Engine Roadmap

Engine Roadmap — Gap Analysis & Priorities

Status as of b111 (delivery logs for b57-b111 below). This page is the living gap analysis for the Angels95 / AngelTech engine: what exists, what is missing compared with a conventional game engine, and the prioritized plan to close the gaps. Each entry lists the file:line evidence so work can start without re-auditing.

Legend: [0] security/correctness, [1] engine fundamentals, [2] multiplayer completeness, [3] presentation, [4] tooling/UX.

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b102-b111 delivery log

• Campaign maps rebuilt (b111): the eleven placeholder worlds became authored levels, Sektor_02/Sektor_03 gained a second district each, and two audits (collision reachability + the cross-world portal chain) found and fixed eight progression bugs, including a gate with no floor and a sealed final room. See Wiki/World-Design-Pass.md.
• Renderer (b102-b111): sky-portal faces (SURF_PORTAL) sample a pre-rendered sky view by screen position; HDR bloom and a grade pass; the instanced particle path was rewritten for raylib 6.0 (rlDrawRenderBatch clears the program and VAO, BeginShaderMode only records, camera matrix composition, sampler by texture id) with a gameplay reserve in the pool; and the glow halo now emits only the emissive term instead of re-adding the lit face.
• Animation (b102-b111): pawn/item/player animation wired end to end, combat feedback, and the editor GLB preview panel with live playback.
• CI/deploy: automatic server deployment over SSH + systemd on b* tags.

b83–b101 delivery log

Tier 1 — engine fundamentals

• Sky seams closed by deriving V from world elevation in Sky.fs. The six skybox quads disagreed on their per-face V mapping (33–40 colour levels at a corner, measured with a pixel scan); corners fell to 1–5 levels and the cap band from 50 to 1. Legacy panoramas now sample their upper half only.
• Generated content textures with reproducible, deterministic PowerShell generators: tools/gen_sky_textures.ps1 (sky gradients/caps) and tools/gen_water_textures.ps1 (water_pool, waterfall_streaks, foam).
• tools/worldcheck is part of the gate: make test runs it over every shipped world with --headroom-all and --asset-refs, and now fails on a failing suite instead of grepping the log for FAIL.

Tier 3 — presentation

• Campaign content: World_endless_snow (b83/b84), the EngineTest desert path (b93), the Aethelgard_Ruins mission world, SilentPines Gorge and Dusk Falls (b101). All-brush terrain, 0.9 risers, impact foam at every cascade.
• Surface decals and brush-wide surface scope (b89/b94); sky/water authoring recipes documented in Wiki/Outdoor-Maps-Changes.md.

Tier 4 — tooling/UX

• Editor layer tree (Core/Subsystems/Resources/UI) and the event bus (b89/b90).
• Responsive title menu, server browser, character select, --world (b97); build-id versioning (Source/Version.hpp) and TDM team rules (b98).
• Issue templates and the README/docs refresh (b101).

b57–b82 delivery log

Tier 0 — security & correctness

• Complete at b56 (see Tier 0 roadmap below). b59 adds the HTTP Bearer gate (--auth-token/OZ_AUTH_TOKEN) and FILE_TRANSFER reject-notice.

Tier 1 — engine fundamentals

• Per-zone physics overrides (gravity/jump/terminal/water_*/ ladder_speed/fly_mult) via PhysicsInfo + ZoneEnvOverrides (b80).
• ZoneManager extraction — zone volumes, portals, env-override merging live outside PawnSystem (b80/b82).
• Client settings persistence applied before InitWindow (VSync/MSAA/window size honoured at creation).

Tier 2 — multiplayer completeness

• Scene sync, ammo sync, weapon grants, typed network NPCs with server-owned AI (b58); NPC death/respawn + broadcast, pickup respawn_time (b58).
• Server world seeding from World.ozone, PlayerData.dat, V2 world saves with autosave (b59/b61); join loads the server's map (b72); network NPC sync keyed by (world, npc, partition) — no pawn explosion after map switches (b73).
• Admin COMMAND (list/say/kick, b59/b61); stance replication (b78–b80).
• Internet discovery: HTTPS master uplink (WinHTTP/curl, no vendored crypto), default master https://angels95.tribewarez.com/master, working Internet browser (b61/b70); --bind + anti-spoof publicip for VPS (b65).

