Flax Engine Update 1.9

General Updates
#1

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Here comes brand new Flax 1.9! This update contains hundreds of new features such as Video playback, performance boost, DDGI improvements, new Shadow Mapping, editor usability additions, and more good stuff.

For this update together with our contributors, we’ve made over 1,134 commits and merged 169 Pull Requests into Flax repositories. Thanks for your support!

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Feel free to discuss the update here :slight_smile:

Contributors: mafiesto4, Tryibion, GoaLitiuM, z1dev, abrasivetroop, Chikinsupu, MrCapy0, xxSeys1, HydrogenC, Swiggies, Menotdan, cNori, tecnessino, envision3d, Zode, RuanLucasGD, Arcnor, mtszkarbowiak, RomanZhu, GaryMcWhorter, lifeformed, amir9480, fibref, Muzz

PRs merged: 169

Changelog:

  • Add view playback support
  • Add shader cache invalidation when using debug shader option via cmd line in Editor
  • Add frustum culling for editor preview camera mesh
  • Add support for Windows on ARM
  • Add JobSystem::Dispatch that accepts dependent jobs that needs to be completed before
  • Add improved Global SDF tracing when going over different cascades
  • Add improved Global Surface Atlas lighting at far cascades and cascade borders
  • Add more precise Global SDF raycasting nearby geometry (at cost of performance)
  • Add improved Global SDF sampling at empty areas
  • Add option to sample Global SDF from higher cascade
  • Add nearby probes search to fill cells with missing GI data
  • Add random per-probe rotation for rays tracing in DDGI
  • Add option for smooth DDGI cascades blending
  • Add smoother DDGI probe relocation when old position is visible from new position
  • Add improved DDGI cascade selection by using biased world position and smooth the transition
  • Add Graphics::SpreadWorkload to disable graphics workloads amortization over several frames when debugging graphics perf
  • Add SetStablePowerState for D3D12 when doing shaders profiling
  • Add WinPixEventRuntime for D3D12 to provide GPU profiler event names
  • Add timeBeginPeriod(1) on Win32 platforms to improve timer precision
  • Add support for custom deprecation messages in bindings generator
  • Add utility Packing.hlsl shader for colors and vectors packing
  • Add SpawnParticles utility to Particle Effect
  • Add variable rate update for shadow maps atlas based on distance to light
  • Add stencilValue for stencil buffer clearing
  • Add shadows caching for static geometry
  • Add reducing shadows quality for smaller local lights
  • Add better stability to Cascaded Shadow Maps projection
  • Add new Static Flag Shadow for cached shadow maps
  • Add constant buffers alignment for data structures (16-byte boundaries)
  • Add InvalidateShadow for manual shadow cache refresh
  • Add ShadowsResolution for manually specified shadowmap resolution for lights
  • Add METERS_TO_UNITS and impl metric units in shadows rendering
  • Add GlobalSDFDistance to graphics settings for default GlobalSDF range
  • Add video texture formats YUY2 and NV12
  • Add additional StaticFlagsCompare to Render View for dynamic or static only drawing
  • Add grey out to obsolete/deprecated members in properties panel
  • Add support for custom file proxies in Editor
  • Add support for cooking raw files referenced by assets
  • Add FilePathEditor custom editor for path-based editing asset/url refs with a file picker
  • Add support for using InputAction editor on string variable
  • Add WindowsMinVer config for minimum target Windows version switch
  • Add Model SDF baking on GPU via Compute Shader
  • Add option to SDF generation via GPU in Model Window
  • Add half-texel margin to SDF around the mesh
  • Add async SDF generation for all meshes in the scene
  • Add improved Model SDF generation with sampling offset and min distance accumulation
  • Add caching Model SDF options in the project cache
  • Add increased by 1 mip sdf texture resolution for GlobalSDF building
  • Add D3D11 shaders naming for profiling
  • Add IsDebugToolAttached to GPUDevice for detecting gpu debugger tools attached and auto-enable GPU profiler in that case
  • Add option to disable particles preview in scene view and play only looping effects
  • Add alternative Rectangle function names for naming consistency
  • Add support for log context and logging missing objects container info
  • Add support for Windows SDK build 26100 (24H2)
  • Add support for injecting scene children on scene loading
  • Add new infinite grid rendering in Editor
  • Add saving debug log collapse state
  • Add Edit Prefab button for selected actor
  • Add selecting all assets and scripts that are dropped in the tree panel
  • Add separate import settings as new tab in texture window
  • Add displaying file extension for scripts in content finder to distinguish C++ files
