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core-engine

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C++ Coding Framework for Windows, Linux, macOS and Browser games

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![header](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MausGames/core-engine/main/material/core_header.png)

# Core Engine

[![software license: zlib](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MausGames/core-engine/main/material/readme/badge_license_software.svg)](LICENSE.txt)
[![content license: CC BY](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MausGames/core-engine/main/material/readme/badge_license_content.svg)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

The Core Engine is an extensive C++ framework based on the [SDL](https://libsdl.org/) library for **Windows, Linux, macOS and Browser games** and compatible with **OpenGL (2.0 - 4.6), OpenGL ES (2.0 - 3.2), WebGL (1.0 - 2.0)** and [ANGLE](https://angleproject.org/).

It is **designed to be supportive, versatile and powerful**, and to dynamically use efficient fallback methods where specific system features are not available.

## Features

### 📐 Architecture

- **Unconventional but Efficient:** no default entity-component system, no default scene-graph, no default renderer, no redundant features, no redundant file formats, anything can be added on top
- **Dual-Threaded Low-Latency Architecture:** main-thread and support-thread, sequential execution of move and render
- **Strict Separation of Engine and Game:** even possible to reset the engine at any time or restart the game without restarting the process

### 💻 System

- **Windows and Events:** resizable window mode, exclusive fullscreen mode, window configuration (icon, title, progress), focus loss detection
- **Displays:** resolutions, refresh rates, hot plugging, high DPI support
- **Threads:** precise update rate, recursive work queue
- **Time:** delta smoothing, speed configuration, simple timers (single float), complex timers (ticks/loops, state)

### 🌈 Graphics

- **OpenGL, OpenGL ES, WebGL:** extension-based feature selection, forward-compatibility with tons of fallbacks, state caching, explicit synchronization, ANGLE support (DirectX, Vulkan, Metal)
- **Render State Handling:** camera and view frustum, lighting (simple), stencil testing, scissor testing, conservative rasterization, canonical aspect ratio (for sizing viewport and UI)
- **Frame Buffers:** multi output-color support, invalidation, MSAA, [EQAA](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Glossary:Anti-aliasing_(AA)#Enhanced_Quality_Anti-Aliasing_.28EQAA.29) (AMD), [CSAA](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Glossary:Anti-aliasing_(AA)#Coverage_Sampling_Anti-Aliasing_.28CSAA.29) (Nvidia), [CMAA](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Glossary:Anti-aliasing_(AA)#Conservative_Morphological_Anti-Aliasing_.28CMAA.29) (Intel)
- **Data Buffers:** persistent mapping, multi-buffering, explicit orphaning, vertex format spec configuration (interleaved or separate)
- **Models:** custom model format (for now), pre and post-transform vertex cache optimization, attribute packing, acceleration structure generation
- **Textures:** PNG (flexible), WebP (fast), animated WebP, pixel-format conversion, block compression ([DXT](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S3_Texture_Compression), [BC7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S3_Texture_Compression#BC6H_and_BC7)), mipmap generation, async upload, volume textures (simple), cube textures (simple)
- **Shaders:** support for various GLSL shader types (vertex, tessellation, geometry, fragment, compute), parallel compilation, shader caching, [driver blob caching](https://registry.khronos.org/EGL/extensions/ANDROID/EGL_ANDROID_blob_cache.txt) (EGL), include system, compatibility layer, utility library, dynamic code injection, error and stats logging
- **Fonts:** hinting, kerning, text and glyph layouting
- **Async Screenshots**

### 🎺 Audio

- **OpenAL:** spatial mixing, state caching, operation batching, audio modes (mono, speakers, headphones), audio effects (reverb), [HRTF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function), resampler handling, device change and error recovery
- **Music Files:** [Opus](https://opus-codec.org/), threaded streaming, seamless transitioning and looping, music player system, pitch/speed controls
- **Sound Effects:** Opus, Wave, [A-law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-law_algorithm) and [μ-law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9C-law_algorithm) memory compression, sound categorization, pause and resume

### 🕹️ Input

- **Mouse:** cursor graphics, visibility, keyboard and gamepad controls
- **Keyboard:** [IME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Input_method) support, screen keyboard support
- **Joysticks/Gamepads:** aggregation, hot plugging, rumble, led colors, both location and label-specific button testing
- **Touch:** for mobile and desktop (including Steam Deck)
- **Replay Files**: deterministically record and play back input events

