will need. You should read about modelViewProjection matrix and camera in openGL if you want to go serious. But for now I will tell you that with proper matrix you can just cast your own coordinate system (and ie. use ranges 0-799 horizontaly and 0-599 verticaly) to standarized -1:1 range. That way you will not see that underlying openGL api uses his own -1 to 1 system.
The easiest way to achieve this is glOrtho function. Here's the link to documentation:
http://www.opengl.org/sdk/docs/man/xhtml/glOrtho.xml
This is example of proper usage:
glMatrixMode (GL_PROJECTION)
glLoadIdentity ();
glOrtho (0, 800, 600, 0, 0, 1)
glMatrixMode (GL_MODELVIEW)
Now you can use own modelView matrix ie. for translation (moving) objects but don't touch your projection example. This code should be executed before any drawing commands. (Can be after initializing opengl in fact if you wont use 3d graphics).
And here's working example: http://nehe.gamedev.net/tutorial/2d_texture_font/18002/
Just draw your figures instead of drawing text. And there is another thing - glPushMatrix and glPopMatrix for choosen matrix (in this example projection matrix) - you wont use that until you combining 3d with 2d rendering.
And you can still use model matrix (ie. for placing tiles somewhere in world) and view matrix (in example for zooming view, or scrolling through world - in this case your world can be larger than resolution and you could crop view by simple translations)
After looking at my answer I see it's a little chaotic but If you confused - just read about Model, View, and Projection matixes and try example with glOrtho. If you're still confused feel free to ask.
MSDN has a great explanation. It may be in terms of DirectX but OpenGL is more-or-less the same.
Google for "opengl rendering pipeline". The first five articles all provide good expositions.
The key transition from vertices to pixels (actually, fragments, but you won't be too far off if you think "pixels") is in the rasterization stage, which occurs after all vertices have been transformed from world-coordinates to screen coordinates and clipped.
Related
If I pick a spot on my monitor in screen X/Y, how can I obtain the point in 3D space, based on my projection and view matrices?
For example, I want to put an object at depth and have it located at 10,10 in screen coords. So when I update its world matrix it will render onscreen at 10,10.
I presume it's fairly straightforward given I have my camera matrices, but I'm not sure offhand how to 'reverse' the normal process.
DirectXTk XMMath would be best, but I can no doubt sort it out from any linear algebra system (OpenGL, D3DX, etc).
What I'm actually trying to do is find a random point on the back clipping plane where I can start an object that then drifts straight towards the camera along its projection line. So I want to keep picking points in deep space that are still within my view (no point creating ones outside in my case) and starting alien ships (or whatever) at that point.
As discussed in my comments, you need four things to do this generally.
ModelView (GL) or View (D3D / general) matrix
Projection matrix
Viewport
Depth Range (let us assume default, [0, 1])
What you are trying to do is locate in world-space a point that lies on the far clipping plane at a specific x,y coordinate in window-space. The point you are looking for is <x,y,1> (z=1 corresponds to the far plane in window-space).
Given this point, you need to transform back to NDC-space
The specifics are actually API-dependent since D3D's definition of NDC is different from OpenGL's -- they do not agree on the range of Z (D3D = [0, 1], GL = [-1, 1]).
Once in NDC-space, you can apply the inverse Projection matrix to transform back to view-space.
These are homogeneous coordinates and division by W is necessary.
From view-space, apply the inverse View matrix to arrive at a point in world-space that satisfies your criteria.
Most math libraries have a function called UnProject (...) that will do all of this for you. I would suggest using that because you tagged this question D3D and OpenGL and the specifics of some of these transformations is different depending on API.
You are better off knowing how they work, even if you never implement them yourself. I think the key thing you were missing was the viewport, I have an answer here that explains this step visually.
I usually find matrix libraries building both modelview and cameras matrices from the RUB (right-up-back) vectors, as depicted in these pages:
http://3dengine.org/Right-up-back_from_modelview
http://3dengine.org/Modelview_matrix
Is the RUB tuple just a common standard?
Otherwise, is there a reason the RUB vectors are preferred over any other orientation (such as forward-up-right)?
Particularly if you're using the programmable pipeline, you have almost complete freedom about the coordinate system you work in, and how you transform your geometry. But once all your transformations are applied in the vertex shader (resulting in the vector assigned to gl_Position), there is still a fixed function block in the pipeline between the vertex shader and fragment shader. That fixed function block relies on the transformed vertices being in a well defined coordinate system.
gl_Position is in a coordinate system called "clip coordinates", which then turns into "normalized device coordinates" (NDC) after dividing by the w coordinate of the vector.
Based on the vector in NDC, the fixed function rasterization block generates pixels. It will use the first coordinate to map to the horizontal window direction, and the second coordinate to map to the vertical window direction. The third coordinate will be used to calculate the depth, which can be used for depth testing.
