FTC Virtual Robot Simulator

A Java-based, Swing-powered virtual robot simulator for FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams. Designed for driver practice and strategy training, the simulator offers:

• Field rendering
• Alliance-specific views
• Customizable robot visuals

In Development:

• Manual and gamepad controls with realistic acceleration and collision detection.

Features

• Field Rendering: High-fidelity FTC field backgrounds (dark/light) with the correct aspect ratio and an optional 180° flip for the Blue Alliance.
• Robot Visualization: Customizable robot body and wheel colors per alliance, semi-transparent shading, direction marker, and crisp double-precision rendering.
• Settings Dialog: Pre-launch configuration for drive type (Mecanum/Tank), field theme, and alliance color.
• Simulation Loop: Smooth 60 Hz update/render cycle via Swing Timer.
• Extendable Architecture: Clean separation of core (physics/model), ui (rendering/dialogs), and input (controls), with reverse-domain packaging (com.chrislemoine.simulator).

Prerequisites

• Java 17 (JDK)
• IntelliJ IDEA (or another Java IDE)
• JInput library for gamepad support (optional)
  Place jinput-*.jar and jinput-platform-*.jar in a libs/ folder

Project Structure

src/main/java/com/chrislemoine/simulator/
├── core/
│   ├── SimBot.java
│   ├── SimBotBuilder.java
│   ├── Simulator.java
│   └── DriveType.java
├── ui/
│   ├── FieldPanel.java
│   ├── SettingsDialog.java
│   ├── Background.java
│   └── Alliance.java
├── input/           (planned)
│   └── GamepadController.java
└── Main.java        (entry point)
src/main/resources/
└── background/season-2024-intothedeep/*.png

Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourorg/ftc-virtual-simulator.git
   cd ftc-virtual-simulator

2. Add dependencies
   • Copy jinput-*.jar and jinput-platform-*.jar into libs/.
   • In IntelliJ: File → Project Structure → Modules → Dependencies → + → JARs or directories… and select them.
3. Build and run
   • In IntelliJ, run Main.main().
   • Or via command line:

     javac -d out $(find src -name "*.java")
     java -cp out:libs/jinput-2.0.7.jar:libs/jinput-platform-2.0.7.jar com.chrislemoine.simulator.Main

4. Usage
   • Configure drive type, field background, and alliance in the settings dialog.
   • Use keyboard (W/A/S/D + Q/E) or gamepad (when implemented) to drive the robot.

Next Steps

• Manual & Gamepad Controls: Implement KeyboardController and complete GamepadController integration.
• Collision Detection: Prevent the robot from exiting field boundaries or colliding with obstacles.
• Simulation Speed Control: Add a GUI slider to adjust time dilation.
• Autonomous Sequencing: Build an action/command DSL for scripted routines.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please fork the repo, create a feature branch, and submit a pull request. For major changes, open an issue to discuss your ideas first.