HARFANG® 3D engine

HARFANG®3D is an all-in-one 3D visualization library usable in C++, Python, Lua and Go.

Table of contents

1. About
   • Features
   • Screenshots
2. Download
3. Building the SDK
   • Prerequisites
   • Building
4. Using the C++ SDK
5. Version
6. License

About

HARFANG®3D is an easy-to-adapt, cross-platform, multi-language, powerful and optimized solution to integrate with embedded systems, into existing environments and combining features to meet the industrial standards of real-time 3D imaging.

The HARFANG®3D architecture makes it easy to meet the requirements for hardware integration, display performance and security.

HARFANG®3D is written in C++ and is based on the open-source bgfx library supporting Vulkan, Metal, DirectX (from 9 to 12), OpenGL and OpenGL ES. It Builds on Windows, Linux, Intel and ARM.

Features

Platforms supported

• Win32 and Win64 Intel
• Linux 64 Intel
• Aarch 64 ARM

Scene API

• Node & component based
• Performance oriented

Rendering pipeline

• Low-spec PBR rendering pipeline
• High-spec 'AAA' rendering pipeline (screen space GI & reflection)
• Support of user pipeline shaders

VR API

• VR support via OpenVR/SteamVR with Eye tracking
• Compatible with the HTC Vive/Vive Pro, Valve Index, Lenovo Explorer, Oculus Rift S

Physics API

• Rigid bodies, collisions, mechanical constraints, ray casting

Audio API

• Play/stream WAV/OGG formats
• 3D audio spatialization

Languages supported

• C++
• Python (3.2+)
• Lua (5.3)
• Go (1+, experimental)

Screenshots

The following screenshots were captured on a 1080GTX in 1080P running at 60FPS.

(Sun Temple, courtesy of the Open Research Content Archive (ORCA))

Download

You can download the HARFANG binaries from the official website: https://dev.harfang3d.com/releases

Build the SDK

Prerequisites

• Git
• CMake 3.19+
• CPython 3.2+
• Go 1+ (for Harfang Go module)
• Doxygen (for Harfang C++ SDK documentation)
• Autodesk FBX SDK (for FBX Converter)

Windows

• Visual Studio 2019 (C++ compiler and IDE)
• MinGW (for Harfang Go module)

Linux

• GCC 9 or above
• CLang

Building

1. Clone the Harfang 3D repository including its submodules.

   git clone --recursive -j8 https://github.com/harfang3d/harfang3d.git
   cd harfang3d
   

2. Create build directory. Note that the described directory layout is not mandatory.

   mkdir build
   cd build
   

3. Clone Fabgen.

   git clone https://github.com/ejulien/FABGen.git
   

4. Download and install Autodesk FBX SDK.

5. Create a directory that will hold the build system generated by CMake.

   mkdir cmake
   cd cmake
   

6. Generate the build system using CMake. For example, on Windows it will be:

   cmake ../.. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64 \
       -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH="D:/harfang/build/install" \
       -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH="C:/Python36/python.exe" \
       -DHG_FABGEN_PATH:PATH="D:/harfang/build/fabgen" \
       -DHG_FBX_SDK:PATH="D:/fbx_sdk" 
   

   • CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX specifies the directory where the Harfang SDK will installed.
   • PYTHON_EXECUTABLE is the path the Python 3 interpreter.
   • FABGEN_PATH is the path to Fabgen binding generator.
   • HG_FBX_SDK is the path to Autodesk FBX SDK.

    
   Here is the list of available CMake options.

