Moritz Leander Großfurtner
Generating Aesthetic Plant Models from an Open Data Format of the Project for Sustainable Agroecosystems in Godot
[thesis]

Information

Abstract

This bachelor's thesis explores the development of a plugin for the open-source game engine Godot 3.5, aimed at providing an easy way for procedurally creating pleasing plant visualizations, specifically in the frame of the Sustainable Agroecosystem project. This is achieved by importing data conforming to a predefined format that abstractly describes the structure of plant organisms. Upon import, the plugin generates 3D surfaces for the branching structures and employs instancing for rendering leaves efficiently. One of the key features of the plugin is its adaptive surface subdivision mechanism, which dynamically generates the surface at different levels of detail based on the proximity to the camera.

The plugin's implementation leverages Godot's GDPlugin feature to seamlessly integrate into the engine's workflow. The procedural generation of plant structures is achieved through algorithmic processes that translate "tree skeletons" into 3D surfaces. However, due to limitations inherent in Godot 3, the adaptive subdivision mechanism is implemented on the CPU. In tests, this resulted in the following: Exports of models in the highest level of detail yielded better performance than models with adaptive subdivision.

The thesis covers the design, implementation, and theory behind the plugin. An evaluation of the plugin's functionality and performance is conducted, highlighting its capability to dynamically adapt the mesh at runtime. Performance comparisons between the adaptive subdivision approach and using the exported surface are presented, revealing the issues with the implementation on the CPU.

In conclusion, the developed plugin presents a novel approach to procedurally generate and render complex plant structures within the Godot 3.5 game engine. It extends the capabilities of the engine in creating realistic virtual environments while addressing the challenges of adaptive subdivision on the CPU. The thesis explores the intricacies of integrating such plugins into game engines and opens avenues for further optimizations.

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thesis: BSc Thesis thesis: BSc Thesis

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BibTeX

@bachelorsthesis{Grossfurtner-2023-paego,
  title =      "Generating Aesthetic Plant Models from an Open Data Format
               of the Project for Sustainable Agroecosystems in Godot",
  author =     "Moritz Leander Gro{\ss}furtner",
  year =       "2023",
  abstract =   "This bachelor's thesis explores the development of a plugin
               for the open-source game engine Godot 3.5, aimed at
               providing an easy way for procedurally creating pleasing
               plant visualizations, specifically in the frame of the
               Sustainable Agroecosystem project. This is achieved by
               importing data conforming to a predefined format that
               abstractly describes the structure of plant organisms. Upon
               import, the plugin generates 3D surfaces for the branching
               structures and employs instancing for rendering leaves
               efficiently. One of the key features of the plugin is its
               adaptive surface subdivision mechanism, which dynamically
               generates the surface at different levels of detail based on
               the proximity to the camera.  The plugin's implementation
               leverages Godot's GDPlugin feature to seamlessly integrate
               into the engine's workflow. The procedural generation of
               plant structures is achieved through algorithmic processes
               that translate "tree skeletons" into 3D surfaces. However,
               due to limitations inherent in Godot 3, the adaptive
               subdivision mechanism is implemented on the CPU. In tests,
               this resulted in the following: Exports of models in the
               highest level of detail yielded better performance than
               models with adaptive subdivision.  The thesis covers the
               design, implementation, and theory behind the plugin. An
               evaluation of the plugin's functionality and performance is
               conducted, highlighting its capability to dynamically adapt
               the mesh at runtime. Performance comparisons between the
               adaptive subdivision approach and using the exported surface
               are presented, revealing the issues with the implementation
               on the CPU.  In conclusion, the developed plugin presents a
               novel approach to procedurally generate and render complex
               plant structures within the Godot 3.5 game engine. It
               extends the capabilities of the engine in creating realistic
               virtual environments while addressing the challenges of
               adaptive subdivision on the CPU. The thesis explores the
               intricacies of integrating such plugins into game engines
               and opens avenues for further optimizations.",
  month =      dec,
  address =    "Favoritenstrasse 9-11/E193-02, A-1040 Vienna, Austria",
  school =     "Research Unit of Computer Graphics, Institute of Visual
               Computing and Human-Centered Technology, Faculty of
               Informatics, TU Wien ",
  keywords =   "rendering, modeling, plant",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2023/Grossfurtner-2023-paego/",
}