bobbyanguelov/esoterica

Esoterica Engine

Esoterica Prototype Game Engine

Esoterica Engine is an MIT licensed prototype game engine framework. It’s intended as a technology demonstrator, an educational tool and an R&D framework. It contains a lot of the boilerplate machinery required for resource management, serialization, gameplay, etc. It provides a lot of references for how to potentially build a resource system, basic reflection and a AAA-level animation system. It could be a good framework for experimenting with game, AI, renderer tech or as a teaching aid for how to build game engines. Additionally, if you are more interested in building your own engine, Esoterica is a really good starting point.

Important Note: Stability!

Esoterica is a prototype engine that's being developed in our spare time and as such there will likely be bugs and crashes (primarily with the tooling side). It is not intended as a stable production tool. If you encounter any crashes or bugs, please file issues and we'll try to get to them as soon as we can.

Help Needed: Rendering + Test Assets

There are no examples of any of the tech supplied unfortunately since we do not have any assets that I can release publically. We are looking for folks that can create some test assets that we can distribute with the engine (e.g., a character model and some animations). We can then use those assets to provide a set of examples of the various tools and features.

We are also looking for a someone to help us build out the renderer. More details can be found here: https://www.esotericaengine.com/contribute

What's included

• Basic core of a game engine (serialization, math, string handling, logging, etc...)
• Libclang based c++ reflection and code-generation
• Compiler based resource system with hot-reloading
• Hybrid Actor/ECS object model - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjEsB611kxs
• AAA quality high performance animation graph system - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-T3Mk5oDHI&t=5427s
• Basic animation compression
• Powered Ragdoll implmentation using PhysX articulations
• Basic editor infrastructure and tooling using DearImgui

Screenshots

Resource Pipeline	Basic Editor

Animation Graph	Ragdoll Editor

Requirements

• Visual Studio 2022 (17.4+)
• FBX SDK

Building Esoterica

Esoterica uses vanilla msbuild for its build system. There are a set of property sheets that control all the build settings for Esoterica in the "code/property sheets" folder.

1. Download the external dependencies and extract into the Esoterica root folder (X:/Esoterica Path/). You should end up with 'X:/Esoterica Path/External/'.
2. Download and install the FBX SDK (required for editor) - https://www.autodesk.com/developer-network/platform-technologies/fbx-sdk-2020-2-1
3. Open the solution "Esoterica.sln"
4. REBUILD the "Esoterica.Scripts.Reflect" project (under the "0. Scripts" solution folder) - this will generate all the Esoterica reflection data
5. Build the "1. Applications" solution folder - this will build all the applications needed for Esoterica to run.

Applications

Easiest way to get started, is just set the "Esoterica.Applications.Editor" as the startup project and hit run. If you want to run the engine, use the "Esoterica.Applications.Engine" project with the "-map data://path_to_map.map" argument.

• Engine - this is the standalone Esoterica engine client
• Editor - This is the Esoterica editor
• Resource Server - This is a standalone application that will compile and provide resources to the various Esoterica applications
• Reflector - This generates the Esoterica reflection data
• Resource Compiler - This processes resource compilation requests
• Tester - Empty console app used for random testing

Thirdparty projects used

• EASTL
• DearImgui
• EnkiTS
• iniparser
• PCG
• xxhash
• rpmalloc
• concurrentqueue
• MPack
• Game Networking Sockets
• PhysX
• cgltf
• pfd
• sqlite
• subprocess
• optick

These middleware packages are also integrated but require a license to use (so they are disabled by default)

• Live++
• Superluminal
• Navpower

Extra Info

If you use the SmartCommandLineArguments plugin for VS then there are supplied saved arguments to help you start the engine.

esoterica's Issues

Log Removed Global Transitions

When a global transition is removed because a conduit exists, I think this should be logged as a warning. Otherwise the user may be confused about priority.

Animation Graph Crashes on Parameter Renaming

hi, I encountered a crash issue caused by parameter node renaming.
Below is the source code in AnimationGraphWorkspace::RenameParameter function
it should be " if (pControlParameter != nullptr) "

Assertion in Editor Application in EditorUI::DrawEditorToolContents no longer persists.

Assertion break when i launch the merged and resolved version of your newest commit.

The begin count is no longer 2 and can vary from 2 to 4.
But it seems that it has no observable effects on using the Editor as i comment this line of assertion.

Member order optimization

Consider ordering members based on size: largest to smallest. This often reduces padding thus reducing memory usage and improving cache efficiency. I think I have seen this in a few spots, here is one:

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/Graph/Animation_RuntimeGraph_RootMotionDebugger.h

Line 50 in 9aef249

Transform m_rootMotionDelta;

Minor issue.

