The Helios Book

Welcome to The Helios Book, the comprehensive guide to the Helios Engine. Whether you're a seasoned engine developer or just starting your journey into high-performance graphics, this book will walk you through the architecture, systems, and workflows of Helios.

What is Helios?

Helios is a modular, data-driven game engine built from the ground up using C++20 and Vulkan 1.3. It is designed with a focus on performance, clarity, and modern engine architecture.

Key features include: - Data-Oriented Design: A custom, high-performance Entity Component System (ECS) at its core. - Modern Graphics: A Forward+ rendering pipeline utilizing Vulkan 1.3 features. - Cross-Language Scripting: Seamless integration with C# for high-level logic. - Modular Architecture: A plugin-based system that allows you to swap or extend any part of the engine.

Learning Path

If you're new to Helios, we recommend following this path to get up to speed:

1. Architecture: Understand the high-level design and the plugin system.
2. ECS: Dive into the core data-driven model that powers everything.
3. Assets: Learn how assets are imported, managed, and uploaded to the GPU.
4. Rendering: Explore the Forward+ pipeline and Vulkan integration.
5. Scripting: Start writing game logic in C#.

Hello World

Setting up a basic Helios application is straightforward. Here is a minimal example that initializes the engine with a window and a basic rendering setup:

#include <helios/ecs/ecs.h>
#include <helios/window/window_plugin.h>
#include <helios/render_plugin.h>
#include <helios/forward_plus/forward_plus_plugin.h>

using namespace helios;

int main() {
    App app;

    // 1. Add Windowing support
    app.add_plugin(WindowPlugin{ .primary_window = WindowDesc{
        .title = "Hello Helios",
        .width = 1280,
        .height = 720,
    }});

    // 2. Add Rendering core
    app.add_plugin(RenderPlugin{});

    // 3. Add Forward+ Pipeline
    app.add_plugin(ForwardPlusPlugin{});

    // 4. Run the engine
    app.run();

    return 0;
}

This snippet initializes a window, sets up the Vulkan renderer, and starts the main engine loop. From here, you can start spawning entities, adding components, and building your world.