Maze Visualisation

Maze Visualisation is a Python application using Pygame to visualize popular maze solving algorithms like BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, and A*. This tool helps in understanding the mechanics of these algorithms by providing a visual representation of their paths and decisions in real-time.

Features

• Interactive Drawing: Draw walls, set start and end points to create custom mazes.
• Visualise Algorithms: Watch in real-time how algorithms like BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, and A* find their way through the maze.
• Performance Metrics: After the path is found, see metrics like "number of cells covered" to understand the efficiency of each algorithm.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• Pygame

Installation

1. Clone this repository:

git clone https://github.com/faw01/maze-visualisation.git

2. Navigate to the directory:

cd maze-visualisation

3. Install the required packages:

pip install pygame

Usage

Run the gui.py script:

python gui.py

Follow the on-screen instructions to draw a maze, select an algorithm, and visualize the pathfinding process.

Algorithms Explained

• Breadth-First Search (BFS): Explores the closest nodes first before moving further, guaranteeing the shortest path.
• Depth-First Search (DFS): Explores as far as possible before backtracking, not always resulting in the shortest path.
• Dijkstra: Finds the shortest path from the start to every position in the maze.
• A*: Uses heuristics to prioritize paths that seem more promising, often resulting in faster solutions than Dijkstra.

Future Enhancements

• Incorporate more algorithms like Kruskal, Prim, etc.
• Allow saving and loading of mazes.
• Improve performance for larger grid sizes.