ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.4

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.4

This preview adds saved camera viewpoints and scene presentation settings, making showcase views easier to reproduce.

Added

• Named camera bookmarks with controls to add, update, select, and delete views.
• Saved camera position, orientation, field of view, and clipping distances.
• Reference viewport dimensions recorded with captured viewpoints.
• Persistent exposure, background color, environment intensity, and background visibility.
• Environment selection: bundled studio, project-relative HDR assets, or no environment lighting.
• Persistent directional shadow settings, including PCF and bias values.

Improvements

• Older scene files remain supported, with automatic framing when no saved viewpoint exists.
• Ordinary camera navigation does not mark scenes as modified.
• Invalid settings and missing environment assets produce useful diagnostics.
• Failed environment loading preserves the current scene appearance.
• Added persistence tests and a showcase validation guide.

Requirements

Windows x64 with an OpenGL 4.6-capable graphics driver. Preview packages are unsigned.

Project HDR assets remain external files and must accompany their scene.

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.3

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.3 — Directional Shadows

This preview adds directional-light shadows, smoother shadow edges, and runtime controls for adjusting shadow quality.

Changes

• Added shadow casting and receiving for the main directional light.
• Added optional percentage-closer filtering (PCF) to smooth shadow edges.
• Added receiver-plane depth correction to reduce filtering-induced shadow acne at shallow light angles.
• Added controls for enabling shadows, toggling filtering, adjusting bias, and restoring defaults.
• Improved shadow projection sizing for small scenes.
• Stabilized light-marker sizing so scaling scene objects no longer resizes the markers.
• Added a dedicated cube-and-floor shadow validation scene, projection tests, and validation documentation.

Requirements

• Windows x64.
• An OpenGL 4.6-capable graphics driver.

Installation

Download and run the file ending in -Setup.exe, or extract the entire portable ZIP and launch ForgeSimSandbox.exe. Keep the bundled assets beside the executable.

Close ForgeSim before replacing an existing installation. The installer is unsigned; Windows may display a publisher or reputation warning.

Known Limitations

• Shadows currently support the main directional light only.
• A single shadow map covers the scene; large scenes may show reduced shadow detail.
• Bias may require adjustment for different scenes or light angles.
• Shadow debug settings are not saved between sessions.
• Interactive scenes currently support one shared model asset.
• Physics, runtime mechanical interactions, and VR are not yet available.
• Optional third-party showcase scenes are not bundled.

Reporting Problems

Please include your ForgeSim version, Windows version, graphics hardware and driver version, reproduction steps, and relevant console output. Screenshots are especially helpful for rendering issues.

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.2

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.2

Windows installer preview of the ForgeSim Sandbox.
A portable ZIP remains available.

Changes

• Added a Windows installer with Start Menu shortcuts and an uninstaller.
• Added detection of existing installations during replacement installation.
• Added Windows Debug and Release build and headless-test validation through GitHub Actions.
• Fixed filesystem path comparisons in scene-save tests.

Requirements

• Windows x64.
• An OpenGL 4.6-capable graphics driver.

Installation

Download and run the file ending in -Setup.exe.
Choose an installation directory and follow the installer.

The default installation directory is:

C:\Program Files\ForgeSim

Installation and uninstallation may require administrator approval.
Running ForgeSim after installation does not require administrator privileges.

The installer is unsigned. Windows may display an unrecognized-publisher
or reputation warning.

Close ForgeSim before installing a replacement version.

Portable Package

Alternatively, extract the entire ZIP and launch ForgeSimSandbox.exe.
Keep the assets directory beside the executable.

User Data

Default locations:

• Scenes: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ForgeSim\Scenes
• Editor layout: %LOCALAPPDATA%\ForgeSim\Settings\imgui.ini

Uninstallation preserves these user-data locations.
Explicitly selected scene-save locations remain supported.

Known Limitations

• This is an early development preview.
• Interactive scenes currently support one shared model asset.
• Scene documents reference assets rather than embedding or copying them.
• Undo and redo currently cover gizmo transform edits.
• Shadows and additional showcase rendering effects remain in development.
• Physics, runtime tool interactions, and VR are not yet available.
• Purchased workshop assets are not included.

Reporting Problems

Include the ForgeSim version, Windows version, graphics hardware,
driver version, reproduction steps, and relevant console output.

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.1

ForgeSim 0.1.0-preview.1

First downloadable Windows preview of the ForgeSim Sandbox.

Included Features

• glTF metallic-roughness PBR rendering.
• Base-color, normal, metallic-roughness, occlusion, and emissive textures.
• Image-based lighting, an environment background, exposure, and tone mapping.
• Editable directional, point, and spot lights.
• Object and light selection and transform gizmos.
• Undo and redo for gizmo transform edits.
• A docked Scene viewport, hierarchy, Inspector, and debug controls.
• Scene-document saving and loading through native Windows file dialogs.
• Persistent editor layout stored in the user's application-data directory.
• A bundled PBR material gallery and HDR environment.

Running

Extract the entire ZIP and launch ForgeSimSandbox.exe.

Keep the assets directory beside the executable.

The current renderer requires an OpenGL 4.6-capable graphics driver.
See README.md for resource paths and troubleshooting.

Known Limitations

• This is an early development preview.
• Interactive scenes currently support one shared model asset.
• Scene documents reference assets rather than embedding or copying them.
• Undo and redo currently cover gizmo transform edits.
• Shadows and additional showcase rendering effects remain in development.
• Physics, runtime tool interactions, and VR are not yet available.
• Purchased workshop assets and other optional external scenes are not included.

User Data

Default Windows locations:

• Layout: %LOCALAPPDATA%/ForgeSim/Settings/imgui.ini
• Scenes: %LOCALAPPDATA%/ForgeSim/Scenes/

The native file dialog may restore a previously visited folder.
User-selected save locations remain supported.

Reporting Problems

Include:

• ForgeSim version
• Windows version
• Graphics hardware and driver version
• Steps to reproduce
• Relevant console output