Release builds set default log level to WARNING — all the NPC loading
diagnostic messages were at LOG_INFO/LOG_DEBUG and completely invisible.
This is why the log showed zero NPC messages despite NPCs being placed.
All NPC loading messages now use LOG_WARNING:
- "NPC rebuild: N creatures to load" — confirms rebuild loop runs
- "NPC M2 OK: path (Nv Ni Nb)" — model loaded successfully
- "NPC loaded from WOM: path" — WOM format used
- "NPC model file not found: path" — file missing
- "NPC model invalid: path" — parse failed
- "NPC M2 loadModel failed: path" — GPU upload failed
- "NPC has empty modelPath: name" — no model selected
NPC model loading diagnostics were at LOG_DEBUG level which doesn't
appear in the default log output. Changed all NPC model loading
messages to LOG_WARNING/LOG_INFO:
- "NPC model file not found" now WARNING (was DEBUG, invisible)
- "NPC has empty modelPath" new WARNING for missing model selection
- "Loading N NPC models..." at loop entry to confirm rebuild runs
- "NPC M2 loaded" at INFO level shows successful loads
This will reveal exactly where the NPC rendering pipeline fails.
Changed NPC model invalid and load success messages from LOG_DEBUG to
LOG_WARNING/LOG_INFO so they appear in the log output. This helps
diagnose why specific creature models fail to render — the log will
show vertex/index/batch counts for each load attempt.
rebuildObjects() calls clearObjects() which clears the M2 renderer,
but didn't start a new upload batch before loading models. The M2
renderer needs an active upload batch context to upload vertex/index
buffers to the GPU. Without it, loadModel may silently fail.
Now calls vkCtx_->beginUploadBatch() after clear and before the
model loading loop. Also adds diagnostic logging when loadModel
fails for NPCs (shows vertex/index/batch counts).
Applied same two fixes from NPC renderer to placed object renderer:
1. Check WOM open format before M2 fallback (custom_zones/output dirs)
2. Always load skin file regardless of initial isValid state
Both placed objects (M2 doodads from ADT import or manual placement)
and NPC creatures now have consistent WOM→M2 fallback pipeline with
proper skin file loading.
NPC creature renderer now checks for WOM open format models in
custom_zones/models/ and output/models/ before falling back to M2
game data files. This completes the WOM integration — both placed
objects (via terrain_manager) and NPC creatures (via editor viewport)
can render from the novel open format.
WOM→M2Model conversion includes bone weights, textures, render batch,
and material setup — same pipeline as the client-side WOM loader.
Loading priority: WOM (open format) → M2 + skin (game data)
WotLK M2 models store geometry in separate .skin files. The NPC
renderer was only loading skin files when M2Loader::load() returned
invalid (empty vertices). But some M2 files have vertices in the
header yet need the skin file for indices, batches, and submeshes.
Now always attempts to load the skin file regardless of initial
isValid() state. This fixes creature models not rendering even
when the M2 and skin files exist on disk.
Also improved debug logging to show vertex/index counts when models
fail to load, making it easier to diagnose remaining issues.
- NPC markers reduced from 30-unit poles to 8-unit poles (was
overwhelming and obscuring terrain). Base 1.5u, diamond top 1u
- "Show Position Markers" checkbox in NPC panel to toggle visibility
- Markers hidden when checkbox unchecked — useful when M2 creature
models are rendering and markers are redundant
- Marker alpha reduced for less visual noise
NPC position markers were silently not rendering when no object was
selected because they relied on the gizmo's pipeline being bound, but
the gizmo only binds its pipeline when active. Now explicitly binds
the water pipeline (same pos+color vertex format with alpha blend)
before drawing NPC markers, ensuring they always appear regardless of
gizmo state.
Note: M2 creature models still require extracted game data files to
render. When model files aren't found, the colored markers (poles with
diamond tops) provide reliable visual feedback for NPC positions.
- Multi-select: Ctrl+Shift+Click adds objects to selection, transforms
(move/rotate/scale/delete) operate on all selected objects at once
- Time-of-day slider (0-24h) with automatic sun angle, light color,
ambient, fog, and sky color transitions (dawn/day/dusk/night)
- View > Sky/Lighting menu: color pickers for light/ambient/fog, fog
distance sliders, preset buttons (Dawn/Noon/Dusk/Night)
- loadADT prefers WOT/WHM open format from custom_zones/output dirs
- Selection count display when multiple objects selected
- setSkyPreset now delegates to setTimeOfDay for consistency
- River/road tool now shows translucent blue path preview ribbon with
edge lines between start and end points before applying
- Preview follows cursor when waiting for end point, locks when set
- Undo support for all remaining operations: rotateTerrain90, mirrorX,
mirrorY, scaleHeights, offsetHeights, invertHeights, smoothBeaches
- Every terrain-modifying operation in the editor is now undoable
- Ghost model state (ID, path, active flag) properly reset when
clearObjects() wipes the M2 renderer — prevents stale ghost
references causing crashes on subsequent hover
- Ghost model ID uses 59999 to avoid collision with placed object IDs
- Ghost loadModel failure now handled gracefully (returns early)
Root cause of GPU crashes (VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST): every NPC placement
triggered a full clear+reload of ALL M2 models. After several cycles
the GPU state corrupted, causing vertex explosions and device lost.
