Skip to main content

Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[Unreleased]​

[Milestone 3] - 2025-12-25​

Added​

Component System Architecture​

  • TransformComponent for independent transform management (local/world)
  • ScaleComponent for unit-based sizing with dirty flag tracking
  • AabbColliderComponent for world-space bounding boxes
  • ModelAabbComponent for original model AABB storage
  • LevelBoundsBehaviorComponent for configurable boundary reactions (bounce, restitution)
  • Automatic AABB capture from SceneNode meshes via onAttach()

Game Systems​

  • Move2DSystem for 2D physics with rotation, velocity integration, and dampening
  • ScaleSystem for applying unit-based scaling from ScaleComponent
  • BoundsUpdateSystem for updating AABB colliders from world transforms
  • LevelBoundsBehaviorSystem for boundary collisions with bounce behavior
  • SceneSyncSystem for synchronizing gameplay transforms with scene graph
  • TransformClearSystem for clearing dirty flags at end of frame
  • ScaleClearSystem for clearing scale dirty flags at end of frame
  • ProjectilePoolSystem for efficient projectile object pooling

Level System​

  • Level class with configurable world bounds
  • AABB-based arena boundaries
  • Root SceneNode reference for level hierarchy
  • Unit-aware bounds configuration via setBounds()

Gameplay Components​

  • Aim2DComponent for direction tracking and firing frequency
  • ShootComponent for projectile firing with configurable cooldown and speed

Rendering Assets​

  • Ellipse 2D shape primitive for projectile and particle rendering
  • Configurable width, height, and segment count

Utility​

  • Colors struct with comprehensive color palette as vec4f (RGBA)
  • Standard colors (Black, White, Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Cyan, Magenta)
  • Grayscale variants (LightGray, Gray, DarkGray)
  • Extended palette (Coral, Salmon, Orange, Turquoise, Gold, etc.)
  • withW() method for alpha channel modification

ImGui Widgets​

  • LogWidget: "None" scope option to completely disable logging (default)
  • GamepadWidget: Settings panel with side-by-side stick configuration
  • Left/Right stick deadzone and inversion in two-column layout
  • Settings panel initially expanded by default

Examples​

  • spaceship_shooting demo showcasing twin-stick shooter mechanics
  • Complete projectile pool integration with arena boundaries
  • Debug gizmo visualization for aim and velocity directions

Changed​

SceneNodeComponent​

  • BREAKING: setSize() method removed - use ScaleComponent instead
  • onAttach() now automatically captures AABB from SceneNode mesh

GameWorld​

  • BREAKING: Constructor no longer requires Scene* parameter
  • Systems must be explicitly registered for game logic

Move2DComponent​

  • BREAKING: position() method removed (transforms managed by TransformComponent)
  • BREAKING: rotationAngle() renamed to currentRotationAngle()
  • Component now stores only physics state, not position

Fixed​

  • Forward declaration conflicts between Component and GameObject modules
  • Circular dependency in module imports resolved via shared headers

[Milestone 2] - 2025-12-16​

Added​

Engine & Tooling​

  • FramePacer class for frame rate control with configurable target FPS (#111)
  • FrameStats structure for frame timing information (frame time, idle time, work time)
  • FpsMetrics class for frame rate analysis and statistics
  • Stopwatch high-resolution timer utility

Scene Graph & Camera System​

  • CameraSceneNode for camera integration into scene hierarchy
  • TransformType enum for selective transform inheritance (Translation, Rotation, Scale) in helios.math.transform
  • mat4::decompose() member function for extracting transform components
  • mat4::transpose() member function for matrix transposition
  • transformTypeMatch() helper for bitmask flag testing
  • lookAt() and lookAtLocal() methods for camera orientation
  • onWorldTransformUpdate() virtual callback for transform change notifications
  • Camera-follows-object pattern via scene graph parenting

Game System (helios.engine.game)​

  • GameObject base class for game entities with GUID identification
  • GameWorld container for game object management and updates
  • CommandBuffer for deferred command execution pattern
  • InputSnapshot for capturing input state per frame
  • InputHandler interface for input-to-command translation
  • setSize() method for unit-based object sizing

Units System (helios.core.units)​

  • Unit enum (Meter, Centimeter, Seconds, MilliSeconds)
  • Conversion utilities between unit types
  • Standard unit: 1 Meter = 100 Centimeters (cm)
  • Time measurement standard: Seconds

Gamepad Input System​

  • GamepadSettings class for per-controller configuration
  • DeadzoneStrategy abstract interface for input normalization
  • RadialDeadzoneStrategy implementation for circular deadzone handling
  • Per-stick deadzone thresholds (0.0 to 0.9)
  • Individual axis inversion (X/Y for left and right sticks)
  • InputAdapter::gamepadSettings() for runtime configuration access
  • InputManager::inputAdapter() non-const overload for settings modification

ImGui Integration Layer​

  • ImGuiBackend abstraction for platform backends
  • ImGuiGlfwOpenGLBackend concrete implementation for GLFW/OpenGL
  • ImGuiOverlay singleton manager with DockSpace support
  • ImGuiWidget base interface for custom widgets
  • Semi-transparent window backgrounds (configurable)

