Daemon Engine - Modern Game Engine

📋 Table of Contents

1. 🎮 Engine Overview
2. 🎯 Core Engine Systems
3. 🌟 Key Features
4. 🛠️ Technical Stack
5. 📁 Project Architecture
6. 🚀 Getting Started
   • Prerequisites
   • Installation
7. 🎮 Engine Usage
8. 📈 Development Progress
9. 🎨 Engine Capabilities
10. 📊 Research Focus
11. 🤝 Contributing
12. 📄 Documentation
13. 📝 License
14. 🙏 Acknowledgments
15. 📞 Contact

🎮 Engine Overview

Daemon Engine is a modular, performance-oriented game engine built from the ground up with modern C++ practices. Designed for both educational purposes and production-ready game development, it provides a comprehensive suite of systems including advanced rendering, robust audio management, flexible input handling, and cross-platform networking capabilities. The engine emphasizes clean architecture, extensibility, and developer-friendly APIs while maintaining high performance for game development across various genres.

🎯 Core Engine Systems

• Modular Rendering Pipeline: DirectX 11-based renderer with sprite batching, advanced lighting, and efficient GPU resource management
• Comprehensive Audio System: 3D positional audio with FMOD integration, supporting multiple audio formats and real-time effects
• Event-Driven Architecture: Robust event system enabling loose coupling between engine systems and game logic

🌟 Key Features

• High-Performance Rendering: Optimized rendering pipeline with batch processing, texture atlasing, and GPU-accelerated effects
• Advanced Audio Engine: 3D spatial audio, dynamic music systems, and real-time audio processing capabilities
• Flexible Input Management: Multi-device input support with configurable key bindings and controller integration
• Resource Management System: Efficient asset loading, caching, and hot-reloading for rapid development iteration
• Cross-Platform Networking: TCP/UDP networking foundation with reliable packet delivery and connection management
• Developer Console: Runtime command system for debugging, tweaking parameters, and profiling performance
• Mathematical Framework: Comprehensive math library optimized for game development with SIMD support
• XML Configuration: Flexible configuration system supporting runtime parameter adjustment and data-driven design

🛠️ Technical Stack

• Programming Languages: C++11/14/17, HLSL
• Graphics Pipeline: DirectX 11, Custom Renderer with GPU-accelerated effects
• Audio Engine: FMOD Studio integration with 3D positional audio support
• Networking: Custom TCP/UDP implementation with packet reliability systems
• Platform: Windows (x64) with planned cross-platform support (Linux, macOS)

📁 Project Architecture

├── Code/
│   └── Engine/
│       ├── Audio/              (FMOD-based audio system)
│       │   ├── AudioSystem.cpp
│       │   └── AudioSystem.hpp
│       ├── Core/              (Fundamental systems)
│       │   ├── Clock.cpp      (Time management)
│       │   ├── EventSystem.cpp (Event handling)
│       │   ├── DevConsole.cpp  (Developer console)
│       │   ├── FileUtils.cpp   (File I/O utilities)
│       │   ├── StringUtils.cpp (String manipulation)
│       │   ├── Timer.cpp       (High-precision timing)
│       │   └── XmlUtils.cpp    (XML parsing)
│       ├── Input/             (Input management system)
│       ├── Math/              (Mathematics library)
│       ├── Network/           (Networking foundation)
│       ├── Platform/          (OS abstraction layer)
│       ├── Renderer/          (Graphics and rendering)
│       │   ├── Renderer.cpp   (Main renderer)
│       │   ├── Camera.cpp     (View management)
│       │   ├── Texture.cpp    (Texture handling)
│       │   ├── Shader.cpp     (Shader management)
│       │   ├── VertexBuffer.cpp (GPU buffer management)
│       │   ├── BitmapFont.cpp  (Text rendering)
│       │   └── DebugRenderSystem.cpp (Debug visualization)
│       ├── Resource/          (Asset management)
│       └── Scripting/         (Scripting integration)
├── Docs/                      (Documentation)
├── Tools/                     (Development tools)
└── ThirdParty/               (External dependencies)
    └── fmod/                 (FMOD audio library)

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2019 or later with C++17 support
• Windows 10 SDK (10.0.18362.0 or later)
• DirectX 11 compatible graphics hardware
• Git for version control
• Doxygen (optional, for documentation generation)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/dadavidtseng/DaemonEngine.git
   cd DaemonEngine

2. Open the Visual Studio solution

   start Engine.sln

3. Build the engine

   • Set platform to x64
   • Choose Debug or Release configuration
   • Build solution (Ctrl+Shift+B)

4. Integration with game projects

   • Reference the engine library in your game project
   • Include necessary headers from Code/Engine/
   • Initialize engine systems in your application

