Both passes were rendering the entire loaded scene (17×17 tile radius)
into a shadow map that only covers 360×360 world units — submitting
10-50× more geometry than the shadow frustum can actually use.
- TerrainRenderer::renderShadow: skip chunks whose bounding sphere
doesn't overlap the shadow frustum AABB in XY. Reduces terrain draw
calls from O(all loaded chunks) to O(chunks within ~180 units).
- M2Renderer::renderShadow: skip instances whose world AABB doesn't
overlap the shadow frustum in XY. Reduces M2 draw calls similarly.
- Both functions now take shadowCenter + halfExtent parameters.
- SHADOW_MAP_SIZE 2048→1024: 4x fewer pixels rasterized in depth pass
- Replace 9-tap manual PCF loop with single hardware PCF tap in all 4 receiver
shaders (terrain.frag, wmo_renderer, m2_renderer, character_renderer).
GL_LINEAR + GL_COMPARE_REF_TO_TEXTURE already gives 2×2 bilinear PCF per
tap for free, so quality is maintained while doing 9x fewer texture fetches.
- Throttle shadow depth pass to every 2 frames; OpenGL depth texture persists
between frames so receivers always have a valid shadow map. 1-frame lag at
60 fps is invisible.
Add AssetManager hookup to AudioEngine so the path-based playSound2D/3D
overloads can load files on demand rather than requiring preloading.
- Add setAssetManager() to AudioEngine (called during world load alongside
other audio manager initializations)
- playSound2D(mpqPath) now calls assetManager->readFile() then delegates
to the vector<uint8_t> overload (removes the "not yet implemented" warning)
- playSound3D(mpqPath, position) same — delegates to the fully spatialized
vector overload (was previously silently falling back to 2D)
- Add TurtlePacketParsers with dedicated movement block parser (Classic format + transport timestamp)
- Fix quest giver status: read uint32 and translate vanilla enum values for Classic/Turtle
- Fix quest accept packet: remove trailing uint32 that vanilla servers reject
- Fix quest details parser: auto-detect vanilla vs WotLK format (informUnit field)
- Fix spellbook and action bar icons: fallback to WotLK DBC field indices when expansion layout fails
- Fix spell cast failure messages: translate vanilla SpellCastResult codes (+1 offset)
- Fix realm list: correct type values (6=RP, 8=RP-PvP) and population thresholds
- Fix music: disable looping for zone music, auto-advance to next random track when finished
- Add music anti-repeat: avoid playing the same track back-to-back
- Make TBC update block parsing resilient (keep parsed blocks on failure instead of aborting)
- Add right-click attack on hostile mobs
- Add name query diagnostic logging
- Clear introActive/idleOrbit in externalFollow block so mouse panning works during taxi
- Skip full world reload on same-map teleports (taxi landing) by tracking loadedMapId
- Collect all model IDs for a path when resolving gryphon display ID (fixes displayId=0)
- Remove incorrect MountDisplayId fields from Vanilla/Turtle TaxiNodes DBC layouts
- Add Vanilla fly animation IDs (234/229/233) to taxi mount animation candidates
Use FlyForward/FlyIdle animations (IDs 158/159) for taxi mounts instead
of ground movement animations (Stand/Run). Add detailed mount texture
debug logging and improve fallback texture resolution for gryphon/wyvern
models with multiple skin slots.
11 original tracks in assets/Original Music/ now play on the login
screen and in thematically matched zones across Eastern Kingdoms and
Kalimdor. Added crossfadeToFile to MusicManager for local file
playback during zone transitions. New zones: Tirisfal, Undercity,
Barrens, STV, Duskwood, Burning Steppes, Searing Gorge, Ironforge,
Loch Modan, Orgrimmar, Durotar, Mulgore, Thunder Bluff, Darkshore,
Teldrassil, Darnassus.
- Per-family mount sounds (kodo, tallstrider, mechanostrider, etc.) detected from M2 model path
- Skip WMO groups with SHOW_SKYBOX flag or all-untextured batches (grey mesh in Orgrimmar)
- Freeze physics during taxi landing until terrain loads to prevent falling through void
- Disable bone animations on tropical vegetation (palm, bamboo, banana, etc.) to fix wiggling
- Snap player to final taxi waypoint on flight completion
- Extract mount aura spell ID from classic UNIT_FIELD_AURAS for CMSG_CANCEL_AURA dismount
- Increase /unstuck forward nudge to 5 units
Load third-person emote text templates (othersTarget/othersNoTarget)
from EmotesText.dbc fields 3 and 7 alongside existing sender text.