  • Add more functionality and thumbnail to content items in finder for scripts
  • Add utility GetInstance method to Json Asset refs in C#
  • Add assertions for checking against un-normalized direction vectors
  • Add reordering lists and Visject parameters
  • Add Editor update event
  • Add type display to empty object ref in editor
  • Add slot spacing to uniform grid panel
  • Add displaying asset picker type
  • Add cutting of content items
  • Add ability to rename multiple actors using scene hierarchy
  • Add improved Visject search and filter
  • Add improved UX for disabled boxes in Visject
  • Add improved context menu search filtering in Visject
  • Add improved comment renaming and visual fix
  • Add connection curvature option to Visject
  • Add impulse/execution lines slightly thicker than data ones in Visject
  • Add minor QoL change for moving reroute nodes in Visject
  • Add new material nodes: Cone, Cycle, Linear, Radial, Ring gradients
  • Add spawning parameter setter node when holding Alt` during drag and drop
  • Add storing Debug Log view options in Editor options
  • Add generated marshallers into separate Interop namespace
  • Add new Radial Menu control
  • Add a warning when there is more than one audio listener enabled
  • Add default audio listener to newly created scenes
  • Add being able to * Add a thumbnail to a SpawnableJsonProxy
  • Add color picker option to accept changes on dismissal
  • Add option for enabling enhanced determinism in Physics
  • Add Lightmap UV material node
  • Add text alignment options to Button
  • Add support for customizing Dropdown popup visuals
  • Add smooth light brightness fade out at last 10% of ViewDistance (if used)
  • Add MaterialInstance.ResetParameters
  • Add TextFormat, SelectedItemChanged, and text alignment options to Dropdown
  • Add Graphics.ShadowUpdateRate to control global shadows atlas update rate
  • Add Git cloning plugin project inside Git repo as submodule
  • Add clearing render target pool textures to pink during in Debug builds
  • Add IndirectLightingIntensity to Sky for GI intensity control
  • Add Contrast Adaptive Sharpening (CAS) filter pass
  • Add improved default value detection for scripting object references in bindings generator
  • Add improved material instance setup on model import with base material
  • Add improved FormatBytesCount to print large sizes in more detailed way
  • Add copy/paste for material instance parameters via context menu on Parameters group header
  • Add more move value operation for various code places for better performance
  • Add support for using C# stdlib api in Visual Scripts
  • Add more contextual log printing on missing object/asset reference
  • Add Transfrom.AlignRotationToNormalAndSnapToGrid, Vector3.SnapToGrid
  • Add ability to edit position curve in timeline with a gizmo in a viewport
  • Add custom grid snapping value for translation
  • Add software raytraced reflections to transparent material that have both GI and SSR enabled
  • Add better engine responsiveness when not focused by ticking platform more frequently
  • Add grid gizmo to prefab scene
  • Add enlarging debug point of current blend value in Multi blend nodes in Anim Graph window
  • Add options menu to json assets
  • Add cleaning up modules from target files when deleted
  • Add saving collection element groups
  • Add copy/paste context actions to the sprite properties panel
  • Add preserving local changes to model prefab objects when reimporting
  • Add resizing foliage paint gizmo with shift scroll
  • Add physics and lights debug drawing in prefabs when enabled
  • Add check for not having right mouse button down for changing terrain gizmo sizes
  • Add additional Actor virtual methods to C# and Visual Scripting to override
  • Add attributes support for dotnet interop for methods, fields and properties
  • Add automatic heightmap files removal on Editor shutdown for deleted terrains
  • Add navigation focus support to AssetPicker control
  • Add caching scroll values for actors in Properties window
  • Add creating particle systems from particle emitters via context menu
  • Add creating anim graph from skinned model via context menu
  • Add prefab root actor option picking
  • Add grid snapping option to Visject Surface editor
  • Add option to reconstruct Z channel when importing OpenGL normal maps
  • Add option to flip imported texture over X axis
  • Add option to keep aspect ratio of texture when resizing
  • Add UpdateFlags to ISceneRenderingListener::UpdateActor for more contextual control over dirtying actors state in renderer data
  • Add NetworkReplicationNode::SetObject to customize object replication settings at runtime
  • Add initial AGX tonemapping implementation
  • Add widget UI root control type or canvas
  • Add tooltip and description inside Visual Script finder menu
  • Add bindings for handling MAX C++ defines in enums and converting them to C#
