Sander Vanhove

A flock of 10000 agents simulated in real-time with #GodotEngine! 🤩 Again using a compute shader, this time with the classic Boid algorithm!

They do tend to clump up a bit though 😅

#gamedev #indiedev

Jan 25, 2023 at 4:36pmWeb
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 25, 2023
Well, Twitter's compression algorithm didn't like that 😅
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 25, 2023
Here are 500 agents. Now they have space to swim back and forth a bit more 🤗
#GodotEngine #indiedev
Show threadWereCoderJan 26, 2023
@SanderVanhove That looks nice. Boids? What drives the color? They need a wrapping world so they can swim off the left side of the screen and onto the right.
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 26, 2023
@WereCoder thanks 😁 yep it's indeed a boid simulation. I thought about that, but didn't want to bother with distance calculations in a wrapping world 😅 it way easier to just make them "fear" the walls.
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 26, 2023
@WereCoder the color is dependent on the speed they are going.
Show threadkotob 🎮💻Jan 25, 2023
@SanderVanhove This is mesmerizing? Did you follow a tutorial for this that I can check out
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 25, 2023

@realkotob not for this specifically no 😅
I just used the docs to use compute shaders: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/latest/tutorials/shaders/compute_shaders.html

And then implemented the boid algorithm from there: https://vanhunteradams.com/Pico/Animal_Movement/Boids-algorithm.html

Lastly gave the agents some color and glow depending on the speed at which they are traveling 😊

It took a good evening of hacking and trail and error 😅

Using compute shaders

Think of compute shaders as blocks of code that are executed on the GPU for any purpose we want. Compute shaders are independent from the graphics pipeline and do not have much fixed-functionality....

Godot Engine documentation
Show threadPatrick / 🔥 LizardJan 25, 2023
@SanderVanhove Absolutely amazing Sander🎉👍🏻 great work! This could definitely work as an animated wallpaper or main-menu background😁
Show threadLeah Jan 25, 2023
@flamelizard @SanderVanhove I feel like this wallpaper would drain your battery so fast.
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 25, 2023
@flamelizard thanks Patrick! 🤗 it would also be cool to have this as the main mechanic for a game 🤔 but indeed, this is gonna drain your battery as you need a decent GPU to render this amount of agents 😅
Show threadPatrick / 🔥 LizardJan 25, 2023
@SanderVanhove Gaming PC wallpaper then😁👀
Show threadScottJan 25, 2023
@SanderVanhove nice! is the source available anywhere? I’m new to compute shaders and I’d love to see the code.
Show threadSander VanhoveJan 25, 2023

@cowboyscott Yep, it's over here! Though it's pretty hacky and I'm not planning on cleaning it up 😅

https://github.com/SanderVanhove/godot-compute-shaders/tree/main/Boids

godot-compute-shaders/Boids at main · SanderVanhove/godot-compute-shaders

Contribute to SanderVanhove/godot-compute-shaders development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadleetNightshadeFeb 15, 2023
@SanderVanhove Clumping? Needs more separation force!
Show threadSander VanhoveFeb 16, 2023
@leetNightshade They mostly needed more space 😅 https://elk.zone/mastodon.gamedev.place/@SanderVanhove/109751375941211233
Sander Vanhove (@[email protected])

Attached: 1 image Here are 500 agents. Now they have space to swim back and forth a bit more 🤗 #GodotEngine #indiedev

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