This project has been created as part of the 42 curriculum by ccastro and samamaev.

cub3D - My First RayCaster with miniLibX

Description

cub3D is a 3D graphical game engine built in C, inspired by the legendary 1992 game Wolfenstein 3D by Id Software. The goal of the project is to create a dynamic first-person perspective inside a maze using ray-casting algorithms.

The application reads a scene description file (.cub), parses configuration options (wall textures for North, South, East, and West faces, floor/ceiling colors, and map geometry), and renders a real-time textured 3D view using the miniLibX graphics library.

Key Features

• Real-Time 3D Raycasting Engine: Uses Digital Differential Analysis (DDA) to calculate wall intersections, ray distances, and perspective projection.
• Directional Wall Texturing: Maps distinct XPM texture images to North, South, East, and West wall faces.
• Dynamic Field of View: Focal-length adjusted raycasting math to preserve proper block aspect ratios regardless of window dimensions.
• Smooth Player Controls: Real-time movement (WASD) with wall collision padding and view rotation (Left/Right arrows).
• Robust .cub Scene Parsing: Full validation of map closure, player spawn point, color boundaries, and texture file paths with explicit error reporting (Error\n...).

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Instructions

Prerequisites

• Operating System: Linux (X11 / XQuartz setup required for miniLibX)
• Compiler: cc
• Libraries: make, libXext, libX11, libm

Compilation

Clone the repository and compile the project using the provided Makefile:

# Compile the executable
make

# Clean object files
make clean

# Clean object files and binary
make fclean

# Rebuild the project completely
make re

Execution

Run cub3D by passing a valid .cub scene file as the single argument:

./cub3D maps/map.cub

Controls

Input	Action
W	Move Forward
S	Move Backward
A	Strafe Left
D	Strafe Right
Left Arrow	Rotate View Left
Right Arrow	Rotate View Right
ESC	Exit Game Cleanly
Red Cross (X)	Close Window and Exit

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Map Configuration Format (.cub)

Scene files must follow this format:

NO ./textures/north_wall.xpm
SO ./textures/south_wall.xpm
WE ./textures/west_wall.xpm
EA ./textures/east_wall.xpm

F 220,100,0
C 225,30,0

111111
100101
101001
1100N1
111111

• Identifiers: NO, SO, WE, EA (Wall Texture Paths), F (Floor RGB), C (Ceiling RGB).
• Map Characters:
  • 1: Wall
  • 0: Empty Walkable Space
  • N, S, E, W: Player Spawn position and facing orientation (North, South, East, West).

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Resources

References & Documentation

• Lode's Computer Graphics Tutorial - Raycasting: Fundamental guide on raycasting math, DDA algorithms, and camera planes.
• Wolfenstein 3D Bible & Tech Specs: Historical implementation context.
• 42 miniLibX Documentation: Reference for window management, X11 events, and pixel buffer rendering.

AI Assistance Declaration

In accordance with Chapter IV (AI Instructions) of the 42 curriculum:

• Code Optimization & Diagnostics: AI was used to diagnose perspective rendering issues (wall aspect ratio / focal length formula adjustments for square window dimensions).
• Documentation: AI assisted in formatting and generating this README.md file in accordance with 42 curriculum requirements.
• Code Review: AI was utilized as a pair-programming partner to audit error handling, memory safety, and evaluation requirements before defense submission.