Inspect: CMSG_INSPECT was writing full uint64 GUID instead of packed GUID.
Server silently rejected the malformed packet. Fixed both InspectPacket and
QueryInspectAchievementsPacket to use writePackedGuid().
Follow: was a no-op (only stored GUID). Added client-side auto-follow system:
camera controller walks toward followed entity, faces target, cancels on
WASD/mouse input, stops within 3 units, cancels at 40+ units distance.
Party commands:
- /lootmethod (ffa/roundrobin/master/group/nbg) sends CMSG_LOOT_METHOD
- /lootthreshold (0-5 or quality name) sets minimum loot quality
- /raidconvert converts party to raid (leader only)
Equipment diagnostic logging still active for debugging naked players.
Spline parsing: remove Classic format fallback from the WotLK parser. The
PacketParsers hierarchy already dispatches to expansion-specific parsers
(Classic/TBC/WotLK/Turtle), so the WotLK parseMovementBlock should only
attempt WotLK spline format. The Classic fallback could false-positive when
durationMod bytes resembled a valid point count, corrupting downstream parsing.
Preload DBC caches: call loadSpellNameCache() and 5 other lazy DBC caches
during handleLoginVerifyWorld() on initial world entry. This moves the ~170ms
Spell.csv load from the first SMSG_SPELL_GO handler to the loading screen,
eliminating the mid-gameplay stall.
WMO portal culling: move per-instance portalVisibleGroups vector and
portalVisibleGroupSet to reusable member variables, eliminating heap
allocations per WMO instance per frame.
Spline auto-detection: try WotLK format before Classic to prevent false-positive
matches where durationMod float bytes resemble a valid Classic pointCount. This
caused the movement block to consume wrong byte count, corrupting the update mask
read (maskBlockCount=57/129/203 instead of ~5) and silently dropping NPC spawns.
Terrain latency: bound WMO liquid group loading to 4 groups per advanceFinalization
call. Large WMOs (e.g., Stormwind canals with 40+ liquid groups) previously loaded
all groups in one unbounded loop, blowing past the 8ms frame budget and causing
stalls up to 1300ms. Now yields back to processReadyTiles() after 4 groups so the
time budget check can break out.
- Hoist DBC field index lookups before loops in game_handler (7 DBC iteration loops)
- Cache getSkybox()/getPosition() calls instead of redundant per-frame queries
- Merge textureHasAlphaByPtr_ + textureColorKeyBlackByPtr_ into single map
- Add constexpr for DEG_TO_RAD, reciprocal constants, physics delta
- Add reserve() for WMO/M2 collision grid queries and portal BFS
- Frustum plane normalize: inversesqrt instead of length+divide
- M2 particle emission: inversesqrt for direction normalization
- Parse creature display IDs from query response
- UI: show spell names/IDs as fallback instead of "Unknown"
Squared distance optimizations across 30 files:
- Convert glm::length() comparisons to glm::dot() (no sqrt)
- Use glm::inversesqrt() for check-then-normalize patterns (1 rsqrt vs 2 sqrt)
- Defer sqrt to after early-out checks in collision/movement code
- Hottest paths: camera_controller (21), weather particles, WMO collision,
transport movement, creature interpolation, nameplate culling
Container and algorithm improvements:
- std::map<string> → std::unordered_map for asset/DBC/MPQ/warden caches
- std::mutex → std::shared_mutex for asset_manager and mpq_manager caches
- std::sort → std::partial_sort in lighting_manager (top-2 of N volumes)
- Double-lookup find()+operator[] → insert_or_assign in game_handler
- Add reserve() for per-frame vectors: weather, swim_effects, WMO/M2 collision
Threading and synchronization:
- Replace 1ms busy-wait polling with condition_variable in character_renderer
- Move timestamp capture before mutex in logger
- Use memory_order_acquire/release for normal map completion signaling
API additions:
- DBC getStringView()/getStringViewByOffset() for zero-copy string access
- Parse creature display IDs from SMSG_CREATURE_QUERY_SINGLE_RESPONSE
Add [[nodiscard]] to VkShaderModule::loadFromFile, Shader::loadFromFile/
loadFromSource, AssetManifest::load, DbcLoader::load — all return bool
indicating success/failure that callers should check.
Suppress with (void) at 17 call sites where validity is checked via
isValid() after loading rather than the return value (m2_renderer
recreatePipelines, swim_effects recreatePipelines).
The findMemType/findMemoryType helper in auth_screen, loading_screen,
and vk_context returned 0 on failure — a valid memory type index.
Changed to return UINT32_MAX and log an error, so vkAllocateMemory
receives an invalid index and fails cleanly rather than silently
using the wrong memory type.
