GLSandbox is a tool that I developed to help out on my OpenGL projects. I seem to spend a great deal of time tweaking blending parameters and fiddling with alpha testing to get things to look right.

This normally takes the form of:

• Tweak the blend/alpha code
• Recompile
• Fix any new errors
• Recompile
• Try to align the objects in the scene so that specific polygons overlap and I can see the result of the blend / alpha test
• Tweak the code again
• Recompile
• Wish that I had kept the parameters that I tried four or five builds ago

Now there’s an easier way.

GLSandbox allows quick, simple and on-the-fly adjustment of appearance, blending and alpha test parameters. Real-time results show you the exact result of operations, enabling you to know instantly which functions and values to use to achieve the effect you want.

Implemented Features

• Real-Time feedback from most operations. (Selection of textures and texture parameters takes place in a separate dialog.)
• Each polygon has it’s own properties including, Color, Size, Position, Texture, Blend, Enviroment and Alpha test parameters.
• Support for TGA, PCX, BMP and SBM textures.
• Orthographic and Perspective view modes.
• Mouse control of polygon position (2D) or view angle (3D) in the render window.
• Loading and Saving of scenes.

ToDo List

• Mouse selection of polygons in the render window.

Known Issues

• Captions and labels do not scale well on systems with larger fonts. GLSandbox is no longer under development. The code uses old outdated GL1.1 calls, but I’m leaving a pgae up for anyone who might still want to use the tool.