  • Add Invert Mouse Y-axis option to input options in Editor
  • Add handling .f in C++ values by bindings generator
  • Add code gen for FixedAllocation arrays to generate Collection attribute with allocation count
  • Add using nameof for adding new Modules to build targets
  • Add NetworkReplicator::MapObjectId for networked object identifies mapping
  • Add OrthographicSize to Camera for fixed ortho projection size
  • Add disabling decals from effecting editor camera model
  • Add material instance override options to be in setting button
  • Add generic CSharpProxy and Empty C# template
  • Add opening file proxy via shell on Windows in Editor as fallback
  • Add Shift+End and PageUp/PageDown for TextBoxBase
  • Add ControlChildSize option to disable auto resizing child controls in UI panel
  • Add Background Brush to the control for more styling
  • Add caching review model in Animation window
  • Add Foliage.RemoveAllInstances to clear all instances of foliage
  • Add gamepad buttons to Axis Config
  • Add actor type and script type to search filters (a: for actors and s: for scripts, eg. a:SkyLight, s:TestingMovement, MainLight)
  • Add improved anim slot blending between animation in the same slot
  • Add picking the longest animation from the imported file instead of the first one as default
  • Add CHECK_DEBUG and use it over over ASSERT in normalized direction checks
  • Add requesting engine exit event. Expose Fatal error and requesting exit it to C#
  • Optimize world matrix storage for drawable objects to use Matrix3x4 instead of full matrix
  • Optimize decals rendering
  • Optimize depth pass rendering to batch simple materials together
  • Optimize env probes data storage in renderer
  • Optimize local lights sphere mesh rendering to match the area better
  • Optimize BoundingSphere.Intersects to be inlined by the compiler
  • Optimize FileReadStream seeking if new position is within the cached buffer
  • Optimize draw calls batching sorting with Merge Sort
  • Optimize win32 filesystem access via static buffer or unlimited path len
  • Optimize Windows Development builds to use SSE2 by default on Windows and use SSE4.1 when targeting Windows 11
  • Optimize StaticModel draw into SDF and SurfaceAtlas if SDF texture is unused
  • Optimize SceneObjectsFactory::SetupPrefabInstances when loading large scenes
  • Optimize SceneObjectsFactory::SynchronizeNewPrefabInstances when loading large scenes
  • Optimize Global SDF drawing with async job system
  • Optimize Global SDF to use 8-bit storage (50% less memory usage)
  • Optimize Global Surface Atlas drawing when atlas is full
  • Optimize Global Surface Atlas defragmenting to just reset tiles, not whole objects list
  • Optimize Global Surface Atlas setup and objects buffer writing to be async
  • Optimize Global Surface Atlas objects culling with shared thread group pre-cull
  • Optimize GPU memory usage in Editor when viewport is inactive
  • Optimize and refactor DDGI to use linear attention per-probe to dynamically control ray count and blend speed
  • Optimize DDGI probes border pixels to be copied within probe update, rather than via separate dispatch
  • Optimize draw calls sorting and objects buffer building to be async
  • Optimize new rectangle packing to use binary search for faster inserting
  • Optimize wait signal in Job System to wake waiting threads only when job batch ends
  • Optimize DynamicTypedBuffer and DynamicStructuredBuffer to use GPU-memory for commonly used single-frame uploads
  • Refactor DDGI probe relocation algorithm to have smoother and more precise placement
  • Refactor draw calls rendering to use single objects buffer and better materials batching
  • Refactor RectPack into new RectPackNode and RectPackAtlas that uses more optimized memory allocations
  • Refactor SortOrder to use int8 instead of int16 due to performance reasons (more efficient sort keys packing in rendering)
  • Refactor Button to inherit from Label and get all of its functionalities
  • Refactor WindowsFileSystemWatcher to properly handle file modifications
  • Refactor Audio Backend to support single listener only
  • Refactor Asset::GetReferences to support file path references
  • Refactor shadows rendering to use Shadow Map Atlas
  • Rename ShadowSamplerPCF to ShadowSamplerLinear
  • Reimplement cascaded shadow maps blending via dithering (optimized shader)
  • Update GDK to 230305 and support v143 MSVC toolset
  • Update VulkanMemoryAllocator to version3.1.0
  • Update Assimp to v5.4.1
  • Update meshoptimizer to version v0.21
  • Update OpenFBX to the latest version Jun 22, 2024 (* Add new triangulation)
  • Update various third party dependencies
  • Fix various FBX importing issues (new triangulation, better format support)
  • Fix drop down image on scripts to be hidden if no objects are in the group
  • Fix xml tooltips processing to ignore excessive whitespaces
