Project Workflow¶

A Doriax project is the editable source for a game. It organizes scenes, resources, scripts, bundles, and export configuration into a single directory that the editor understands. The editor keeps visual authoring, code, and build settings clearly separated so teams can iterate and collaborate effectively.

Creating a project¶

Launch the editor and choose New Project from the startup dialog. Select a project template (empty, 2D, 3D, or UI) and pick an empty folder. The editor creates the initial folder structure and a default scene file.

Project anatomy¶

Folder names may differ by template. The structure is a convention, not a strict requirement — you can reorganize asset folders and update resource paths accordingly.

Scene files¶

Scene files are serialized as YAML. They store the full scene hierarchy: entities, component data, transform values, camera settings, child scene references, and editor viewport state.

Keep scene files focused. For large games, split gameplay areas into separate scenes and compose them with child scene references. This keeps individual YAML files small and merge-friendly in version control.

Scene types¶

The editor offers three scene workflows:

All three share the same Scene class at runtime — the type mainly affects editor defaults and authoring tools. A 3D scene can contain UI entities, and a UI scene can reference 2D or 3D child scenes.

Child scenes¶

Child scenes let one scene reference and load another. This is useful for:

• Persistent UI layers — load a HUD scene as a child of the gameplay scene.
• Shared environment — a common lighting rig or skybox loaded by all levels.
• Level assembly — large worlds assembled from smaller room or chunk scenes.
• Streaming — load and unload sections independently at runtime.

To add a child scene reference, use the Structure panel's Add Child Scene option and point it to a saved scene file.

Bundles¶

Bundles are prefab-like reusable entity hierarchies. A bundle can represent an enemy, an interactive prop, a UI card, or any repeated arrangement of entities and components. They are defined visually in the editor and stored as YAML bundle files.

Why bundles?¶

Creating a bundle¶

1. Build the entity hierarchy you want to reuse in any scene.
2. Select the root entity in the Structure panel.
3. Choose Save as Bundle from the context menu.
4. Name the bundle and save to the bundles/ folder.

Placing bundles¶

Drag a bundle file from the Resources Browser into the scene, or reference it in the Structure panel with Add Bundle Instance.

Runtime bundle usage¶

Bundle registration is generated automatically by the export step. At runtime you call createBundle (bundle name first, then scene) and destroyBundle:

-- Create a bundle instance at runtime
local root = BundleManager.createBundle("enemy_grunt", scene)

-- Destroy it later
BundleManager.destroyBundle(scene, root)

// Registration is normally emitted by export:
BundleManager::registerBundle(1, "enemy_grunt", [](Scene* scene, Entity parent) {
    // bundle factory body
});

// Create an instance
Entity root = BundleManager::createBundle("enemy_grunt", &scene);

See BundleManager for the complete API.

Settings¶

Project settings include two shader directories (both default to shaders): the Shaders Directory for compiled .sdat output (engine-facing) and the Shader Sources Directory for forked shader sources (editor-only). See Custom Shaders.

VSync¶

Open Project → Project Settings and use VSync to choose whether Play mode and supported desktop builds synchronize frames to the display refresh rate. It is enabled by default. Disable it when profiling the maximum frame rate; leave it enabled for normal use to avoid tearing and unnecessary GPU load.

The value is saved as vsync in project.yaml and travels with the project. Older projects without the field default to enabled.

Window¶

Open Project → Project Settings to control the OS window that desktop builds create at startup:

The values are saved as windowMode, windowWidth, windowHeight, windowResizable, and windowTitle in project.yaml and travel with the project. Projects saved before these fields existed start windowed at their canvas size.

Fullscreen starts the game on the primary monitor at the current desktop video mode (borderless-style, no display mode switch) and falls back to windowed when no monitor is available. Scripts can still toggle fullscreen at runtime with requestFullscreen / exitFullscreen; leaving fullscreen restores the configured window size.

Save strategy¶

• Save scenes after structural edits (Ctrl+S).
• Save project settings after changing export configuration.
• Keep generated export output outside the source project folder.
• Commit human-authored files (scenes, scripts, assets) to version control; ignore local build folders and generated C++ glue.