Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Computer Science

Supervisor

Solis-Oba, Roberto

Abstract

In many computer games checking whether one object is visible from another is very important. Field of Vision (FOV) refers to the set of locations that are visible from a specific position in a scene of a computer game. Once computed, an FOV can be used to quickly determine the visibility of multiple objects from a given position.

This thesis summarizes existing algorithms for FOV computation, describes their limitations, and presents new algorithms which aim to address these limitations. We first present an algorithm which makes use of spatial data structures in a way which is new for FOV calculation. We then present a novel technique which updates a previously calculated FOV, rather than re-calculating FOV from scratch. We then compare our algorithms to existing FOV algorithms and show that they provide substantial improvements to running time and efficiency of memory access.

Summary for Lay Audience

In many computer games checking whether one object is visible from another is very important. Field of Vision (FOV) refers to the set of locations that are visible from a specific position in a scene of a computer game. The scene may contain vision-blocking objects, which prevent some locations within the scene from being visible. Once computed, an FOV can be used to quickly determine the visibility of multiple objects or locations from a given position.

This thesis summarizes existing algorithms for FOV computation, describes their limitations, and presents new algorithms which aim to address these limitations. We first present an algorithm which uses a more efficient way to store and access vision-blocking objects within a scene. We then present a novel technique which updates a previously calculated FOV, rather than re-calculating FOV from scratch. We then compare our algorithms to existing FOV algorithms and show that they provide substantial improvements to running time and efficiency of computer memory access.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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