Efficient Field of Vision Algorithms for Large 2D Grids

Abstract

This paper presents new algorithms for Field of Vision (FOV) computation which improve on existing work at high resolutions. FOV refers to the set of locations that are visible from a specific position in a scene of a computer game. We review existing algorithms for FOV computation, describe their limitations, and present new algorithms which aim to address these limitations. We first present an algorithm which makes use of spatial data structures in a way which is new for FOV calculation. We then present a novel technique which updates a previously calculated FOV, rather than re-calculating an FOV from scratch. We compare our algorithms to existing FOV algorithms and show they provide substantial improvements to running time. Our algorithms provide the largest improvement over existing FOV algorithms at highresolutions, thus allowing the possibility of the creation of high resolution FOV-based video games.