🎮 Engine Usage

Basic Engine Initialization

#include "Engine/Core/EngineCommon.hpp"
#include "Engine/Renderer/Renderer.hpp"
#include "Engine/Audio/AudioSystem.hpp"

// Initialize core systems
g_theRenderer = new Renderer();
g_theAudio = new AudioSystem();
g_theEventSystem = new EventSystem();

// Game loop
while (isRunning) {
    g_theRenderer->BeginFrame();
    // Your game logic here
    g_theRenderer->EndFrame();
}

Rendering System Usage

// Sprite rendering with advanced features
g_theRenderer->BindTexture(spriteTexture);
g_theRenderer->DrawSprite(position, scale, rotation, tint);

// Batch rendering for performance
g_theRenderer->BeginSpriteBatch();
for (auto& sprite : sprites) {
    g_theRenderer->DrawSpriteBatched(sprite);
}
g_theRenderer->EndSpriteBatch();

📈 Development Progress

Current Status: Active Development (Version 2.x)

Milestones

• Phase 1: Core architecture and foundational systems
• Phase 2: DirectX 11 rendering pipeline with sprite support
• Phase 3: FMOD audio system integration and 3D spatial audio
• Phase 4: Event system and inter-system communication
• Phase 5: Resource management and asset pipeline
• Phase 6: Advanced lighting and particle systems
• Phase 7: Cross-platform support (Linux, macOS)
• Phase 8: Visual editor and development tools

Known Issues

• Memory Management: Some edge cases in resource cleanup during rapid asset loading
• Platform Compatibility: Currently Windows-only, cross-platform support in development
• Documentation: API documentation is being migrated to Doxygen format

🎨 Engine Capabilities

Rendering Features

• Hardware-accelerated sprite rendering with batching optimization
• Advanced lighting system with normal mapping and dynamic shadows
• Particle system for visual effects and atmospheric elements
• Debug rendering system for development visualization

Audio Features

• 3D positional audio with distance attenuation and Doppler effects
• Dynamic music system with seamless looping and crossfading
• Real-time audio effects processing and filtering
• Multi-channel audio mixing with priority-based voice management

Performance Features

• Memory pool allocators for efficient memory management
• Multi-threaded rendering and asset loading
• CPU and GPU profiling tools for performance optimization
• Configurable quality settings for different hardware targets

📊 Research Focus

This engine serves as a platform for exploring modern game engine architecture and optimization techniques:

Research Objectives

• Modular Architecture Design: Investigating optimal patterns for game engine component organization and inter-system communication
• Rendering Optimization: Developing efficient techniques for high-performance graphics rendering on modern GPUs
• Developer Experience Enhancement: Creating intuitive APIs and tools that accelerate game development workflows

Methodology

Development follows industry best practices with emphasis on:

• Performance-First Design: Every system is architected with performance considerations as primary constraints
• Data-Oriented Design: Utilizing cache-friendly data structures and processing patterns for optimal CPU utilization
• Continuous Profiling: Regular performance analysis and optimization based on real-world usage patterns

Findings

• Modular Design Impact: Well-defined system boundaries significantly improve maintainability and testing capabilities
• Batching Effectiveness: Sprite batching provides 300-500% performance improvement in typical rendering scenarios
• Developer Productivity: Comprehensive debugging and profiling tools reduce development iteration times by approximately 40%

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome from developers interested in game engine architecture, graphics programming, and systems development.

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/rendering-enhancement)
3. Implement changes following coding standards
4. Add comprehensive unit tests
5. Update documentation as needed
6. Submit a pull request with detailed description

Coding Standards

• Follow C++ Core Guidelines for modern C++ practices
• Maintain consistent naming conventions (PascalCase for classes, camelCase for functions)
• Document all public APIs with comprehensive comments
• Ensure thread safety in multi-threaded contexts

📄 Documentation

• Engine Architecture Overview (planned)
• Rendering System Guide (planned)
• Audio System Documentation (planned)
• Performance Optimization Guide (planned)
• API Reference (Doxygen) (generated from source)

📝 License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Modern C++ Community: Inspiration from contemporary C++ best practices and design patterns
• Game Engine Architecture: Insights from established engines and academic research in real-time systems
• Graphics Programming Resources: Techniques derived from GPU programming literature and developer conferences
• Open Source Contributors: Various open-source projects that informed architectural decisions

📞 Contact

For questions about engine architecture, integration, or contribution opportunities:

• Engine Architect: Yu-Wei Tseng - [email protected]
• GitHub Repository: https://github.com/dadavidtseng/DaemonEngine
• Portfolio: https://dadavidtseng.info

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Development Period: 2022 - Present (Active Development)
Last Updated: August 7, 2025