⚡ ZigCraft ⚡

A high-performance Minecraft-style voxel engine built with Zig, SDL3, and a modern Vulkan graphics pipeline.

---

🚀 Overview

ZigCraft is a technical exploration of high-performance voxel rendering techniques. It features a custom-built graphics abstraction layer, advanced terrain generation, and a multithreaded job system to handle massive world streaming with zero hitching.

✨ Key Features

🎨 Rendering Architecture

• Vulkan RHI: Modern, explicit graphics API for high performance and low CPU overhead.
• Cascaded Shadow Maps (CSM): 3 cascades for high-fidelity shadows across long distances.
• Atmospheric Scattering: Physically-based day/night cycle with dynamic fog and sky rendering.
• Floating Origin & Reverse-Z: Industry-standard techniques to eliminate precision jitter and Z-fighting at scale.
• Greedy Meshing: Optimized chunk generation reducing draw call overhead and triangle counts.

🌍 World Generation

• Biomes & Climate: Multi-noise system based on temperature and humidity (11+ biomes).
• Infinite Terrain: Seed-based, deterministic generation with domain warping and 3D caves.
• Volumetric Clouds: Procedural, shadowed cloud layers that integrate with the atmosphere.
• Level of Detail (LOD): Hierarchical LOD system enabling 100+ chunk render distances using simplified terrain meshes and specialized rendering.
• Greedy Meshing: Optimized vertex data generation for maximum throughput.

🛠️ Engine Core

• Multithreaded Pipeline: Dedicated worker pools for generation (4 threads) and meshing (3 threads).
• Job Prioritization: Proximity-based task scheduling ensures immediate loading of local chunks.
• Comprehensive Testing: 58+ unit tests covering math, worldgen, and core engine modules.
• Refined App Lifecycle: Modular architecture with extracted systems for rendering, input, and world management.

⌨️ Controls

Key	Action
WASD	Movement
Space / Shift	Fly Up / Down
Mouse	Look
Tab	Toggle Mouse Capture
F / T	Toggle Wireframe / Textures
V / C	Toggle VSync / Clouds
U / M	Toggle Shadow Debug / World Map
1-4	Set Time (Midnight → Sunset)
N	Freeze / Unfreeze Time
Esc	Menu

🏗️ Build & Run

This project uses Nix for a reproducible development environment.

🎮 Running the Game

• Run: nix develop --command zig build run
• Release build: nix develop --command zig build run -Doptimize=ReleaseFast

🧪 Running Tests

• All Tests: nix develop --command zig build test
• Single Test: nix develop --command zig build test -- --test-filter "Test Name"

📂 Project Structure

• src/engine/: Core engine components (RHI, Math, UI, Input, Jobs).
• src/world/: Voxel-specific logic (Greedy Meshing, World Manager, Chunks).
• src/world/worldgen/: Procedural terrain, noise, and biome systems.
• assets/: GLSL shaders and textures.
• libs/: (Planned) Extracted standalone math and noise libraries.

⚖️ License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.