  • Fix thumb of scrollbar not showing up until dragged by user
  • Fix Convert to Parameter to check if can perform action
  • Fix playing from first scene with invalid asset id
  • Fix project cache in editor to use invariant culture when converting numbers
  • Fix game build when using some missing debug draw methods
  • Fix editor play state exceptions into errors to prevent locking editor state
  • Fix SliderControl not being unfocused on value change
  • Fix header height when using HeaderAttribute with multiline label
  • Fix TAA jittering when rendering UI in world after TAA resolve
  • Fix a few edge cases for cursor showing/not showing
  • Fix progress bar normalized percentage drawing
  • Fix tree nodes culling when using search in scene tree
  • Fix UICanvas controls to update when cavnas skips input events
  • Fix UI control borders not tinting
  • Fix missing layout performing of splitter panel once splitter is done being dragged
  • Fix asset to be soft when transformation is nan or inf
  • Fix text wrapping to wrap only on underscores and not other special characters
  • Fix timer queries reset before use on Vulkan
  • Fix terrain SDF thickness to be fixed at 300 units
  • Fix terrain rasterization into Global SDF to less blocky
  • Fix Global SDF sampling in materials to properly read far cascades
  • Fix Global SDF mip sampling artifacts on edges of distance limit
  • Fix DDGI probes scrolling to properly handle bigger scroll deltas
  • Fix single-frame DDGI black artifacts when Global Surface Atlas got defragmented
  • Fix Global Surface Atlas flickering in scenes with lots of objects
  • Fix missing GPU events when using shaders profiling/debugging or graphics dev tools are enabled
  • Fix D3D11 to properly issue instanced draws even if instance count is 1
  • Fix D3D11 to properly flush CB/SRVs when bindings new shaders after CB/SRV was set
  • Fix HashSet adding item via move operation
  • Fix playing 6-channel audio with XAudio2 backend
  • Fix MIN_int32 compilation on the latest Clang
  • Fix model thumbnail for very large assets
  • Fix Global Surface Atlas defragmentation flicker when atlas it nearly full
  • Fix GlobalSDF for meshes intersections for negative distances inside the geometry
  • Fix GPU Tasks queue to be executed on frame start, rather than end
  • Fix GPUTexture::GetData to properly handle volume textures
  • Fix texture copy into staging one on DX12 and Vulkan
  • Fix missing DirectX resources naming in Development builds for profiling
  • Fix SSAO flickering artifacts in cooked game (disable depth mips usage)
  • Fix Model SDF texture streaming to properly mark highest loaded mip as resident
  • Fix generating project files for VSCode on Mac without .NET x64 SDK installed
  • Fix statically linked binary modules not getting compiled
  • Fix the profiler charts in place and only scroll profiler info
  • Fix prefab actor buttons to be invisible in Prefab Window
  • Fix Variant getters returning already freed managed handles
  • Fix Delegate invoke to copy arguments values to each call instead of passing as reference
  • Fix World Triplanar Texture node to support displacement and float4 value
  • Fix missing debug draw from prefabs
  • Fix terrain modes to not be visible if no terrain panel is showing
  • Fix incorrect zoom in viewport if shift key is clicked and window is not focused
  • Fix not needed anymore zero clamping from HingeJointDrive in Editor
  • Fix surface parameters sorting alphabetically only if script member order is set to Alphabetical
  • Fix Vector IsNormalized checks to use larger epsilon
  • Fix undo-redo for JsonAssetReference in Editor
  • Fix ConvertMouseToRay for orthographic projection
  • Fix drawing physics colliders in debug view mode
  • Fix Content Finder input action binding in Output Log
  • Fix editor viewport mouse control bug when using Alt key
  • Fix editor log spam by rebuilding layout when Custom Editor throws exception on update
  • Fix network profiler to properly calculate network usage statistics per second
  • Fix animated model parameters to be hidden on end play
  • Fix leftover bindings for InputEvent and InputAxis events on dispose
  • Fix progress bar lerp jumping when first initialized
  • Fix foliage shadows rendering when using cull distance
  • Fix spline length calculations bug
  • Fix SpriteRender all parameters override
  • Fix terrain rendering to use the same LOD for main view and shadow passes
  • Fix texture streaming reallocation task to ignore not-resident mips
  • Fix Multi Blend 2D animation indices outside the blend space
  • Fix missing parameters metadata on nested material layers
  • Fix turbulence module in GPU particles far away from world origin
  • Fix Flipbook node bug
  • Fix Pre-Skinned Normal and Position when accessed in Pixel Shader
  • Fix missing integer and double math node implementation in Visject
