Developer TANVIR SAJED
lander.c, functions.c and functions_i.c contains all the functions
that are required by the lander. struct.h, functions.h and functions_i.h
contains the macro, function protypes and struct definitions. lander.c
contains the main() function to run the game.
lander.c has two modes, one using -i, which is for improvements. Another
mode is the normal mode which is to mimick the specific lander given in
assignment 3. My lander was able to mimick all the properties of the given
lander and add some improvements to it in -i mode.My lander rotates,
falls under gravity after each 0.05 second, and creates thrust just like
the original lander. Also, the shape of the lander is kept the same to
compare behavior.
Improvements added :
1) Improved and intelligent Parsing of command line arguments
The lander given to us was efficent but it lacked to differentiate between
strings and numbers. The game run even if we put a string after the gravity
and thrust, -g and -t. It was an error that the lander was not able to
pick up.
My improved lander checks whether the [option] after -g and -t is
a number or not. If it is a number the game continues, if it's not a
number the game quits. It was an improvement required to make for the
game to function properly.
2) Asteriods moving randomly and attracted by gravity, and asteroids
can strike and destroy the lander.
Although the explosion is not visually done, the game can detect
asteroid collisoins between the lander and the asteroids that are
created randomly but are under the effect of gravity and their high
velocity. They fall near the lander, and the lander can crash with
the asteroids causing the game to quit.But the asteroids do not
collide with the landscape since it is not required at all. The lander
needs to escape the asteroids, that's the meaning of the game.
3) A timer is used to count time, of format mm:ss
A timer is used to count the time taken to land or any collisions. It
does not count time of hours, it only counts minutes and seconds.
However if the game contiues for more than an hour, the minutes will
increase from 60 and no hour section will be displayed. The timer ends
when a crash or landing is detected, or if the fuel runs out.
4) A fuel gauge is displayed at the top right, not nearly the corner. The
fuel gauge displays the current fuel level of the lander. It is a
rectangular meter and if the fuel runs out, the game will end printing
out of fuel. The lander is made to loose fuel after 100 X 0.05 seconds
if it floats under gravity and rotates. It's because the lander has
to use fuel to run its machines inside, lights and cabins and
electricity. If thrust is used, the lander looses fuel quicker than
normal.
5) Intersection detection is more accurate than sample lander
When the sample lander intersections and it crashes or lands,
its intersection is not accurate, the lander is not placed exactly on
the land segment that it intersects, part of the lander still inside or
outside the line segment. It varies, according to thrust and rotation.
My improved lander is slightly better than the sample lander in the sense
it detects intersection better using a different algorithm. My lander
is closer to the intersected line segment than the sample lander.