Tier 3 — presentation

• First-person weapon view-models with Idle/Fire/Reload clips + procedural recoil (b74); FBX→GLB pipeline (b54+).
• Vertex-keyframe .ozanim morph animation + skeletal mesh clips (b74); wind sway shader (Wind.vs) (b74).
• Particle system replaced by a 4096-particle OzParticleSimulationManager pool (b74).
• Audio: DspReverb on the master mix (b57); SoundManager facade with zone ambience/reverb handling (b82).
• Skybox rendering/packaging overhaul — levelinfo priority, package .dds, editor viewport skybox (b63–b68); looping title video (b57).

Tier 4 — tooling & UX

• Editor: full-document undo/redo (b81), world texture import (b81), Script Manager (b60), def-aligned Entity Properties (b60), animation authoring tool (b74), asset-scope tree + pack-on-import (b82).
• CI: raylib 5.5 build fix (b75), per-binary release assets (b69).

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What the engine already has

• Server-authoritative world simulation on a dedicated server (AngelServ, no raylib dep) with raw-socket UDP networking (Source/Network/Network.hpp).
• CSG brush worlds in the OZONE format with a Win32 editor (AngelEd) and per-zone scripting (.ozls).
• Data-driven pawn/weapon/item systems via LightningScript entities (Source/Script/, Source/Pawn/).
• Package streaming for models/textures/sounds/music/worlds (Source/Package/).
• A working 3D forward renderer: CSG brushes, billboards, rlights directional/point/spot, particle effects, post-processing blits (Source/Renderer/).
• Internet server discovery: AngelMaster master server + AngelServ heartbeat uplink + client Internet browser (Source/Master/, Source/Menu/InternetBrowser.hpp; see Wiki/Master-Server.md).
• Build + test matrix (make test, CI on Linux + Windows).

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Gap matrix

Rendering & content pipeline

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[3] Shadows	castShadow flag parsed but never used by the light pass	Source/Renderer/LitLightning.hpp
[3] Materials	Diffuse-only; no normal/specular/PBR maps	Source/Renderer/LitLightning.cpp
[3] LOD / instancing	Not present; every renderable drawn every frame	Source/World/OzOzoneLoader.cpp
[3] Post shaders	Toon/Sobel/Line loaded but never applied	Source/Core.hpp

Closed since b56: frustum culling (Source/World/OzoneFrustum.*), vertex-keyframe + skeletal mesh animation and first-person view-models (b74), 4096-particle pool (b74), VSync/MSAA applied at window creation, looping title video (b57).

Physics & gameplay

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[1] Collision is AABB-only	CSG brushes as AABBs; MAX_SPLITS=64	Source/Physics/OzBsp.hpp
[1] No collision APIs	No raycast, sphere/capsule cast, or query — gameplay can't reuse the BSP	Source/Physics/
[1] Position restore	Player slide solved by restoring pre-frame snapshot; no swept/continuous collision	Source/Core.hpp
[3] Rigid bodies	No physics engine at all (no joints, no ragdolls)	—
[3] Navmesh/AI perception	No true pathfinding — server PATROL follows PathNode graphs (b74), everything else is distance checks	Source/Server/GameState.cpp
[3] Input	No rebinding, no gamepad tuning, no mouse-look sensitivity setting	—

Closed since b56: dual WDL/OZONE collision paths (WDL dropped b77), per-zone physics overrides (b80).

Audio & video

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[3] Positional audio	Zero pan/attenuation calls; all sounds global	Source/Audio/

Closed since b56: zone ambience/reverb via SoundManager::UpdateSoundZones + DspReverb on the master mix (b57/b82); title video wired (b57).

