Ok, this is a work in progress. I am programming a raytracer in c++. I will post a first update tonight, with diffuse shading. I will be using two lights, and will mostly be working along with the method described at www.flipcode.com, an excellent tutorial for raytracer programming.

This will include diffuse lighting, reflections, phong effects, refractions, soft shadows, fixed grid spatial subdivisions, and diffuse reflections.

Then I will do some research and apply things like LDR Image Based lighting, Monte Carlo GI, caustics, and KD-Tree tracing algorithms. Finally, I will add skylights, object lights, and, possibly, polygon handling on basic things like cubes, cylinders, and spheres.

Also, I will be posting up sections of my code for help and stuff. I know a bunch of you peeps are programmers, so I can use the help (im 13 :p).

As for the algorithms, I will just be applying the best ones I find, since I have very little knowledge of linear algebra, and the only formula I know is the reflection one: R= V*2 - (V dotproduct N) * N

Alright, then, update tonight.

EDIT: I am biting off a heck of a lot more then I can chew. But I will not quit. I am not a quitter

cya later,
Matt