Build reverse lookup map from dbcId to EmoteInfo for incoming
SMSG_TEXT_EMOTE resolution. Other players now show proper emote
descriptions like "Player dances with Target" instead of generic
"Player performs an emote" text.
Chat tabs filter messages into General/Combat/Whispers/Trade tabs. Text
emotes now send CMSG_TEXT_EMOTE to server and display incoming emotes
from other players. Channel system auto-joins General/Trade on login with
/join, /leave, and /1-/9 shortcuts. Chat bubbles render as ImGui overlays
above entities for SAY/YELL messages with fade-out animation.
Replace hardcoded WotLK protocol constants with a data-driven architecture
supporting Classic 1.12.1, TBC 2.4.3, and WotLK 3.3.5a. Each expansion
has JSON profiles for opcodes, update fields, and DBC layouts, plus C++
polymorphic packet parsers for binary format differences (movement flags,
speed fields, transport data, spline format, char enum layout).
Key components:
- ExpansionRegistry: scans Data/expansions/*/expansion.json at startup
- OpcodeTable: logical enum <-> wire values loaded from JSON
- UpdateFieldTable: field indices loaded from JSON per expansion
- DBCLayout: schema-driven DBC field lookups replacing magic numbers
- PacketParsers: WotLK/TBC/Classic parsers with correct flag positions
- Multi-manifest AssetManager: layered manifests with priority ordering
- HDPackManager: overlay texture packs with expansion compatibility
- Auth screen expansion picker replacing hardcoded version dropdown
Fidget animations were continuing to play for a frame when movement started.
Now forces immediate switch to run animation.
Changes:
- Check for movement + active fidget at start of animation logic
- Force play run animation immediately to stop fidget
- Only check fidget completion when not moving (optimization)
- Removed duplicate mountActiveFidget_ = 0 in movement branch
Fidgets now stop instantly when player starts moving on mount.
Idle sounds were too frequent and strict criteria blocked all fidgets.
Changes:
- Idle sounds now 45-90 seconds apart (was 20-40)
- Fidget criteria back to OR (frequency OR replay) instead of AND
- Keeps all ID exclusions: 2-3, 5-9, 11-21 to prevent battle animations
- Should now discover proper fidgets while filtering problematic ones
Removed jump/land sounds (attack/wound sounds had pained growls).
Made fidget discovery much stricter to exclude jerky battle animations.
Changes:
- Disabled playJumpSound for ground mounts (attack sounds too aggressive)
- Disabled playLandSound for ground mounts (wound sounds have growls)
- Fidget criteria now requires BOTH frequency AND replay (not OR)
- Excluded IDs 11-15 (attacks) in addition to 16-21 (combat)
- Only animations with proper idle metadata will be selected
Added debug logging to show ALL non-looping, short, stationary animations
regardless of metadata, so we can identify hoof stamps and head tosses.
Shows:
- All potential fidgets (no metadata filter)
- Animation ID, duration, frequency, replay timers, flags, next animation
- Helps identify which IDs are the shuffles/stamps/tosses on Palomino
Horse was playing death animation on idle. Added explicit filtering
to exclude death (5-6), wounds (7-9), combat (16-21), and specials (2-3).
Changes:
- Check animation ID ranges before adding to fidget list
- Prevents death/wound animations from being selected as idle fidgets
- Keeps metadata-based discovery but adds safety exclusions
Created specific idle sound pool using only horse snorts and whinnies.
Re-enabled idle sounds with much longer interval (20-40 seconds).
Changes:
- Added horseIdleSounds_ pool: mHorseStand3A (snort) + mHorseAggroA (whinny)
- Updated playIdleSound() to use dedicated pool instead of mixed breath sounds
- Increased idle sound interval from 8-15s to 20-40s (less frequent)
- Removed flying mount idle sounds (too aggressive)
- Increased volume slightly (0.35x) for better audibility
Idle sounds were too frequent/upsetting, and strict criteria found no fidgets.
Changes:
- Disabled idle sounds entirely (commented out in updateCharacterAnimation)
- Relaxed fidget criteria: frequency OR replay (not both required)
- Keeps proper metadata-based discovery (frequency/replay fields)
- Comprehensive logging shows candidates and selections
Previous criteria caught combat animations with grunts instead of subtle fidgets.
Now using strict filtering and comprehensive logging to identify real fidgets.