This means that after all transformations are applied, the first coordinate has to be left-right, the second coordinate has to be bottom-up, and the third coordinate has to be front-back (well, it could be back-front if you change the depth test).
If you use a classic setup with modelview and projection matrix, it makes sense to use the modelview matrix to transform the original geometry into this orientation, and then use the projection matrix to apply e.g. a perspective.
I don't think there's anything stopping you from using a different orientation as the result of the modelview transformation, and then include a rotation in the projection matrix to transform the whole thing into the correct clip coordinate space. But I don't see a benefit, and it looks like it would just add unnecessary confusion.
In OpenGL (all versions, though I happen to be working in OpenGL ES 2.0) there is the option of using a perspective projection versus an orthogonal one. Is there a way to control the degree of orthogonality?
For the sake of picturing the issue (and please don't take this as the actual question, I am well aware there is no camera in OpenGL) assume that a scene is rendered with the viewport "looking" down the -z axis. Two parallel lines extending a finite distance down the -z axis at (x,y)=1,1 and (x,y)=-1,1 will appear as points in orthogonal projection, or as two lines that eventually converge to a single pixel in perspective projection. Is there a way to have the x- and y- values represented by the outer edges of the screen remain the same as in projection space - I assume this requires not changing the frustum - but have the lines only converge part of the way to a single pixel?
Is there a way to control the degree of orthogonality?
Either something is orthogonal, or it is not. There's no such thing like "just a little orthogonal".
Anyway, from a mathematical point of view, a perspective projection with an infinitely narrow field of view is orthogonal. So you can use glFrustum with a very large near and far plane distance, together with a countering translation in modelview to bring the far away viewing volume back to the origin.
In opengl there is one world coordinate system with origin (0,0,0).
What confuses me is what all the transformations like glTranslate, glRotate, etc. do? Do they move
objects in world coordinates, or do they move the camera? As you know, the same movement can be achieved by either moving objects or camera.
I am guessing that glTranslate, glRotate, change objects, and gluLookAt changes the camera?
In opengl there is one world coordinate system with origin (0,0,0).
Well, technically no.
What confuses me is what all the transformations like glTranslate, glRotate, etc. do? Do they move objects in world coordinates, or do they move the camera?
Neither. OpenGL doesn't know objects, OpenGL doesn't know a camera, OpenGL doesn't know a world. All that OpenGL cares about are primitives, points, lines or triangles, per vertex attributes, normalized device coordinates (NDC) and a viewport, to which the NDC are mapped to.
When you tell OpenGL to draw a primitive, each vertex is processed according to its attributes. The position is one of the attributes and usually a vector with 1 to 4 scalar elements within local "object" coordinate system. The task at hand is to somehow transform the local vertex position attribute into a position on the viewport. In modern OpenGL this happens within a small program, running on the GPU, called a vertex shader. The vertex shader may process the position in an arbitrary way. But the usual approach is by applying a number of nonsingular, linear transformations.
Such transformations can be expressed in terms of homogenous transformation matrices. For a 3 dimensional vector, the homogenous representation in a vector with 4 elements, where the 4th element is 1.
In computer graphics a 3-fold transformation pipeline has become sort of the standard way of doing things. First the object local coordinates are transformed into coordinates relative to the virtual "eye", hence into eye space. In OpenGL this transformation used to be called the modelview transformaion. With the vertex positions in eye space several calculations, like illumination can be expressed in a generalized way, hence those calculations happen in eye space. Next the eye space coordinates are tranformed into the so called clip space. This transformation maps some volume in eye space to a specific volume with certain boundaries, to which the geometry is clipped. Since this transformation effectively applies a projection, in OpenGL this used to be called the projection transformation.
After clip space the positions get "normalized" by their homogenous component, yielding normalized device coordinates, which are then plainly mapped to the viewport.
To recapitulate:
A vertex position is transformed from local to clip space by
vpos_eye = MV · vpos_local
eyespace_calculations(vpos_eye);
vpos_clip = P · vpos_eye
·: inner product column on row vector
Then to reach NDC
vpos_ndc = vpos_clip / vpos_clip.w
and finally to the viewport (NDC coordinates are in the range [-1, 1]
vpos_viewport = (vpos_ndc + (1,1,1,1)) * (viewport.width, viewport.height) / 2 + (viewport.x, viewport.y)
*: vector component wise multiplication
The OpenGL functions glRotate, glTranslate, glScale, glMatrixMode merely manipulate the transformation matrices. OpenGL used to have four transformation matrices:
modelview
projection
texture
color
On which of them the matrix manipulation functions act on can be set using glMatrixMode. Each of the matrix manipulating functions composes a new matrix by multiplying the transformation matrix they describe on top of the select matrix thereby replacing it. The functions glLoadIdentity replace the current matrix with identity, glLoadMatrix replaces it with a user defined matrix, and glMultMatrix multiplies a user defined matrix on top of it.
So how does the modelview matrix then emulate both object placement and a camera. Well, as you already stated
As you know, the same movement can be achieved by either moving objects or camera.