ImGui Widgets​

  • FpsWidget for frame rate display and target FPS control
  • GamepadWidget for real-time gamepad state visualization (#114)
    • Integrated settings panel for deadzone and axis inversion
    • Real-time stick position and button state display
    • Connection status indicator
    • Multi-controller support (1-4)
  • LogWidget for scrollable log console with advanced filtering
    • Per-scope message buffers (1000 entries each)
    • Filter by log level and scope via ComboBox
    • Text search filter
    • Auto-scroll with pause on manual scroll
    • Scope-specific buffering on scope switch
  • CameraWidget for camera parameter control
    • Position, LookAt target, and Up vector editing
    • Local/World space toggle for transforms
    • FOV, Near/Far plane, and Aspect Ratio controls
    • Quick view presets (Front, Top, Side, Isometric)
    • Reset to initial values
  • MainMenuWidget for application settings
    • Window transparency control (slider + presets)
    • Docking toggle
    • Style themes (Dark, Light, Classic)
    • Settings persistence via imgui.ini

Logging System​

  • LogSink abstract interface with self-registering type identifiers
  • ConsoleSink for stdout output
  • ImGuiLogSink for LogWidget integration
  • LogManager with enable/disable sinks by type identifier
  • Scope-based filtering support

Changed​

Camera Architecture​

  • BREAKING: Cameras are now managed via CameraSceneNode instead of standalone Camera objects
  • Viewport now holds CameraSceneNode* instead of Camera*
  • View matrix computed from inverse of CameraSceneNode::worldTransform()
  • Projection matrix remains responsibility of Camera (optics)

Logging System​

  • Refactored to use self-registering sinks
  • Sinks define their own TYPE_ID string instead of central SinkFlags enum
  • LogManager::enableSink("console") / disableSink("imgui") API
  • Extensible without modifying core logging code

Core & Rendering​

  • BREAKING: Enum counter entries renamed to size_ (#34)
  • BREAKING: MeshData merged with Mesh (#22)
  • UniformValueMap::float_val return type refactored (#33)
  • Material ownership structure improved (#13)

Fixed​

  • Potential nullptr dereference in MaterialData (#16)

Documentation​

  • Added CONVENTIONS.md with LHS coordinate system documentation
  • Matrix storage format (column-major) documentation
  • View matrix construction explanation
  • Units system documentation (helios.core.units)
  • Updated API documentation for new modules
  • Example code comments improved with section headers

[Milestone 1] - 2025-10-21​

Added​

  • Application layer with event system
  • Input manager for keyboard, mouse, and gamepad
  • Low-level API subsystems integration (GLFW, GLAD)
  • Basic rendering pipeline
  • Scene graph with transform hierarchy
  • Camera system with projection management
  • Material and shader system
  • Mesh and geometry handling
  • Math library (vectors, matrices, transforms)
  • Scoped logger implementation (#8)
    • Default loggers for specific scopes (e.g., helios.rendering.shader)
    • LogManager for centralized logger access

Infrastructure​

  • CMake build system with C++23 modules support
  • Cross-platform support (Windows, Linux, macOS)
  • Unit testing framework with Google Test
  • Example applications (simple cube rendering, game controller input)

Release Notes​

Milestone 2 Breaking Changes​

The following breaking changes are included in this release:

Camera System Refactor​

Cameras are now integrated into the scene graph via CameraSceneNode:

// Before (Milestone 1)
auto camera = std::make_shared<Camera>();
viewport->setCamera(camera.get());
camera->setPosition({0, 0, 5});
camera->lookAt({0, 0, 0}, {0, 1, 0});

// After (Milestone 2)
auto camera = std::make_unique<Camera>();
auto cameraNode = std::make_unique<CameraSceneNode>(std::move(camera));
auto* nodePtr = scene->addNode(std::move(cameraNode));
viewport->setCameraSceneNode(nodePtr);
nodePtr->setTranslation({0, 0, 5});
nodePtr->lookAt({0, 0, 0}, {0, 1, 0});

Migration: Replace Camera usage with CameraSceneNode. Use scene graph methods (translate, rotate) instead of direct camera manipulation.

Transform Inheritance​

Child nodes can now selectively inherit transform components using helios::math::TransformType:

import helios.math.transform;

// Camera follows parent position only, maintains own orientation
cameraNode->setInheritance(helios::math::TransformType::Translation);

// Full inheritance (default)
childNode->setInheritance(helios::math::TransformType::All);

// Combine flags
node->setInheritance(helios::math::TransformType::Translation | helios::math::TransformType::Rotation);

Enum Sentinel Naming (#34)​

All enum counter/size entries have been renamed to size_:

// Before
enum class Key { A, B, C, COUNT };

// After
enum class Key { A, B, C, size_ };

MeshData Removal (#22)​

MeshData has been merged into Mesh:

// Before
MeshData meshData = ...;
Mesh mesh(meshData);

// After
Mesh mesh = ...;

Material Ownership (#13)​

Materials now own their shader and material data:

// Before
MaterialData materialData(shader, properties);
Material material(materialData);

// After
auto shader = std::make_shared<Shader>(...);
auto properties = std::make_shared<MaterialProperties>(...);
auto material = std::make_shared<Material>(shader, properties);