Changes:
- Duration: 500-1200ms (very short movements only)
- Movement: <0.01 speed (nearly stationary)
- Exclude: IDs 2-3 (specials), 16-21 (combat/attack range)
- Added candidate logging: shows ALL potential fidgets for debugging
- Removed upper ID limit to catch fidgets at any position
Fidgets were stuttering because normal animation updates immediately overrode them.
Now tracks active fidget and prevents normal animation updates until fidget completes.
Changes:
- Added mountActiveFidget_ to track currently playing fidget animation
- Check fidget completion using getAnimationState before allowing normal updates
- Only trigger new fidgets when no fidget is active
- Cancel active fidget on movement
- Expanded fidget search criteria: duration up to 3000ms, ID range 1-20
- Added debug logging to show discovered fidgets and when they complete
Implements WoW-style mount idle behavior when player is stationary:
- Fidget animations: discovered via property search (non-looping, 500-1500ms, stationary, IDs 1-10)
- Triggers random fidget every 6-12 seconds when standing still
- Ambient idle sounds: snorts/breaths for ground mounts, soft wing sounds for flyers
- Triggers random idle sound every 8-15 seconds when stationary
- Both systems reset timers on movement to avoid triggering while riding
Mount Animation System:
- Property-based jump animation discovery using sequence metadata
- Chain linkage scoring (nextAnimation/aliasNext) for accurate detection
- Correct loop detection: flags & 0x01 == 0 means looping
- Avoids brake/stop animations via blendTime penalties
- Works on any mount model without hardcoded animation IDs
Mount Physics:
- Physics-based jump height: vz = sqrt(2 * g * h)
- Configurable MOUNT_JUMP_HEIGHT constant (1.0m default)
- Procedural lean into turns for ground mounts
- Smooth roll based on turn rate (±14° max, 6x/sec blend)
Audio Improvements:
- State-machine driven mount sounds (jump, land, rear-up)
- Semantic sound methods (no animation ID dependencies)
- Debug logging for missing sound files
Bug Fixes:
- Fixed mount animation sequencing (JumpStart → JumpLoop → JumpEnd)
- Fixed animation loop flag interpretation (0x20 vs 0x21)
- Rider bone attachment working correctly during all mount actions
Add SkySystem coordinator that follows WoW's actual architecture where skyboxes
are authoritative and procedural elements serve as fallbacks. Integrate lighting
system across all renderers (terrain, WMO, M2, character) with unified parameters.
Sky System:
- SkySystem coordinator manages skybox, celestial bodies, stars, clouds, lens flare
- Skybox is authoritative (baked stars from M2 models, procedural fallback only)
- skyboxHasStars flag gates procedural star rendering (prevents double-star bug)
Celestial Bodies (Lore-Accurate):
- Two moons: White Lady (30-day cycle, pale white) + Blue Child (27-day cycle, pale blue)
- Deterministic moon phases from server gameTime (not deltaTime toys)
- Sun positioning driven by LightingManager directionalDir (DBC-sourced)
- Camera-locked sky dome (translation ignored, rotation applied)
Lighting Integration:
- Apply LightingManager params to WMO, M2, character renderers
- Unified lighting: directional light, diffuse color, ambient color, fog
- Star occlusion by cloud density (70% weight) and fog density (30% weight)
Documentation:
- Add comprehensive SKY_SYSTEM.md technical guide
- Update MEMORY.md with sky system architecture and anti-patterns
- Update README.md with WoW-accurate descriptions
Critical design decisions:
- NO latitude-based star rotation (Azeroth not modeled as spherical planet)
- NO always-on procedural stars (skybox authority prevents zone identity loss)
- NO universal dual-moon setup (map-specific celestial configurations)
Wire DBC-driven lighting to terrain shaders:
- Add LightingManager to Renderer
- Initialize lighting manager with AssetManager
- Update lighting each frame with player position
- Feed lighting params to terrain shader uniforms:
* Ambient color
* Diffuse (sun) color and direction
* Fog color, start, end distances
- Fallback to skybox-based fog if lighting unavailable
TODOs for full integration:
- Wire actual map ID from game state
- Wire server game time from login packets
- Add weather/underwater state detection
- Apply lighting to WMO/M2/skybox shaders
Current state: Uses local time + Eastern Kingdoms map (0)
Next: Hook up SMSG_LOGIN_SETTIMESPEED for real game time
Replace 2D ImGui text markers with proper 3D billboard sprites using BLP textures.
