Raven: Ray/Path Tracer

Raven is a ray/path tracer developed in C++20 as part of my CENG 795: Advanced Ray Tracing coursework. It supports a wide range of rendering features, including various intersection methods, realistic materials, advanced lighting, and texture techniques.

You can follow my journey and detailed progress on my personal blog, where I share insights, challenges, and results from each assignment.

Features

Intersections

• Ray-Object Intersection
  • Triangle Intersection
  • Sphere Intersection
  • Mesh Intersection

Acceleration Structures

• Bounding Volume Hierarchy (BVH)

Transformations

• Transformation
• Instancing (efficient rendering of duplicate geometry)

Rendering Techniques

• Basic Ray Tracing
• Distribution Ray Tracing
  • Depth of Field
  • Area Lights
  • Glossy Reflections
  • Motion Blur
• Path Tracing
  • Importance Sampling
  • Next Event Estimation
  • Russian Roulette

Materials

• Conductor (Metallic) Materials
• Dielectric (Transparent/Refractive) Materials

Lighting

• Point Lights
• Area Lights
• Directional Lights
• Spot Lights
• Environmental Lighting
• Object Lights
  • Mesh-based
  • Sphere-based

BRDF Models

• Phong
• Modified Phong
• Normalized Modified Phong
• Blinn-Phong
• Modified Blinn-Phong
• Normalized Modified Blinn-Phong
• Torrance-Sparrow

Texture Mapping Techniques

• Standard Texture Mapping
• Normal Mapping
• Bump Mapping

Image Output and Post-processing

• Supported File Formats
  • ppm
  • png
  • hdr
  • exr
• High Dynamic Range (HDR) & Tone Mapping
  • Reinhard Photographic Tone Mapping

Scene Management

• Scene Description: XML-based scene description format, supporting meshes in XML and PLY file formats.

Performance and Profiling

• Multithreading (Parallel rendering to utilize multiple CPU cores effectively)
• Integrated Profiler: Automatically generates profiling data (JSON format) for each rendered scene.

---

Example Scenes

Path Tracing Sponza Scene

Path Tracing Cornell Box Scene

Path Tracing Cornell Box with Sphere and Mesh Light Scenes

David Scene with Point Light 100 ms

David Scene with Area Light 400 ms

Dragon Scene with Spot Lights

Chess Scene with Area Light 900 ms

Cornell Box with Area Light

Cornell Box with Dielectric and Conductor Materials

Point Light, Directional Light, and Environmental Light

How to Use Raven

Prerequisites

• Compiler: C++20 compatible compiler (e.g., MSVC, GCC, Clang)
• Build System: Premake
• Supported Platforms:
  • Windows 10
  • Linux

Build Instructions

1. Clone the Repository:

git clone https://github.com/ramazantokay/Raven-RT.git
cd Raven-RT

2. Before building the project, you might need to add executable permission to the build script and premake executable.

chmod +x build.sh
chmod +x vendor/premake5

3. Run the build script. This will generate the project files for the selected build system.

For Linux

./build.sh gmake2

For Windows

./build.bat vs2022

4. Build the project.

• For Linux

 make config=release all

• For Windows, open the generated solution file and build the project.

5. Run the project.

• For Linux

./bin/Release-linux-x86_64/Nest/raytracer scene.xml

• For Windows, add the scene name as a command line argument in the project properties. Project properties -> Debugging -> Command Arguments.

scene.xml

Rendered images will be saved automatically in the output folder specified by the scene file configuration.

---

TODO: Future Work

• Implement Smooth Shading
• Refactor the codebase for better readability and maintainability

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. You are free to modify, distribute, and use it according to the terms described.

---

Disclaimer

Raven is provided "as is," without warranty of any kind. The author(s) assume no liability for any direct or indirect damages or losses arising from the use or inability to use this software.

---