Add [[nodiscard]] to VkBuffer::uploadToGPU/createMapped and
VkContext::initialize/recreateSwapchain so callers that ignore
failure are flagged at compile time. Suppress with (void) cast at
3 call sites where failure is non-actionable (resize best-effort).
Request 2 queues from the graphics family when available (NVIDIA
exposes 16, AMD 2+). Upload batches now submit to queue[1] while
rendering uses queue[0], enabling parallel GPU transfers without
queue-family ownership transfer barriers (same family).
Falls back to single-queue path on GPUs with only 1 queue in the
graphics family. Transfer command pool is separate to avoid contention.
When parallel recording is active, the scene pass uses
VK_SUBPASS_CONTENTS_SECONDARY_COMMAND_BUFFERS. Post-processing paths
(FSR/FXAA) end the scene pass and begin a new INLINE render pass for
the swapchain output. ImGui rendering must use the correct mode —
secondary buffers for SECONDARY passes, direct calls for INLINE.
Previously the check used a static condition based on enabled features
(!fsr && !fsr2 && !fxaa && parallel), which could mismatch if a
feature was enabled but initialization failed. Replace with
endFrameInlineMode_ flag that tracks the actual current render pass
mode at runtime, eliminating the validation error
VUID-vkCmdDrawIndexed-commandBuffer-recording that caused intermittent
NVIDIA driver crashes.
Validation layers revealed 9965 VkSamplers allocated against a device
limit of 4000 — every VkTexture created its own sampler even when
configurations were identical. This exhausted NVIDIA's sampler pool
and caused intermittent SIGSEGV in vkCmdBeginRenderPass.
Add a thread-safe sampler cache in VkContext that deduplicates samplers
by FNV-1a hash of all 14 VkSamplerCreateInfo fields. All texture,
render target, renderer, water, and loading screen sampler creation
now goes through getOrCreateSampler(). Textures set ownsSampler_=false
so shared samplers aren't double-freed.
Also auto-disable anisotropy in the cache when the physical device
doesn't support the samplerAnisotropy feature, fixing the validation
error VUID-VkSamplerCreateInfo-anisotropyEnable-01070.
Log GPU name and vendor ID during VkContext initialization for easier
debugging of GPU-specific issues (FSR3, driver compat, etc.). Add
isAmdGpu()/isNvidiaGpu() accessors.
Temporarily log SMSG_PLAY_SOUND and SMSG_PLAY_OBJECT_SOUND at WARN
level (sound ID, name, file path) to diagnose unidentified ambient
NPC sounds reported by the user.
Create a VkPipelineCache at device init, loaded from disk if available.
All 65 pipeline creation calls across 19 renderer files now use the
shared cache. On shutdown, the cache is serialized to disk so subsequent
launches skip redundant shader compilation.
Cache path: ~/.local/share/wowee/pipeline_cache.bin (Linux),
~/Library/Caches/wowee/ (macOS), %APPDATA%\wowee\ (Windows).
Stale/corrupt caches are handled gracefully (fallback to empty cache).
Chest-type game objects (quest pickups, treasure chests) now send
CMSG_LOOT directly with the GO GUID instead of CMSG_GAMEOBJ_USE +
delayed CMSG_LOOT. The server's loot handler activates the GO and
sends SMSG_LOOT_RESPONSE in one step. The old approach failed because
CMSG_GAMEOBJ_USE opened+despawned the GO before CMSG_LOOT arrived.
Double M2 bone and material descriptor pool sizes (8192 → 16384) to
handle the increased NPC count from the spline parsing fix — patrolling
NPCs that were previously invisible now spawn correctly, exhausting
the old pool limits.
Add setZoneName() to LoadingScreen and display the map name from Map.dbc
as large gold text with drop shadow above the progress bar. Shown in both
render() and renderOverlay() paths. Zone name is resolved from gameHandler's
getMapName(mapId) during world load. Improves feedback during zone transitions.
Add Weather::Type::STORM enum value and wire it from SMSG_WEATHER type 3.
Storm particles are faster (70 units/s vs rain's 50), wind-angled at 15+
units lateral velocity with gusty turbulence, darker blue-grey tint, and
shorter lifetime. Previously storms rendered identically to rain.
Add QuestPoi struct and setQuestPois() to WorldMap, render quest objective
markers as cyan circles with golden outlines and quest title labels. Wire
gossipPois_ (from SMSG_QUEST_POI_QUERY_RESPONSE) through GameScreen to the
world map so quest objectives are visible alongside party dots and taxi nodes.
