Getting Started with Nova-3D

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following installed:

• CMake ≥ 3.21
• C++23-capable compiler: GCC 13+, Clang 16+, or MSVC 2022
• Git
• SDL3 and OpenGL development libraries (on Linux: libsdl3-dev, libgl-dev)
• The CNA and sharp-runtime sibling repositories checked out alongside nova-3d

Clone and Build

Linux / macOS

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/openeggbert/nova-3d.git
cd nova-3d

# Configure with CMake
cmake -S . -B build

# Build the Hello World example
cmake --build build --target Nova3DHelloWorld

# Run it
./build/Nova3DHelloWorld

Windows

git clone https://github.com/openeggbert/nova-3d.git
cd nova-3d

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build --target Nova3DHelloWorld
.\build\Nova3DHelloWorld.exe

Run the 3D Demo

cmake --build build --target Nova3DCube3DDemo
./build/Nova3DCube3DDemo

This opens a window with the Cube 3D demo: a 3D box rendered through the full Nova-3D stack.

Hello World — Code Walkthrough

Here is the minimal Nova-3D application. The examples/ directory contains this and more.

#include <Nova3D/Nova3D.h>
#include <iostream>

class HelloWorldApp : public Nova3D::Application {
public:
    explicit HelloWorldApp(Nova3D::Context* context)
        : Nova3D::Application(context) {}

    void Start() override {
        std::cout << "Nova-3D Hello World\n";
        GetContext()->GetEngine()->Exit();
    }
};

int main() {
    Nova3D::Context context;
    HelloWorldApp app(&context);
    return app.Run();
}

What this does:

1. Creates a Nova3D::Context — the top-level owner of all engine subsystems.
2. Creates an Application subclass and passes it the context.
3. Calls app.Run() — this initializes the engine, calls Start(), runs the main loop, and shuts down.
4. In Start(), it prints a message and exits immediately via Engine::Exit().

Next Steps