Introduction¶
Doriax Engine is a free, open-source 2D/3D game engine with an integrated editor for building cross-platform games and interactive projects. It combines a lightweight, data-oriented runtime with a modern desktop editor, so you can author scenes visually, script in Lua or C++, and export to multiple platforms from a single environment.
Doriax is the continuation of Supernova Engine under a new identity and a broader workflow focused on visual editing, shader generation, and project export.
Design philosophy¶
Doriax is built around a few core principles:
- Lightweight and efficient — no heavy GUI overhead or unnecessary processing. The engine stays lean and produces small output.
- Data-oriented design — an Entity Component System (ECS) arranges data to take advantage of CPU caching, avoiding the performance pitfalls of traditional object-oriented designs.
- Two languages, one workflow — use Lua for rapid iteration and flexible scripting, or C++ for full native performance. C++ scripts are compiled at build time, not runtime.
- Write once, deploy everywhere — a single project can target six platforms with native graphics backends.
Documentation structure¶
This documentation follows a broad structure similar to large engine manuals:
| Section | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Getting Started | Install Doriax, understand the editor, and create a first project |
| Tutorials | Step-by-step 2D, 3D, and export walkthroughs |
| Editor | Panels, project workflow, assets, code editing, animation, and export tools |
| Manual | Engine concepts and subsystem guides |
| Reference | API maps, components, Lua bindings, and build options |
| Building | Platform-specific toolchain setup |
What you can build¶
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| 2D games | Sprites, tilemaps, sprite slicing, and 2D physics |
| 3D games | GLTF/OBJ models, PBR materials, dynamic shadows, fog, and sky |
| Animation | Skeletal animation, morph targets, and a timeline editor |
| UI | A built-in UI system for menus, HUDs, and overlays |
| Physics | Integrated 2D and 3D physics via Box2D and Jolt Physics |
| Audio | 3D positional audio |
Engine features¶
- 2D and 3D scenes with a shared ECS foundation
- GLTF and OBJ model loading
- Skeletal animation and morph targets
- PBR materials, dynamic shadows, fog, and sky
- Particle systems, UI, terrain LOD, and instancing
- Scene serialization, texture and shader pools, and multithreading
- 3D audio
Editor coverage
Some features — terrain authoring, particle editing, audio tooling, and direct shader manipulation — are available at the engine/runtime level but are not yet fully integrated into the editor's visual tools.
Platforms¶
| Area | Support |
|---|---|
| Editor downloads | Windows, Linux, macOS |
| Project targets | Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, HTML5 |
| Graphics APIs | OpenGL, Metal, DirectX |
| Scripting | Lua, C++ |