Add indoor/outdoor state macro conditionals using the renderer's WMO
interior detection. Essential for mount macros that need to select
ground mounts indoors vs flying mounts outdoors. The Renderer now
caches the insideWmo state in playerIndoors_ and exposes it via
isPlayerIndoors(). Updated /macrohelp to list the new conditionals.
Spell visual M2 models that fail to load (missing file, empty model,
or GPU upload failure) were re-attempted on every subsequent spell cast,
causing repeated file I/O during combat. Now caches failed model IDs in
spellVisualFailedModels_ so they are skipped on subsequent attempts.
Spell visual effects previously used a fixed 3.5s duration for all
effects, causing some to linger too long and overlap during combat.
Now queries the M2 model's default animation duration via the new
getInstanceAnimDuration() method and clamps it to 0.5-5s. Effects
without animations fall back to a 2s default. This makes spell impacts
feel more responsive and reduces visual clutter.
Captures the Vulkan swapchain image to PNG via stb_image_write.
Screenshots saved to ~/.wowee/screenshots/ with timestamped filenames.
Cross-platform: BGRA→RGBA swizzle, localtime_r/localtime_s.
Replace processAllReadyTiles() with bounded processReadyTiles() in the
same-map teleport and reconnect paths. processAllReadyTiles finalizes
every pending tile synchronously with a GPU sync wait, which caused
8+ second main-thread stalls when many tiles were queued. The bounded
version processes 1-4 tiles per call with async GPU upload — remaining
tiles finalize incrementally over subsequent frames.
Models that lose all instances are no longer immediately evicted from
GPU memory. Instead they get a 60-second grace period, preventing the
thrash cycle where GO models (barrels, chests, herbs) were evicted
every 5 seconds and re-loaded when the same object type respawned.
- CameraController::resetAngles(): new method that only resets yaw/pitch
without teleporting the player. R key now calls resetAngles() instead
of reset() so pressing R no longer moves the character to spawn.
The full reset() (position + angles) is still used on world-entry and
respawn via application.cpp.
- packet_parsers_classic: parseSpellStart now calls
skipClassicSpellCastTargets() to consume all target payload bytes
(UNIT, ITEM, SOURCE_LOCATION, DEST_LOCATION, etc.) instead of only
handling UNIT/OBJECT. Prevents packet-read corruption for ground-
targeted AoE spells.
- packet_parsers_tbc: added skipTbcSpellCastTargets() static helper
(uint32 targetFlags, full payload coverage including TRADE_ITEM and
STRING targets). parseSpellStart now uses it.
When the player dies and releases spirit, the world map now renders a
bone-white X cross at the corpse's location (matching the existing
minimap skull marker). The marker appears only when the player is a
ghost with an unclaimed corpse on the same map, and shows a "Your
corpse" tooltip on hover. Implemented via setCorpsePos() on WorldMap,
called from renderWorldMap() using getCorpseCanonicalPos().
Add gold diamond markers for every flight master the player has already
discovered (knownTaxiMask_), read from TaxiNodes.dbc and filtered to the
current continent/map being displayed:
- WorldMapTaxiNode struct carries canonical WoW coords + known flag
- WorldMap::setTaxiNodes() accepts the per-frame list from game_screen
- renderImGuiOverlay() projects each known node to UV, draws a gold
diamond (AddQuadFilled) with a dark outline, and shows the node name
as a tooltip on hover
- GameHandler::isKnownTaxiNode(id) checks knownTaxiMask_[] efficiently
- Markers update live — newly discovered nodes appear without reopening
the map
loadSpellVisualDbc() now builds two distinct maps:
spellVisualCastPath_ — visualId → M2 via SpellVisual.CastKit chain
spellVisualImpactPath_ — visualId → M2 via SpellVisual.ImpactKit chain
playSpellVisual() accepts useImpactKit=false (default, cast) / true (impact).
SMSG_PLAY_SPELL_IMPACT passes useImpactKit=true so impact effects (explosions,
debuff indicators) use the ImpactKit model instead of the CastKit model.
Added ImpactKit field to all four dbc_layouts.json files.
Parse SMSG_PLAY_SPELL_VISUAL (casterGuid + visualId) and spawn a
transient M2 spell effect at the caster's world position.
DBC chain: SpellVisual.dbc → SpellVisualKit.dbc → SpellVisualEffectName.dbc
Lookup priority: CastKit.SpecialEffect0, fallback to MissileModel.
Models are lazy-loaded and cached by path; instances auto-expire after 3.5s.
DBC layouts added to all four expansion layout files (Classic/TBC/WotLK/Turtle).
Replace the static filled circle with a red triangle arrow that
rotates to match the character's current facing direction.