Fixes:
- NPC placement now only updates cheap marker geometry (no M2 reload)
- Full M2 rebuild only happens when object COUNT changes (not every click)
- clearAllObjects() properly resets viewport, placer, spawner, markers,
and history in one call with vkDeviceWaitIdle fence
- New Terrain uses clearAllObjects() for consistent reset
- Clear All menu item calls clearAllObjects()
- M2 vertex validation: rejects models with NaN/infinite/extreme
vertex positions before GPU upload (prevents vertex explosions)
- NPC marker building extracted to updateNpcMarkers() method
(can be called independently without M2 rebuild)
- NPC markers now render with NO depth test (via gizmo pipeline) so
they're always visible even on sloped/rough terrain
- Mesa/Plateau generator: creates raised flat areas with steep cliff
edges — configurable radius, height, and edge steepness
- NPC markers drawn after gizmo in the render pipeline to guarantee
they appear on top of everything
- Fixes NPC visibility on non-flat terrain
- NPC markers now 30 units tall with octagonal base, colored pole,
and yellow diamond at top — visible from any camera altitude
- Red pole = hostile, green pole = friendly, yellow top = all NPCs
- River/Path Carver: set start point, set end point, carves a channel
between them with configurable width and depth
- Smooth quadratic falloff at edges for natural riverbank shape
- Pair with Water mode to fill carved channels
- Load dialog shows green "Tile found" / red "Tile not found" indicator
by checking the manifest before you attempt to load
- NPC marker build/render diagnostic logging to trace rendering issues
- Map browser and tile checker work together for easy existing zone loading
- Colored diamond markers rendered at every NPC position on terrain:
red for hostile, green for friendly, with vertical pillar for height
- Renders through water pipeline (alpha-blended, depth-tested)
- Always visible regardless of whether M2 creature model renders
- Scales with NPC scale setting for consistent visual size
- This guarantees you can always see where NPCs are placed
- Remove markerRenderer_ initialization, shutdown, update, and clear
calls from EditorViewport (markers replaced by actual M2 rendering)
- Remove unused saveAdtRequested_/saveWdtRequested_ fields and their
void casts (replaced by unified exportZone workflow)
- Zero warnings across both wowee and wowee_editor targets
- Noise Generator in Sculpt panel: applies procedural value noise
with configurable frequency, amplitude, octaves, and seed
to create hills/valleys across entire tile instantly
- Sky/Lighting presets: View > Sky menu with Day (blue sky, high sun),
Dusk (orange, low sun), Night (dark blue, moonlight)
- Viewport clear color and light direction now configurable at runtime
- Noise uses smoothstep interpolation with octave fractal layering
- Yellow circle renders at cursor position showing brush radius
- Visible in Sculpt, Paint, and Water modes
- Built from 48-segment quad strip slightly above terrain surface
- Renders through the water pipeline (alpha-blended, depth-tested)
- Disappears when cursor leaves terrain or in Object/NPC modes
- Brush VB cleaned up properly on shutdown
- Ghost preview now shows in NPC mode (follows cursor with creature model)
- Added scale field to CreatureSpawn (default 1.0, slider 0.5-10x)
- NPC instances render at their configured scale
- Scale included in JSON save format
- M2Renderer::update() now runs AFTER beginFrame() so getCurrentFrame()
returns the correct frame index — fixes instance SSBO mismatch that
caused draws=0 despite loaded models
Standalone wowee_editor tool for creating custom WoW zones.
This is a rough initial implementation — many features work but
M2/WMO rendering still has issues (frame sync, texture layout
transitions) and needs further polish.
Terrain:
- Create new blank terrain with 10 biome types (Grassland, Forest,
Jungle, Desert, Barrens, Snow, Swamp, Rocky, Beach, Volcanic)
- Load existing ADT tiles from extracted game data
- Sculpt brushes: Raise, Lower, Smooth, Flatten, Level
- Chunk edge stitching prevents seams between tiles
- Undo/redo (100-deep stack, Ctrl+Z/Ctrl+Shift+Z)
- Save to WoW ADT/WDT format
Texture Painting:
- Paint/Erase/Replace Base modes
- Full tileset texture browser (1285 textures from manifest)
- Per-zone directory filtering and search
- Alpha map editing with 4-layer limit (auto-replaces weakest)
Object Placement:
- M2 and WMO model placement with full manifest browser (11k M2s, 2k WMOs)
- M2Renderer + WMORenderer integrated (loads .skin files for WotLK)
- Ghost preview follows cursor before placing
- Ctrl+click selection, right-click context menu
- Transform gizmo (Move/Rotate/Scale with axis constraints)
- Position/rotation/scale editing in properties panel
NPC/Monster System:
- 631 creature presets scanned from manifest, categorized
(Critters, Beasts, Humanoids, Undead, Demons, etc.)
- Stats editor: level, health, mana, damage, armor, faction
- Behavior: Stationary, Patrol, Wander, Scripted
- Aggro/leash radius, respawn time, flags (hostile/vendor/etc.)
- Save creature spawns to JSON
Water:
- Place water at configurable height per chunk
- Liquid types: Water, Ocean, Magma, Slime
- Rendered as translucent colored quads
- Saved in ADT MH2O format
Infrastructure:
- Free-fly camera (WASD/QE, right-drag look, scroll speed)
- 5-mode toolbar: Sculpt | Paint | Objects | Water | NPCs
- Asset browser indexes full manifest on startup
- Editor water/marker shaders (pos+color vertex format)
- forceNoCull added to M2Renderer for editor use
- AssetManifest::getEntries() and AssetManager::getManifest() exposed
Known issues:
- M2/WMO rendering may not display on first placement (frame index
sync between update/render was misaligned — now fixed but untested
end-to-end)
- Validation layer errors on shutdown (resource cleanup ordering)
- Object placement on steep terrain can miss raycast
- No undo for texture painting or object placement yet