### 🔬 Debug

- **HTML Log:** colorful, thread-safe, with extensive system and resource logging
- **CPU and GPU Performance Monitoring:** total and scope timings, total memory
- **Pipeline Statistics:** vertex and fragment shader stats, culling stats, draw call and instance numbers, resource bind numbers
- **Realtime Value and Texture Inspection**
- **GPU Object Labels:** for driver logging and [RenderDoc](https://renderdoc.org/)
- **Debug Drawing:** collision volumes, wireframe
- **Debug Input:** show debug overlay (ImGui, native), show debug drawing, frame stepping, explicit hot reloading
- **Debug Visualizers:** [Natvis](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/debugger/create-custom-views-of-native-objects), [LLDB](https://lldb.llvm.org/use/variable.html)
- **Crash Dumps:** Windows (full), Linux (custom)
- **Unit Tests**: [Doctest](https://github.com/doctest/doctest/)
- **Pedantic Checking:** assertions everywhere, code sanitizer support (undefined behaviour, address, leak), floating-point exceptions

### 🏆 Platform

- **Dynamic Backend Loading:** select and use backend without static linking, Steamworks, Epic Online Services, Discord (only rich presence)
- **User Management:** user name and ID, preferred language, ownership and connection check, per-user save folder (cloud compatible)
- **Achievements and Stats:** regular and progressable achievements
- **Leaderboards:** global and friend leaderboards, user score and rank, score paging, append extra data, attach uploaded files
- **Rich Presence:** localization, basic [Steam Timeline](https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/timeline) support
- **File Sharing:** public upload and download, download progress

### 📚 Resource Management

- **Resource Handles:** reference counting, deferred unloading, indices instead of pointers, custom configuration and permutation
- **Asynchronous and Parallel Loading**
- **Packaging and Mounting**
- **Dynamic Indirections/Proxies**
- **Hot Reloading**

### 🧠 Memory Management

- **Memory Pools:** batch allocations, address sorting, memory arenas/heaps
- **Static Allocations:** dynamically construct objects in predefined memory buffers without pointer-dereferencing on access
- **Special Allocations:** zeroed, aligned, dynamic (realloc), temporary (very fast)

### ⚙️ Configuration

- **Simple and Fast INI Files**
- **Command Line Handling**
- **Environment Variable Handling**
- **Project Specific Settings**

### 🌍 Localization

- **Language Files:** simple key-value format, custom properties, value-placeholder assembly
- **Realtime Language Switching**
- **UTF-8 Support**
- **Hot Reloading**

### 🚀 Game Objects

- **3D Objects:** non-uniform scaling, two-vector rotation (quaternion-based)
- **2D Objects:** screen layouting (anchor/center, alignment), depth ordering
- **Particle System:** custom animation and interaction handling, frame-rate independent spawning
- **Precise Collision Detection:** 3-level cluster hierarchy, down to triangle-triangle and ray-triangle testing, intersection points, collision-pair tracking, separation between visual geometry and collision geometry (for simplification)
- **Instancing/Batching**

### 📜 Menu Objects

- **Labels:** outlining, automatic resolution-dependent resizing, pixel aligned rendering, fast and lightweight
- **Richtext:** same as labels but heavier, inline formatting, per-character animations, automatic line wrapping
- **Buttons**
- **Check Boxes**
- **Selection Boxes**
- **Text Input Boxes:** input concealing (for passwords)
- **View/Scroll Boxes:** box culling

### 🔢 Math

- **Vectors:** 2D, 3D, 4D/quaterions, tons of utilities
- **Matrices:** 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, other variants, also tons of utilities
- **Color Space Conversion**: RGB, HSV, YIQ, YUV, YCbCr, Luminance
- **Cubic Hermite Splines**: calculate position and direction, control tangents and acceleration, with refinement step
- **Points:** with variable type and dimension
- **Interpolation and Stepping**
- **Rounding and Aligning**
- **Value Packing:** half-float, various GPU formats, other general-purpose formats
- **Bit and Byte Operations:** counting, rotating, reversing, converting