Networking & multiplayer

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[0/2] Prediction/interpolation	NPC interpolation landed (lerp + shortest-arc yaw); remote-player prediction still open	Source/Server/Server.cpp
[0/2] Reliability	sequence is never set/checked (raw UDP, no acks)	Source/Network/Network.cpp
[2] Entity replication	NPCs keyed by (world, npc, partition) triples (b73); still no stable net IDs	Source/Network/Network.hpp
[2] Game modes	levelinfo maxPlayers/friendlyFire enforced (b58); gameType/timeLimit/scoreLimit still cosmetic; no scoreboards/timers	Source/Server/GameState.cpp
[2] Respawn	Server NPC death/respawn implemented (b58); player death/respawn flow still open server-side	Source/Server/GameState.cpp
[x] Admin	COMMAND (b59/b61): list/say/kick via --admin-token/OZ_ADMIN_TOKEN; ban list deferred (UDP identity is ip:port)	Source/Server/Server.cpp
[x] Ping	Real RTT (PING/PONG sequence-paired round-trip)	Source/Network/Network.cpp
[x] Join UX	LAN + Internet browsers; join/host ports functional from UI; angels95://join deep link (b60/b71)	Source/Menu/TitleMenu.hpp; Source/Network/Network.cpp
[x] Internet discovery	HTTPS master uplink (b70), default https://angels95.tribewarez.com/master, client browser with /status RTT	Source/Network/MasterHttp.hpp; Source/Menu/InternetBrowser.hpp; Wiki/Master-Server.md
[2] Reconnect	None — dropped client must restart	Source/Network/Network.cpp
[x] Game stats	Player persistence (b61): Saves/PlayerData.dat, saved on disconnect + 60s autosave + shutdown; world state V2 saves	Source/Server/GameState.cpp

Engine core & persistence

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[1] Fixed timestep	Client runs a 60 Hz accumulator; server tick capped at 10 Hz (done); uncapped paths remain in Main.cpp	Source/Main.cpp; Source/Server/Server.cpp
[2] Save UX	Client save drops stats (hotbar names only)	Source/Script/LightningEntityManager.cpp
[4] Profiling/telemetry	None	—
[4] Crash reporting	None (no crashpad/minidumps)	—
[4] Mod loading	None; GameData is baked at pack time	Source/Package/
[4] Streaming	No async asset loading; home screen scans disk at boot	Source/Main.cpp
[3] Cutscenes/sequences	None	—
[4] Localization	String literals throughout	—

Closed since b56: client settings persistence (System/Angels95.ini read before InitWindow, saved on exit).

Scripting (LightningScript)

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[2] Timers/delays	No wait/timed actions; all script is synchronous	Source/Script/LightningScriptContext.*
[2] Data types	No arrays/strings; only flat fields	Source/Script/LightningScriptParser.*
[2] Functions/coroutines	No user functions or coroutines	Source/Script/
[2] Debugger	No breakpoints/step/trace	—
[2] Event bus	Actions fire ad-hoc; no publish/subscribe	Source/Script/

Editor (AngelEd)

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[4] Multi-select / prefabs	Single-object ops only	AngelEd/Source/Editor.hpp
[4] Lightmap baking	none	—
[4] CI drift	CI builds editor with inline g++ commands, not the AngelEd/Makefile	.github/workflows/ci.yml
[2] Hardcoded pickups	EditorPickupType still not fully registry-mapped (Weapons tree landed b58)	AngelEd/Source/Editor.hpp

Closed since b56: full-document undo/redo (b81), world texture import (b81), Script Manager + def-aligned properties (b60), animation authoring tool (b74), asset-scope tree + pack-on-import (b82).

Engineering / CI

Gap	Detail	Evidence
[4] make test in CI	CI only smoke-tests the server binary	.github/workflows/ci.yml
[4] Formatting/lint	No clang-format / clang-tidy / .editorconfig	—
[4] Sanitizers	No ASan/UBSan build variant	Makefile

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Roadmap

Tier 0 — security & correctness (RCE/OOB/trust bugs) — complete (b56)

• Roadmap doc (this page)
• S6 — clamp world-list JSON to MAX_MESSAGE_SIZE on join
• S1 — clamp client SCENE_UPDATE/CHAT payload reads
• S2 — ownership + clamps on PLAYER_HURT/PLAYER_KILL; drop spoofed client PICKUP_COLLECTED; clamp WEAPON_AMMO
• S3 — finite/teleport validation on PLAYER_UPDATE; server-authoritative relayed health
• S4 — auth race: client confirms on first non-challenge message; retry sends CLIENT_AUTH; server re-acks re-auth; idempotent add_player
• S5 — explicit COMMAND/GAME_STATE handling (warn + drop)
• Test coverage for the above

