Particle Systems Using 3D Vector Fields with OpenGL Compute Shaders

Sammanfattning: Context. Particle systems and particle effects are used to simulate a realistic and appealing atmosphere in many virtual environments. However, they do occupy a significant amount of computational resources. The demand for more advanced graphics increases by each generation, likewise does particle systems need to become increasingly more detailed. Objectives. This thesis proposes a texture-based 3D vector field particle system, computed on the Graphics Processing Unit, and compares it to an equation-based particle system. Methods. Several tests were conducted comparing different situations and parameters for the methods. All of the tests measured the computational time needed to execute the different methods. Results. We show that the texture-based method was effective in very specific situations where it was expected to outperform the equation-based. Otherwise, the equation-based particle system is still the most efficient. Conclusions. Generally the equation-based method is preferred, except for in very specific cases. The texture-based is most efficient to use for static particle systems and when a huge number of forces is applied to a particle system. Texture-based vector fields is hardly useful otherwise.