### ✏️ Utilities

- **Containers:** list (contiguous), set (contiguous, unsorted/sorted), map (contiguous, unsorted/sorted, string-key optimization, access caching)
- **Random Numbers:** [PCG-XSH-RR 64/32](https://www.pcg-random.org/), individual state objects
- **Compression:** [Zstandard](https://facebook.github.io/zstd/), also simple key-based in-place scrambling
- **Hashing:** [xxHash](https://xxhash.com/) (primary), [Murmur 2+3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MurmurHash), [FNV-1a](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowler%E2%80%93Noll%E2%80%93Vo_hash_function), [CRC-32](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check), string hashing, compile-time hashing, hash mixing
- **String Functions:** transformations, tokenization, safe string copy, string building, fast value/string conversions, path extractions, and a lot more
- **Time Functions:** local and UTC, formatting
- **Scopes and Smart Pointers**
- **File Handling:** chunk-based archive container class, safe file writing (temp + move), file memory mapping, various file and directory operations, recursive directory creation and enumeration, long path awareness (Windows)
- **Process Handling:** application paths, application stats (CPU and GPU memory), dynamic library loading
- **Operating System:** system paths, system stats (CPU and GPU memory, disk space), environment and hardware detections
- **Synchronization**: recursive, non-recursive and read-write locks (spin-locks, mutexes), atomics
- **Inline Text Formatting**: create formatted text without buffers or allocations
- **Inline Preprocessor Testing**: check for any preprocessor symbol like a regular boolean
- **... and everything from SDL**

### 🛠️ Tools

- **Launcher:** Windows (application, script), Linux (script), Browser (page), for custom pre-launch processing
- **Console Commands:** file compression and decompression, packaging, replaying
- **Project Template:** default resources, update scripts
- **Blender Export**
- **Texture Optimization and Conversion**
- **Shader Reference Validation**
- **Automatic Code Signing (Windows)**
- **Debug Data Separation (Linux)**

### 🚧 Building

- **Project Files:** Visual Studio (Windows), CMake/CLion (Linux, [Emscripten](https://emscripten.org/)), Xcode (macOS)
- **Compiler Support:** MSVC, Clang with LLD, GCC (unmaintained), usually only the newest versions
- **Architecture Support:** x86 (SSE), ARM (NEON), WebAssembly, both 32-bit and 64-bit
- **Eclectic C++:** mix of modern features and traditional coding style
- **Optimized for Size and Precision:** no fast-math allowed
- **Native Wayland Support (Linux)**
- **Native Apple Silicon Support (macOS)**
- **Private Nintendo Switch™ Support (not open source)**
- **Own Dependencies with Custom Modifications:** [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/core-library), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/core-library), no container or old distribution required for Linux builds

## Notes

- Please understand that pull requests are currently not accepted, as this engine is mainly a public personal project and learning experience.
- Some code changes are not yet available as they are still work-in-progress or confidential. There is no guarantee that everything will always work out-of-the-box on other peoples machines.
- Pre-built dependencies can be downloaded with the **complete_repository.bat/.sh** script or manually built from the **Core Library** repository ([Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/core-library), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/core-library)).
- If you have any questions, please feel free to open an issue or [contact me](https://www.maus-games.at/) directly.

## Projects

| Name | Description | Links |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 🚀 [Eigengrau](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1624320/Eigengrau/) | Colorful shoot 'em up with varied and diverse gameplay | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/project-one), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/project-one) |
| 🍂 [Last Fall](https://mausgames.itch.io/last-fall) | Tricky arcade puzzler made for [Ludum Dare 49](https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/49/last-fall) | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/last-fall), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/last-fall) |
| 🦑 [Ink Jump](https://mausgames.itch.io/ink-jump) | Reflective precision platformer made on [Mi'pu'mi][1] day  | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/ink-jump), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/ink-jump) |
| ⛰️ [Endless Journey](https://mausgames.itch.io/endless-journey) | Spiritual arcade climber made on [Mi'pu'mi][1] day | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/endless-journey), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/endless-journey) |
| 🪩 [Disco Rock](https://gamejolt.com/games/disco-rock/18996/) | Very simple endless-runner inspired by the 70s disco era | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/disco-rock), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/disco-rock) |
| 🛹 Flip It | Competitive territory game made on [Mi'pu'mi][1] day | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/flip-it), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/flip-it) |
| 🥂 Party Raider | Multiplayer platform shooter made on [Mi'pu'mi][1] day | [Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/MausGames/party-raider), [GitHub](https://github.com/MausGames/party-raider) |

<br>

[1]: https://mipumi.com

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