You can not really discern between them. The usual approach is by splitting the object local to eye transformation into two steps:
Object to world – OpenGL calls this the "model transform"
World to eye – OpenGL calls this the "view transform"
Together they form the model-view, in fixed function OpenGL described by the modelview matrix. Now since the order of transformations is
local to world, Model matrix vpos_world = M · vpos_local
world to eye, View matrix vpos_eye = V · vpos_world
we can substitute by
vpos_eye = V · ( M · vpos_local ) = V · M · vpos_local
replacing V · M by the ModelView matrix =: MV
vpos_eye = MV · vpos_local
Thus you can see that what's V and what's M of the compund matrix M is only determined by the order of operations in which you multiply onto the modelview matrix, and at which step you decide to "call it the model transform from here on".
I.e. right after a
glMatrixMode(GL_MODELVIEW);
glLoadIdentity();
the view is defined. But at some point you'll start applying model transformations and everything after is model.
Note that in modern OpenGL all the matrix manipulation functions have been removed. OpenGL's matrix stack never was feature complete and no serious application did actually use it. Most programs just glLoadMatrix-ed their self calculated matrices and didn't bother with the OpenGL built-in matrix maniupulation routines.
And ever since shaders were introduced, the whole OpenGL matrix stack got awkward to use, to say it nicely.
The verdict: If you plan on using OpenGL the modern way, don't bother with the built-in functions. But keep in mind what I wrote, because what your shaders do will be very similar to what OpenGL's fixed function pipeline did.
OpenGL is a low-level API, there is no higher-level concepts like an "object" and a "camera" in the "scene", so there are only two matrix modes: MODELVIEW (a multiplication of "camera" matrix by the "object" transformation) and PROJECTION (the projective transformation from world-space to post-perspective space).
Distinction between "Model" and "View" (object and camera) matrices is up to you. glRotate/glTranslate functions just multiply the currently selected matrix by the given one (without even distinguishing between ModelView and Projection).
Those functions multiply (transform) the current matrix set by glMatrixMode() so it depends on the matrix you're working on. OpenGL has 4 different types of matrices; GL_MODELVIEW, GL_PROJECTION, GL_TEXTURE, and GL_COLOR, any one of those functions can change any of those matrices. So, basically, you don't transform objects you just manipulate different matrices to "fake" that effect.
Note that glulookat() is just a convenient function equivalent to a translation followed by some rotations, there's nothing special about it.
All transformations are transformations on objects. Even gluLookAt is just a transformation to transform the objects as if the camera was where you tell it to be. Technically they are transformations on the vertices, but that's just semantics.
That's true, glTranslate, glRotate change the object coordinates before rendering and gluLookAt changes the camera coordinate.
I'm not sure how to use the Unproject method provided by GLM.
Specifically, in what format is the viewport passed in? And why doesn't the function require a view matrix as well as a projection and world matrix?
A bit of history is required here. GLM's unproject is actually a more or less direct replacement for the gluUnProject function that uses deprecated OpenGL fixed-function rendering. In this mode the Model and View matrix were actually combined in the "ModelView" matrix. Apparently, the GLM author dropped the 'view' part in the naming, which confuses thing even more, but it comes down to passing something like view*model.
Now for the actual use:
win is a vector that holds three components that have meaning in Window coordinates. These are coordinates 'x,y' in your viewport, the 'z' coordinate you usually retrieve by reading your depth buffer at (x,y)
model, view and projection matrices should speak for itself if you're even thinking of using this function. But a good (opengl-specific) refresher can be useful.
The viewport is defined as in glViewport, which means (x,y,w,h). X and Y specify the lower left corner of your viewport (usually 0,0). Width and height (w,h). Note that in many other systems x,y specify the upper left corner, you have to transform your y-coordinate then, which is shown in the NeHe code I link to below.
When applied you simply end up by converting the provided window coordinates back to the object coordinates, more or less the inverse of what your render code usually does.
A half-decent explanation on the original gluUnProject can be found as a NeHe article. But of course that is OpenGL-specific, while glm can be used in other contexts.
The viewport is passed in as four floats: the x and y window coordinates of the viewport, followed by its width and height. That's the same order as used e.g. by glGetFloatv(GL_VIEWPORT, ...). So in most cases, the first two values should be 0.
As KillianDS already pointed out, the modelargument in fact is a modelview matrix, see the example use of unProject() in gtx_simd_mat4.cpp, function test_compute_gtx():
glm::mat4 E = glm::translate(D, glm::vec3(1.4f, 1.2f, 1.1f));
glm::mat4 F = glm::perspective(i, 1.5f, 0.1f, 1000.f);
glm::mat4 G = glm::inverse(F * E);
glm::vec3 H = glm::unProject(glm::vec3(i), G, F, E[3]);
As you can see, the matrix passed as the second argument basically is the product of a translation and a perspective transformation.