Wrong Arguments

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/Graph/Nodes/Animation_RuntimeGraphNode_Vectors.cpp

Line 106 in 8486c60

context.SetOptionalNodePtrFromIndex( m_inputVectorValueNodeIdx, pNode->m_pInputXValueNode );

Can you make this engine on linux?

I really want this engine on linux

Minor layer compiler naming mismatch

Esoterica/Code/EngineTools/Animation/ToolsGraph/Nodes/Animation_ToolsGraphNode_Layers.cpp

Line 231 in a30f2bb

auto compiledStateMachineNodeIdx = pInputNode->Compile( context );

Naming problem. Should be something like inputNodeIndex.

Unused Variable

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/Graph/Nodes/Animation_RuntimeGraphNode_Transition.cpp

Line 294 in 392927c

Seconds transitionDuration = pSettings->m_duration;

Jetbrains Resharper does a nice coloring to show unused variables.

Assertion in imgui when running the editor

I'm hitting an assert inside imgui.cpp when running the editor app.

It happens in both Debug and Release. The size vector is 588.0,-25.0. Not sure if this is an imgui bug, or if imgui is used incorrectly. The engine app without the editor runs fine and the resource server also seems to be running fine. Any ideas?

BTW, to compile the engine I had to fix a warning in a lambda on line 71 in ResourceCompiler_RenderTexture.cpp (not all paths return a value) because it was treated as an error.

Unused variable

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/AnimationBoneMask.cpp

Line 186 in 9aef249

float featherWeight = startWeight;

Missing resource in log when starting editor (prototype_3cs_minimal.map)

I followed the instructions and put data as said in the description, but got this message:

Error: Source file (D:\Projects\Esoterica\Data\maps\prototype_3cs_minimal.map) doesnt exist!

Seems like it is supposed to be in EsotericaData.7z, but not sure about it. Am I missing something?

Pose node duration

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/Graph/Nodes/Animation_RuntimeGraphNode_Pose.cpp

Line 78 in a30f2bb

PoseNode::InitializeInternal( context, initialTime );

m_duration = 1.0f / 30.0f;

Issue Building Esoterica

I have been trying to get Esoterica to compile with the 5 step plan, but I am getting build errors at step 4.
_{REBUILD the "Esoterica.Scripts.Reflect" project (under the "0. Scripts" solution folder) - this will generate all the Esoterica reflection data.}

I've added the build log as attachment.

I am still a novice at this sort of stuff so I apologise for the inconvenience.

Output-Build.txt

Dead link to external dependencies (Readme)

The gdrive file linked (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cHaWZOBjjVvwwtgU7tl16_im3ylUjFF1/view) can't be downloaded anymore

Min/Max not needed for LCM

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/AnimationSyncTrack.cpp

Line 71 in 2f82fe8

int32_t const minEvents = Math::Min( numEventsTrack0, numEventsTrack1 );

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_common_multiple

Graph Crash

This graph crashes for me.
ErinGraph.zip

 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNode::Shutdown(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 120	C++
>	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNodes::StateNode::ShutdownInternal(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 91	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNode::Shutdown(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 125	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNodes::TransitionNode::ShutdownInternal(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 342	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNode::Shutdown(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 125	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNodes::StateMachineNode::UpdateTransitionStack(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 247	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphNodes::StateMachineNode::Update(EE::Animation::GraphContext & context) Line 257	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::GraphInstance::EvaluateGraph(const EE::Seconds deltaTime, const EE::Transform & startWorldTransform, EE::Physics::Scene * pPhysicsScene, bool resetGraphState) Line 323	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::AnimationGraphComponent::EvaluateGraph(EE::Seconds deltaTime, const EE::Transform & characterWorldTransform, EE::Physics::Scene * pPhysicsScene) Line 58	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::AnimationSystem::UpdateAnimGraphs(const EE::EntityWorldUpdateContext & ctx, const EE::Transform & characterWorldTransform) Line 190	C++
 	Esoterica.Engine.Runtime.dll!EE::Animation::AnimationSystem::Update(const EE::EntityWorldUpdateContext & ctx) Line 103	C++

Cannot Edit Virtual Parameters

DrawControlParameterEditor returns a bool about editing a virtual parameter, but it is ignored. Maybe use [[nodiscard]].

External Zip File should update

some dep like ISPCTextureCompressor not found in it.

Editor crash on Create New Resource

This happens for:

• Animation Bone Mask
• Animation Clip
• Animation Skeleton
• Physics Ragdoll

TVector<ResourceDatabase::ResourceEntry*> const& ResourceDatabase::GetAllResourcesOfType( ResourceTypeID typeID ) const
    {
        EE_ASSERT( m_pTypeRegistry->IsRegisteredResourceType( typeID ) );
        return m_resourcesPerType.at( typeID ); // <- Fails with "invalid hash_map<K, T> key" error
    }

2022-08-31.13-07-02.webm

Event weighting?