Uses the same render-space yaw convention as the 3D scene so
the arrow matches in-world orientation.
Prevents unbounded GPU memory growth in long play sessions where the player
visits many zones. Tiles are inserted into a FIFO deque; when the count of
successfully-loaded tiles exceeds MAX_TILE_CACHE (128), the oldest entry is
destroyed and removed from both the cache map and the deque.
At 256×256×4 bytes per tile this caps minimap GPU usage at ~32 MB.
Terrain pool 16384→65536, WMO pool 8192→32768. The previous sizes
were too small for the load/unload radii, causing pool exhaustion
and a hard crash when streaming terrain on large maps.
The lightning system (lightning.hpp/cpp) was fully implemented but never
wired into the renderer. Connect it now:
- Enable lightning during server storm weather (wType==3, intensity>0.1)
and heavy rain (wType==1, intensity>0.7) as a bonus visual
- Scale lightning intensity proportionally to weather intensity
- Render in both parallel (SEC_POST) and fallback rendering paths
- Update and shutdown alongside the weather system
- Show active lightning info in the performance HUD weather section
gameObjectDisplayIdWmoCache_ was not cleared on world unload/transition,
causing stale WMO model IDs (e.g. 40006, 40003) to be looked up after
the renderer cleared its model list, resulting in "Cannot create instance
of unloaded WMO model" errors on zone re-entry.
Changes:
- Clear gameObjectDisplayIdWmoCache_ alongside other GO caches on world reset
- Add WMORenderer::isModelLoaded() for cache-hit validation
- Inline GO WMO path now verifies cached model is still renderer-resident
before using it; evicts stale entries and falls back to reload
Parse M2RibbonEmitter data (WotLK format) from M2 files — bone index,
position, color/alpha/height tracks, edgesPerSecond, edgeLifetime,
gravity. Add CPU-side trail simulation per instance (edge birth at bone
world position, lifetime expiry, gravity droop). New m2_ribbon.vert/frag
shaders render a triangle-strip quad per emitter using the existing
particleTexLayout_ descriptor set. Supports both alpha-blend and additive
pipeline variants based on material blend mode. Fixes invisible spell
trail effects (~5-10%% of spell visuals) that were silently skipped.
- FXAA path: repurpose _pad field as 'desaturate' push constant; when
ghostMode_ is true, convert final pixel to grayscale with slight cool
blue tint using luma(0.299,0.587,0.114) mix
- Non-FXAA path: apply a high-opacity gray overlay (rgba 0.5,0.5,0.55,0.82)
over the scene for a washed-out look
- Both parallel (SEC_POST) and single-threaded render paths covered
- ghostMode_ flag set each frame from gameHandler->isPlayerGhost()
FSR EASU and FSR2 sharpen fragment shaders had a manual Y-flip to undo
the now-removed postprocess.vert flip. Strip those since the vertex
shader no longer flips, making all postprocess paths consistent.
Also flip the default mouse Y-axis to match user expectation (mouse
down = look up / flight-sim style) and make FSR1 disable MSAA on
enable, matching FSR2 behaviour (FSR provides its own spatial AA).
- Change maxRow/maxCol from uint8_t to int in renderTalentTree to prevent
infinite loop: uint8_t col <= 255 never exits since col wraps 255→0.
Add sanity cap of 15 rows/cols to guard against corrupt DBC data.
- Fix dangling reference warning in getFormattedTitle (lambda reference)
- Raise MAX_PITCH from 35° to 88° to match WoW standard upward look range
- Add triggerShake(magnitude, frequency, duration) to CameraController
- Apply envelope-decaying sinusoidal XYZ offset to camera in update()
- Handle SMSG_CAMERA_SHAKE opcode in GameHandler dispatch
- Translate shakeId to magnitude (minor <50: 0.04, larger: 0.08 world units)
- Wire CameraShakeCallback from GameHandler through to CameraController
- Shake uses 18Hz oscillation with 30% fade-out envelope at end of duration
Move ShadowParamsUBO from 5 separate shadow rendering functions (2 in
m2_renderer, 1 in terrain_renderer, 1 in wmo_renderer) into shared
vk_frame_data.hpp header. Eliminates 5 identical local struct definitions
and improves consistency across all shadow pass implementations. Structure
layout matches shader std140 uniform buffer requirements.
Move envSizeMBOrDefault and envSizeOrDefault from 4 separate rendering
modules (character_renderer, m2_renderer, terrain_renderer, wmo_renderer)
into shared vk_utils.hpp header as inline functions. Use the most robust
version which includes overflow checking for MB-to-bytes conversion. This
eliminates 7 identical local function definitions and improves consistency
across all rendering modules.
