3D Modeling Software, 10 weeks, is it posible??

[ChrisPepper1989]

hi all, im a south trafford college student and we've been asked to create a "real world" application for a realy realy important assignment (the difference between a distinction and a fail!).

The thing is, i could easily spit out some libary renting system or something boring like that and probably still get the distinction but i would really like to use this assignment to actually learn something and test myself. Ive been experimenting with openGL and i really like it, ive already started some framework and drawing tools for very basic 3d modeling software and i would really like to do this for my assignment but i dont know if its posible!

we have ten weeks to do a full system life cycle on this, fully detailed documentation, anaylsis design, implement, test and evaluate the whole thing, and in typical fashion the programming is not actually the major part of it, prob 1/10. so i say ive got a couple weeks max to do the programming and the rest for everthing else !!!

i have a track record for spending to much time on ambitious added features, is this me doing it again? i would like a more experienced opinion on it, i believe i can do the programming, but im not sure on everything else that comes with, in the end of the day the more complex the program the more complex everthing else will be obvisually!

my pitch is that its a very basic prototype for a 3d modeling software, with simple features (the modeling equivelant of MS paint!!) and that its built to be extendable later on. i already have a basic framework on how it works, i have list boxes on the form, listing all the drawing primitaves, when a user is drawing, it finds out what primative is being drawn and asigns its integer value (thanks openGL ) to a variable in the objects class, and when it is being rendered it calls that value back for what primative should be drawn. it also has a setup for doing quadratics, and it has drawn spheres and cylinders for me (although bugs are certainly there). it saves and loads to my own basic file format, you can navigate and use zoom tools, its already taking shape (although im having trouble with mouse coordinate differences in openGL and the normal windows form for obv reasons! ).

ill admit i have limited openGl knowledge, im only up to chapter 8 (Texture Mapping) in my "Premier Press Game Development series open gl book" (long title i know loo) but its a really good book and ive started to use it more for reference as im starting to understand how to use openGL on my own. Im still admitadly a bit of a noob at openGL!

anyway if youve read al that id like to say thanks for bothering lol and if you have any advice i would be truely grateful, thank you, chris.

[Jordan]

I think that it is possible but would take all of your free time and a tremendous amount of dedication. I'm not experienced at all with openGl so I can't offer any advice. I've seen some of the work by colleagues (which they did for fun) and it is very impressive. The hardest part for, and sounds like it is for you, is creating the documentation afterward. Do you also have to create flow-charts and pseudo-code?

[ChrisPepper1989]

yup the whole design phase i think we mote get away with just flow charts but they may want the psuedo code aswell, its the exam board set assignment after all and they want to see reams of documentation and dont really care how much blood sweat and tears have gone into the programming! theres also test plans and testing and reports, evaluations, system requirements etc etc

most of my openGL stuff is for fun and the simpelest thing does look kwl ! i do generally sacrifice alot of free time and put alot of dedication into my work ...but i still want to see the light of day every once in a while and not loose my gf lol! we will get 2 weeks xmas holiday on it as well which i hadnt thought about, so thats 12 weeks really.

[WingedPanther]

First of all, if you can't design it in 5 weeks, I wouldn't do it. I recently had to do a project where I spent about 2 weeks analyzing a program in one language, and then spent another 2-3 weeks recreating it in a completely different language with one of my coworkers. If you short-change yourself on coding time, you will be hurting. Oh, and while the analysis is complete, the recreated program is still only a prototype with limited debugging and not all the functionality.

When I was teaching, I observed some students taking a class on OpenGL where they did far less in a 5 week course. There was no lifecycle involved, just learning how to get the graphics to work. There's a very real chance you're setting yourself up for problems.

[TcM]

Well the documentation is the most hard bit ( dam it ) because I had to program and make the whole system documentation etc.. I made the program in like 2 weeks and the documentation took me 3weeks... it was just a "simple" program.. I think that will be a drawback! if you have this 'big' project!!

[ChrisPepper1989]

hmm yer, it will be the documentation that will truely do me in, ive already got some tessalation working in some ideas ive been tinkering with and i have most of the aspects that i want to work working, it would now be the task of desinging it all properly and bringing all the functions and things ive played around with into one useable program. which most definatley wont be easy, the interfaces ive been using have been basic and horiblem it would not be aceptable in a main stream program. every point and object is selected through list boxes rather then simply clicking on a point!

im still battling this one, some people have said that it might be, some say its to risky (including someone whos made a 3d program) and at times i think its not posible and at other times, like now i kinda believe it is! so i am most definatly unsure. the problem is i have 10 weeks and that starts tomorrow, i dont really have time to get halfway through designing and then give up on it and start something else, i will get the extra 2 weeks of xmas holiday though so that brings the total to 12 weeks.

thanks to all who have read my post and replied, i really apreciate it!

[ChrisPepper1989]

3d program = *3d modeling progam*
sorry!

[DevilsCharm]

Sounds incredibly complicated. I'm going to have to face challenges like this someday... huh.