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/Graph/Animation_RuntimeGraph_Events.cpp

Line 166 in a30f2bb

UpdateWeights( eventRange0, blendWeight );

Is this backwards? When the blend weight is 0, shouldn't events from source0 be fully weighted?

Live++ Bridge enabled

Default configuration seems to still want to run un-licensed Live++:

LivePP.props seems to have:
<LPP_INCLUDED>True</LPP_INCLUDED>

I'll fork and submit pull requests.

Unused lambda

Esoterica/Code/EngineTools/Animation/ToolsGraph/Nodes/Animation_ToolsGraphNode_StateMachine.cpp

Line 117 in 1d0e7c3

auto ConduitSearchPredicate = [] ( TransitionConduitToolsNode* pConduit, UUID const& startStateID )

Update from your newest ExternalData but found an invalid lib.

When i compile your latest version which is merged from you as upstream, i update my projects entirely.

While building the Reflector application, i got this error from VS:
LLVMCore.lib(DataLayout.obj) : error LNK2019: unresolved external symbol __std_max_element_1 referenced in function "unsigned char const * __cdecl __std_max_element(unsigned char const *,unsigned char const *)" (??$__std_max_element@$$CBE@@YAPEBEPEBE0@Z) [C:\Users\Admin\Documents\GitHub\Esoterica\Code\Applications\Reflector\Esoterica.Applications.Reflector.vcxproj]

It seems that it can NOT find the definition of __std_max_element() from the library LLVMCore.lib.

It the version of LLVMCore.lib incorrect or something else cause this bug?

Thanks for your helping!!

Variations and DataSets one-to-one?

It seems these are one-to-one at runtime. Should the data set be embedded in the variation? This might simplify the code.

Failed to load textures.

Failed to load dds textures with stb image loader.
It seems that stb doesn't support loading dds textures.

In TextureCompiler::Compile() -> CompileTexture() -> Import::ReadImage() .

StateMachineGraph::CanDeleteNode not called

You can delete all states.

Sync Event Index Condition Pin Type

Esoterica/Code/EngineTools/Animation/ToolsGraph/Nodes/Animation_ToolsGraphNode_Events.cpp

Line 200 in a30f2bb

CreateOutputPin( "Result", GraphValueType::Float, true );

Should be bool?

Bone Mask in Global Transition graph?

Does this make sense?

Variation Editor working?

I'm able to create variations but I seem unable to modify the entries.

Forced Transition Blending

I created a forced transition for two states that go between poses: standing and prone.
The transition from standing to prone can be forced while prone to standing cannot be forced.

I ran a test where I used a long transition duration and single stepped interrupting the prone to stand, forcing a transition from stand back to prone. I did this when the character was only slight above prone. With a long transition duration the character will continue to almost reaching the stand pose before going back down to prone. With a short transition duration the forced transition works well and the character goes directly back to prone.

I'm not sure if this a bug or intended.
ForcedTransition.zip

Treat Warnings as Errors preventing build in VS 2022

Steps:

1. Install VS 2022 Community on fresh Windows 10 install. Turn on the Game Development C++ and C++ Development workflows
2. Install Smart Command Line Arguments VS2022 extension
3. Download repo and copy to C:\Esoterica
4. Download external dependencies and copy to C:\Esoterica. So I have C:\Esoterica\External\DbgHelp, C:\Esoterica\External\LivePP etc.
5. Download and install FBX SDK. I used FBX SDK 2020.2.1 VS2019
6. Open Solution
7. Right Click Esoterica Scripts Reflect choose build from the menu

Result 78 errors.

What I tried?

• Tried going to each project and change
  Warning Level -> Turn off All Warnings,
  Treat Warning As Errors -> No
  SDL Checks -> No
  Build Output.txt
  error list.txt

"Handle looping sequences" clause in SyncTrack::GetTime doesn't seem to ever be executed

The check at L181 looks like it can't be true? Because it requires percentageThrough - m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_startTime to be greater than m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_duration, but that is just another way of writing percentageThrough > m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_startTime + m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_duration, and the first check at L173 makes sure that's never going to happen. Unless I'm missing something?

Esoterica/Code/Engine/Animation/AnimationSyncTrack.cpp

Lines 173 to 186 in 19c0e3c

	if ( ( m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_startTime + m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_duration ) >= percentageThrough )
	{
	EE_ASSERT( m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_duration > Math::Epsilon );
	time.m_eventIdx = syncEventIdx;
	time.m_percentageThrough = ( percentageThrough - m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_startTime ) / m_syncEvents[syncEventIdx].m_duration;
	// Handle looping sequences
	while ( time.m_percentageThrough > 1.0f )
	{
	time.m_percentageThrough -= 1.0f;
	}
	break;
	}