   • C++ SDK
     • HG_BUILD_CPP_SDK : Build C++ SDK (default: OFF).
     • HG_BUILD_TESTS : Build C++ SDK unit tests (default: OFF).
     • HG_BUILD_DOCS : Build API and C++ SDK documentations (default: OFF).
     • HG_ENABLE_BULLET3_SCENE_PHYSICS : Enable Bullet physics API (default: ON).
     • HG_ENABLE_RECAST_DETOUR_API : Enable Recast/Detour navigation mesh and path finding API (default: ON).
     • HG_ENABLE_OPENVR_API : Enable OpenVR API (default: OFF).
     • HG_ENABLE_SRANIPAL_API : Enable VIVE Eye and Facial Tracking SDK (SRanipal) API (default: OFF).
   • Tools
     • HG_BUILD_ASSETC : Build AssetC asset compiler (default: ON).
     • HG_BUILD_ASSIMP_CONVERTER : Build Assimp based 3D model converter (default: ON).
     • HG_BUILD_FBX_CONVERTER : Build FBX converter (default: ON).
     • HG_BUILD_GLTF_IMPORTER : Build GLTF importer (default: ON).
     • HG_BUILD_GLTF_EXPORTER : Build GLTF exporter (default: ON).
   • Bindings
     • HG_BUILD_HG_LUA : Build Harfang LUA module (default: OFF).
     • HG_BUILD_HG_PYTHON : Build Harfang Python module (wheel) (default: OFF).
     • HG_BUILD_HG_GO : Build Harfang GO module (default: OFF).

    

7. Build the SDK.

   cmake --build . --config Release --target INSTALL
   

   Note: On Linux you will need to explicitly specify the build type with -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

   Depending on the set of option passed to CMake the install directory will contain the following subdirectories:

   • cppsdk : Harfang C++ SDK.
   • hg_python : Harfang Python module.
   • hg_lua : Harfang LUA module.
   • hg_go : Harfang Go module.
   • assetc : Asset compiler.
   • assimp_converter : Assimp 3D model converter.
   • fbx_converter : FBX converter.
   • gltf_importer : GLTF importer.
   • gltf_exporter : GLTF exporter.

Notes on Visual Studio Code

1. Install the CMakeTools extension.

2. Copy the harfang/.vscode/template_settings.json file to harfang/.vscode/settings.json and edit it to reflect your local installation.

3. Open the harfang folder in Visual Studio Code. CMakeTools should succesfully configure the project.

Use the SDK

The Harfang C++ SDK directory cppsdk contains the following:

• bin : depending on the configuration used, this directory contains either a Release or Debug subdirectory with all the shared libraries.
• lib : like the bin directory, it contains a subdirectories named after the configuration used during build (Release or Debug) with all the generated static libraries.
• include : contains all the C++ include files of Harfang public API.
• cmake : contains the CMake configuration files.

To add the Harfang C++ SDK to your CMake project, just add the following to the CMakeLists.txt file:

find_package(harfang REQUIRED
    COMPONENTS cppsdk
    PATHS ${HG_CPPSDK_PATH}
    NO_DEFAULT_PATH
)

with HG_CPPSDK_PATH the path to the cppsdk directory. For example, if we follow the directory layout given above, it will be D:/harfang/build/install/cppsdk.

Targets should link against the following libraries.

• hg::engine
• hg::foundation
• hg::platform
• hg::libluadll

The install_cppsdk_dependencies function installs the Harfang C++ SDK shared libraries dependencies.

install_cppsdk_dependencies(destination component)

• destination : is the library where the shared libraries will be installed.
• component : installation component name.

Version

Harfang follows the Semantic Versioning Specification (SemVer) (http://semver.org).

Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH, increment the:

• MAJOR version when you make incompatible API changes,
• MINOR version when you add functionality in a backwards-compatible manner, and
• PATCH version when you make backwards-compatible bug fixes.

License

Harfang is licensed under the GPLv3, LGPLv3 and a commercial license:
https://www.harfang3d.com/license

More screenshots...

(Sun Temple, courtesy of the Open Research Content Archive (ORCA))

(Bistro, courtesy of the Open Research Content Archive (ORCA))

(Sponza Atrium GLTF, courtesy of Crytek/Themaister)