# ssloy/tinyraycaster

486 lines of C++: old-school FPS in a weekend

Repository: https://github.com/ssloy/tinyraycaster
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/tinyraycaster
Homepage: https://github.com/ssloy/tinyraycaster/wiki
Language: C++
License: WTFPL
License Family: permissive
Topics: c-plus-plus, picture, graphics, fps, rendering, raycasting, fun, images, pixels, computer-graphics, opengl, rendering-engine, engine, tutorial, 3d, 3d-graphics, cpp, rasterizer, learning, software-rendering
Last push: 2019-02-20T13:55:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2784, "days_push": 2751, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2044, forks 147 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:08.781196+00:00)

## What it is
A tiny 486-line C++ raycasting project that walks learners through building an old-school FPS in a weekend, accompanied by a detailed wiki tutorial. It is explicitly a teaching stub rather than a production game or engine.

## Use cases
- learn how raycasting engines work
- build a simple FPS from scratch in C++
- project-based learning for computer graphics
- understand software rendering without OpenGL
- teaching material for a graphics programming course
- starting point for a student game project

## When to choose
- you want a short, readable codebase to learn 3D rendering fundamentals
- you prefer project-based tutorials with a written wiki walkthrough
- you want a minimal blank slate to hack on rather than a full engine

## When to avoid
- you need a production-ready game engine or complete game
- you want modern rendering features, design patterns, or architecture guidance
- you expect active development or bug-free code

## Facets
- artifact type: learning-resource
- maturity: maintenance
- function: graphics, game-engine, simulation, developer-tools
- domain: graphics, education, tutorials
- platform: cpp, cross-platform
- tags: raycasting, software-rendering, fps, sdl2, project-based-learning, tutorial, computer-graphics, game-development, linux

## Member repositories
- ssloy/tinyraycaster (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:08.781196+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:58:04.877568+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ssloy/tinyraycaster (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:08.781196+00:00, sha 87c2872111bc)
  - homepage: https://github.com/ssloy/tinyraycaster/wiki (fetched 2026-08-29T10:38:08.422923+00:00, sha 3504bf1839dc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.