NetSlum

A modular 2D game engine written in Rust, powered by Epitaph — a bytecode-compiled scripting language with .hack-inspired syntax.

Games are written in .ep scripts, compiled to bytecode, and executed inside a lightweight stack-based VM. The engine handles rendering, audio, input, persistence, networking, and asset packing through a collection of focused crates.

Quick Start

cargo install --path crates/ns   # install the CLI
ns init my-game                  # scaffold a new project
cd my-game
ns run                           # build + run (dev mode)

Crate Map

Crate	Description
epitaph	Language: lexer, parser, compiler, VM, stdlib
ns-core	Engine runtime: game loop, rendering, input, scripting host
ns-audio	Audio subsystem: AudioSink trait, backends (rodio), script plugin
ns	CLI: compile .ep to .epc, bundle into .pak, scaffold, run
ns-assets	PAK format, content loading, asset providers
ns-world	Minimal ECS (sparse sets, dense iteration)
ns-network	Optional networking: TCP, HTTP, WebSocket
ns-epd	Epitaph Data format (.epd) for structured game data
ns-build-plugin	WASI plugin ABI for build-time asset transforms
ns-shell-minifb	Reference platform shell (minifb window + input)

Architecture

 .ep scripts ──► ns CLI ──► scripts.pak + game.pak + game.toml
 raw assets  ──►

 ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │  ns-core  (Engine)                       │
 │  ┌──────────┐  ┌──────────┐  ┌────────┐ │
 │  │ epitaph  │  │ ns-assets│  │ns-world│ │
 │  │   VM     │  │  loaders │  │  ECS   │ │
 │  └──────────┘  └──────────┘  └────────┘ │
 │  ┌──────────┐                            │
 │  │ ns-audio │  AudioSink (rodio, etc.)   │
 │  └──────────┘                            │
 └──────────────────────────────────────────┘
         │
         ▼
 ┌──────────────┐
 │ ns-shell-*   │  Platform layer (window + input only)
 └──────────────┘

Audio is owned by the engine — the platform shell only handles windowing and input. Pass an AudioSink backend to the engine with engine.set_audio(...); the default is silent no-op.

Hello World

scripts/main.ep

sector game

access <gfx>
access <color>
access <window>
access <sys>

phase init() {
    window.open(640, 480, "My Game")
}

phase tick(dt) {
    sustain ev = window.poll_event() {
        when ev == :close_requested {
            sys.exit()
        }
    }
}

phase draw() {
    gfx.fill_screen(30, 30, 60)
    gfx.draw_text("Hello, NetSlum!", 10, 10, color.White)
}

Documentation

Full docs live in docs/:

• Getting Started — project setup, compile, run
• Language Reference — syntax, types, control flow, coroutines
• Standard Library — math, time, color, string, list, etc.
• Engine API — gfx, audio, input, save, window, tilemap, ECS
• Networking — TCP, HTTP, WebSocket
• Build System — ns CLI, build.toml, asset pipeline

License

See workspace Cargo.toml for license details.