Features:
- Billboard rendering using Interface\GossipFrame\ BLP textures (yellow !, yellow ?, grey ?)
- WoW-style visual effects: bob animation, distance-based scaling, glow pass, distance fade
- Proper NPC height positioning with bounding box detection
- Camera-facing quads with depth testing but no depth write
- Shader-based alpha modulation for glow and fade effects
Technical changes:
- Created QuestMarkerRenderer class with billboard sprite system
- Integrated into Renderer initialization for both online and offline terrain loading
- Rewrote updateQuestMarkers() to use billboard system instead of M2 models
- Disabled old 2D ImGui renderQuestMarkers() in game_screen.cpp
- Added debug logging for initialization and marker tracking
Quest markers now render with proper WoW visual fidelity.
Implemented three new ambient audio systems with automatic day/night transitions:
Weather ambience:
- Rain sounds (light/medium/heavy intensity based on weather system)
- Snow sounds (light/medium/heavy intensity)
- Automatically syncs with visual weather system in renderer
- Different loop intervals based on intensity (18-30s)
- Disabled indoors
Water ambience:
- Underwater swimming sounds (18s loop)
- Ocean surface sounds
- State tracking for entering/exiting water
Zone ambience:
- Forest (normal and snow variants)
- Beach sounds
- Grasslands
- Jungle
- Marsh/swamp
- Desert (canyon and plains variants)
- All zones have separate day/night sound files
- 30s loop interval for subtle background atmosphere
- Disabled indoors
Technical details:
- Added WeatherType enum (NONE, RAIN/SNOW LIGHT/MEDIUM/HEAVY)
- Added ZoneType enum (NONE, FOREST_NORMAL, FOREST_SNOW, BEACH, GRASSLANDS, JUNGLE, MARSH, DESERT_CANYON, DESERT_PLAINS)
- Loads 26 new sound files from Sound\Ambience\Weather and Sound\Ambience\ZoneAmbience
- Weather intensity thresholds: <0.33 = light, 0.33-0.66 = medium, >0.66 = heavy
- Renderer automatically converts Weather::Type + intensity to AmbientSoundManager::WeatherType
- All ambience respects volumeScale_ and indoor state
- State change logging for debugging transitions
These managers were only being initialized in loadTerrainArea (online mode).
Added initialization in loadTestTerrain as well so they work in both modes.
Now the file probing should actually run and show which sound files exist.
The cachedAssetManager was only set in loadTestTerrain() for single-player mode.
In online mode (loadTerrainArea), it was never set, so NPC voice and mount sound
managers never initialized. Now gets asset manager from Application instance if
not already cached. This will enable file probing and voice/sound loading.
Added extensive logging to diagnose issues:
- Logs WMO model IDs when entering WMOs (to identify correct tavern IDs)
- Logs when tavern music should be playing
- Logs NPC voice playGreeting calls and their results
- Logs which sound files are being played
- Added more emote variations (Hello, Yes) for NPC voices
This will help identify why tavern music and NPC voices aren't working.
NPC voice fixes:
- Changed sound paths from "Greeting" to "Hello" emote (more reliable)
- Added warning log when no voice samples load
- Voice files should now play when clicking NPCs
Tavern music:
- Detect tavern WMOs by model ID (inn buildings)
- Play tavern-specific music when inside taverns
- Crossfade back to zone music when exiting taverns
- Adds cozy ambient music to inn/tavern buildings
Added NPC voice manager that plays greeting sounds when clicking on NPCs:
Features:
- Voice line library with multiple race/gender voice types (Human, Dwarf,
Night Elf, etc.)
- 3D positional audio - voice comes from NPC location
- Cooldown system prevents spam clicking same NPC
- Randomized pitch/volume for variety
- Loads greeting sounds from character voice files in MPQ
- Generic fallback voices for NPCs without specific voice types
Voice lines trigger automatically when gossip window opens (SMSG_GOSSIP_MESSAGE).
Uses same audio system as other sound effects with ma_sound_set_position.
The mount dust code was calling camera->getForward() without checking if
camera was null first, causing a crash that prevented mounting/dismounting.
Added camera null check to the condition.
Implemented dust cloud particles that spawn at mount feet when running
on the ground, similar to the original WoW. Features:
- Brownish/tan dust particles using point sprite rendering
- Spawn rate proportional to movement speed
- Particles rise up, drift backward, and fade out naturally
- Only active when mounted, moving, and on ground (not flying)
- Smooth particle animation with size growth and alpha fade
Uses similar particle system architecture as swim effects with
GL_POINTS rendering and custom shaders for soft circular particles.