Tier 1 — engine fundamentals

• Real RTT ping (PING/PONG sequence-paired round-trip; client heartbeat at Network.cpp, HUD already renders get_ping_ms)
• Enforced 10 Hz server tick (fixed-timestep accumulator, catch-up capped) + client fixed-timestep (60 Hz accumulator for movement physics/pawns/projectiles)
• NPC interpolation on the client (smooth 2.5 Hz broadcasts via prev/target lerp + shortest-arc yaw)
• Position/state validation moved into GameState::update_player_position (single choke point, finite + teleport clamp)
• Client settings persistence (LoadClientSettings reads System/Angels95.ini before InitWindow; VSync/MSAA/window-size applied at window creation; saved on exit)
• Frustum culling for renderables (camera-geometry planes + AABB test in OzoneFrustum/OzOzoneLoader)

Tier 2 — multiplayer completeness

• Server-authoritative death/respawn + timers; scoreboard UI (NPC respawn done b58; player flow open)
• levelinfo → real game modes (DM timers, score limits; maxPlayers/friendlyFire enforced b58)
• Kick/ban + server console (COMMAND implemented b61: list/say/kick behind --admin-token; ban list still open)
• Player roster + LAN browser UI; honor the join port field (b57)
• Internet discovery: AngelMaster master (UDP heartbeats + HTTP/JSON list, expiry/rate limits), AngelServ HTTPS uplink (b70), client Internet browser with direct status/RTT queries (see Wiki/Master-Server.md)
• Server world population from world files + server saves (b59/b61: seed_world_entities, PlayerData.dat, V2 world saves, autosave); join loads the server's map (b72)
• Stable entity replication IDs (replace index-triples)
• [~] ACK/retry for critical messages — pickup collect done: refusals now name their reason and answer with a re-sync of the player's own world, state re-syncs on join / every 15 s / on a client PICKUP_RESYNC, and the collected node is actually hidden (PickupNode::netId + ApplyPickupNetState). Weapon fire still has no ack. Pinned by the loopback round-trip cases in tests/GameState.test.cpp.
• Client prediction + reconciliation for own player
• FILE_TRANSFER: rejected by design (b59 notice + rate limit); implement chunked transfer or drop the packet type

Tier 3 — presentation

• Shadow pass (directional + point)
• First-person weapon view-model (b74; Idle/Fire/Reload + procedural recoil)
• Title video wired (b57: looping title video)
• Positional audio (attenuation/pan) — zone ambience/reverb landed via SoundManager (b57/b82)
• 3D particles (b74: 4096-particle OzParticleSimulationManager pool)
• Animation for NPCs + dropped items: the three unrigged enemies (Walker/Skaarj/Floater) drive generated .ozanim Idle/Walk/Run/Death clips (tools/gen_pawn_anims.py), the Brute plays its embedded skeletal take, and dropped guns idle-animate. The shipped player-character pack has only combat/stunt takes (no idle/walk), so remote players stay on the bind pose until a locomotion clip is authored - a def still needs its own clips to animate.

Tier 4 — tooling & UX

• Editor undo/redo; [ ] multi-select; [ ] prefab library
• CI runs make test and a game-state suite; build editor via its Makefile
• clang-format/clang-tidy + .editorconfig
• ASan/UBSan CI build variant
• Save-slot UX + full player-data persistence
• FOV/ADS sensitivity settings

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Known-truth corrections (claims that are only half-true)

• "LAN discovery works": the server announces on UDP 27100 and the client's Multiplayer → Join page scans LAN on demand (b57) — but there is no passive background discovery; scans are manual.
• "Dedicated server standalone works": it does for world/NPC simulation, but player damage is client-authoritative for world hazards (PLAYER_HURT) — now closed by Tier 0 ownership checks.
• "INI config is supported": the client reads/writes System/Angels95.ini (window/VSync/MSAA/gfx/audio), and the server now reads System/OzServer.ini ([Server]/[Auth]/[MasterServers]) with CLI flags + env OZ_AUTH_TOKEN/OZ_ADMIN_TOKEN overriding it.
• "HTTP API is open": it still is unless --auth-token is set (b61 adds the Bearer gate); the token is not a security boundary on unencrypted LAN.
• "Linux server build": AngelServ/AngelMaster are standalone and POSIX-clean (MasterClient now includes its own socket headers); --bind on both controls the listening interface for VPS hosting. See System/angels95-serv.service.

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To add an item: file it under a tier, with file:line evidence, then tick it off when landed. Keep this page the single source of truth for engine gaps.