Summary

This chapter has covered the basic requirements for setting the scene for our game. The skybox gives the player the feeling of having a place in a large exterior location. The Terrain class provides the ground that the game vehicles will be driving upon. Without any objects visible on the ground, the player has no sense of scale. The Billboard class gives the ability to place items like palm trees and cacti into the scene. The ability to see these objects off in the distance gives us a sense of scale and distance. The ParticleGenerator class provides the final addition for this chapter. We use the particle generator so that vehicle tires spew sand as they speed across the sand dunes. Remember that this class can be used for almost any special effect that the user of the game engine needs. The next chapter covers the more complex three-dimensional objects.