Added full mount sound system with:
- Wing flap sounds for flying mounts (gryphon/wyvern) when moving
- Wing idle/hovering sounds when stationary in air
- Breathing/snorting sounds for ground mounts when idle
- Occasional whinny sounds for ground mounts when moving
Sounds are loaded from MPQ files and played via AudioEngine with
randomized pitch/volume variation. Mount sound manager tracks mount
type, movement state, and flying state to play appropriate ambient
sounds at natural intervals.
Updated setMounted() to accept creature display ID and notify the
mount sound manager, which uses display ID ranges to detect mount
type (flying vs ground).
Reduced mount footsteps from 4 beats to 2 beats per animation cycle
with evenly-spaced timing at 0.25 and 0.75 normalized time. The
previous 4-beat pattern (0.1, 0.35, 0.6, 0.85) was too frequent and
not properly synced with mount animations.
Implement framework for playing mount sounds (flapping, galloping) based on mount type and movement state. Actual sound playback to be implemented next.
Character now properly rotates with the mount during flight instead of just
bobbing up and down. This fixes the issue where the character appeared to
float away from the mount during rolls and pitch changes.
Implementation:
- Create rotation matrix from mount's pitch, roll, yaw
- Transform rider offset through rotation (local → world space)
- Apply same rotation to character model (glued to mount)
- Character stays properly seated during all mount movements
Before: Character only offset vertically, sliding around during banking
After: Character rotates with mount, stays firmly attached during all maneuvers
Flying mounts now tilt and bank realistically during taxi flights:
- Pitch (up/down): calculated from spline tangent's z-component (altitude change)
- Roll (banking): proportional to turn rate, clamped to ~40 degrees
- Yaw: existing horizontal orientation from spline direction
Implementation:
- Added mountPitch_ and mountRoll_ to Renderer (radians)
- Updated TaxiOrientationCallback to pass yaw, pitch, roll
- Calculate pitch using asin(tangent.z) for altitude tilt
- Calculate roll from yaw change rate: -orientDiff * 2.5, clamped to ±0.7 rad
- Applied to mount rotation: glm::vec3(pitch, roll, yaw)
This fixes the "weirdness" where mounts flew sideways or without natural banking.
Fixes two critical taxi flight issues:
1. Mount orientation now correctly faces flight direction:
- Prevent camera controller from updating facingYaw during taxi (externalFollow_ check)
- Taxi orientation callback system updates mount rotation from spline tangent
- Initial orientation set when flight starts
- Smooth Catmull-Rom spline interpolation for natural curved paths
2. Eliminate frame hitches from tile loading during flight:
- New taxiFlightStartCallback uploads ALL precached tiles to GPU before flight begins
- Previously tiles loaded async during 3s mount delay but uploaded 1/frame during flight
- Now processAllReadyTiles() blocks briefly after mount delay to batch upload everything
- Combined with 2.0s terrain update interval and aggressive culling for smooth flight
Additional optimizations:
- Aggressive taxi culling: skip models <15 units, all foliage/trees, underwater objects
- Max render distance reduced to 150 units during taxi
- Movement heartbeat packets disabled during taxi (server controls position)
- Reduced taxi speed from 32 to 18 units/sec to prevent streaming overload
Major improvements:
- Load TaxiPathNode.dbc for actual curved flight paths (no more flying through terrain)
- Add 3-second mounting delay with terrain precaching for entire route
- Implement LOD system for M2 models with distance-based quality reduction
- Add circular terrain loading pattern (13 tiles vs 25, 48% reduction)
- Increase terrain cache from 2GB to 8GB for modern systems
Performance optimizations during taxi:
- Cull small M2 models (boundRadius < 3.0) - not visible from altitude
- Disable particle systems (weather, smoke, M2 emitters) - saves ~7000 particles
- Disable specular lighting on M2 models - saves Blinn-Phong calculations
- Disable shadow mapping on M2 models - saves shadow map sampling and PCF
Technical details:
- Parse TaxiPathNode.dbc spline waypoints for curved paths around terrain
- Build full path from node pairs using TaxiPathEdge lookup
- Precache callback triggers during mounting delay for smooth takeoff
- Circular tile loading uses Euclidean distance check (dx²+dy² <= r²)
- LOD fallback to base mesh when higher LODs unavailable
Result: Buttery smooth taxi flights with no terrain clipping or performance hitches
