3D Maze Ball (AutoIt3 + C)

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3D Maze Ball (AutoIt3 + C)

A hybrid of AutoIt3 and a native C DLL. AutoIt controls the logic and window, while C handles all graphics via raycasting directly to a pixel buffer. No third-party engines.

How it works

Two layers:

1. AutoIt3 (maze_ball.au3) — the game's brain. Handles keyboard input, calculates ball physics (inertia, bounces), creates the window, and runs the game loop.

2. C DLL (maze_rc.c) — the graphics engine. Raycasting (pseudo-3D like Wolfenstein), draws the sky with the sun, the floor with shadows, and walls. The ball is rendered as a 3D sphere with texture and highlights.

How AutoIt draws 3D

AutoIt itself is not fit for 3D, so we bypass it via a raw pixel buffer:

- In AutoIt, we create a DllStruct — an array of 307200 pixels (640x480).
- Pass a pointer to this memory to the C DLL.
- C fills the buffer with colors — all math at full CPU speed.
- When the frame is ready, AutoIt calls StretchDIBits from the Windows API — copies the buffer directly to the window.

Features

Lighting — sun in the south, shadows from walls fall to the north. Smooth gradients via multi-sampling, ambient occlusion at the base of the walls.

Physics — the ball has inertia, it rolls by itself after acceleration and slows down by friction. Bounces off a wall at the angle of reflection upon impact. The camera automatically turns into the corridor after turning.

Build and Run

1. Install MinGW (gcc).
2. Run build_maze.bat — it will build mazeball_rc.dll and the 32-bit version.
3. Run maze_ball.au3 via AutoIt3.

Controls: Up/Down arrows — accelerate/brake, Left/Right — turn (strafe in a dead end), Q or Esc — exit.
 

AutoIt3.7z maze_ball.au3