  • Fix using Tag as key of serialized dictionary in cooked build
  • Fix Visject parameter values restore after script is saved in editor by using original value diff
  • Fix GPU particles issues with Global SDF far away from scene geometry
  • Fix DDGI probes debug when using very large amount of probes
  • Fix directional lights shadows jittering when using TAA
  • Fix profiler window tabs layout for charts
  • Fix draw calls sorting to favor distance over geometry and material
  • Fix GlobalSDF tracing artifacts in reflections by using occlusion bias relative to each cascade voxel size
  • Fix border placement in Dropdown control
  • Fix importing compressed textures with DirectXTex with resizing
  • Fix bug with missing baked SDF data on save when asset data chunk memory was freed by GC
  • Fix interface bindings clashing namespace and class name if class has same name as namespace
  • Fix properties editor labels positioning
  • Fix sprite group name to be updated when sprite name is changed
  • Fix BehaviorTreeMoveToNode when goal location changes every frame by less than tolerance
  • Fix audio state for non-streaming audio
  • Fix HRTF audio on start in cooked game if disabled in settings
  • Fix C# structures memory packing to match C++ better
  • Fix custom 2D clipping mask to properly inherit parent container clip mask
  • Fix HasBorder and BorderThickness for Rich Text Box
  • Fix Label auto sizing to be relative to pivot and sync layout when editing
  • Fix Linux platform CreateProcess not working with whitespace in path
  • Fix Input::AxisValueChanged event to properly handle value changes when using keyboard
  • Fix incorrect network RPC sending when target client ids list is provided but is empty
  • Fix lightmap uvs density view to handle scale in lightmap and outline non-static objects
  • Fix NetworkLagDriver having wrong ChannelType and Length
  • Fix realtime environment probes updating
  • Fix missing scenes saving when entering play mode in full game mode
  • Fix TextBox caret and selection when using text alignment options
  • Fix RichTextBox selection bug when using style tags
  • Fix navigation focus path in UIControl transform editor
  • Fix game crashes due to scene objects C# instances removal on EndPlay before all game logic ends
  • Fix freeing managed Object references in marshalled arrays
  • Fix graphical glitches in Vulkan backend with AMD GPUs
  • Fix error when previewing animation timeline values after reimport
  • Fix mesh collider not inverting correctly due to negative scale
  • Fix Invariant culture for unknown LCID
  • Fix layers array editing to block resizing it
  • Fix Translate/Rotate/Scale/TransformSpace hotkeys to be ignored when holding RMB
  • Fix warnings about upcoming C# reserved keywords
  • Fix deserializing clipboard content in Custom Editor paste checks to avoid safety issues
  • Fix CharacterController::SimpleMove gravity displacement handling
  • Fix missing CCD detection flag in pair flags to properly handle physics simulation
  • Fix vehicles simulation instability when physics substepping is enabled
  • Fix redundant first tab on floating window to be removed
  • Fix unpacking marshaled field value
  • Fix various issues related to fbx files importing (better triangulation)
  • Fix incorrect JsonAssetReference<T> serialization
  • Fix not being able to drag a window tab all of the way to the right
  • Fix Quaternion.FromDirection giving bogus output when fed a perfect down vector
  • Fix IsActuallyPlayingSth to be deprecated and (add IsActuallyPlaying to AudioSource)
  • Fix crash in CharacterController to not process hits against removed actors
  • Fix crash in gpu memory profiler if resource name is missing
  • Fix crash when loading large scenes in async by using UnsafeAccessor to initialize scripting object interop fields
  • Fix crash in D3D12 when constant buffer was binded but not updated before the draw
  • Fix crash in particle emitter load
  • Fix crash in build tool when generating project files with incorrect target setup
  • Fix crash in editor when opening Visual Script that uses array of visual script references
  • Fix crash in audio clip if it’s still streaming after unload
  • Fix crash in Level.GetScene when index is invalid
  • Fix crash on exit when GPU async task failed
  • Fix crash when trying to import unsupported EXR-file
  • Fix crash when removing Visual Script asset that’s instance is selected in Properties window
  • Fix crash when showing shader source that is empty
  • Fix crash when using content search in Visject surface
  • Fix crash when drawing particle effect where one of the emitter assets is not yet loaded
  • Fix crash when using and saving scene with Visual Script object instance which asset was deleted
  • Fix crash when reading invalid data from file
  • Fix crash in Colliders when PhysicsMaterial asset is reloaded in editor
4 Likes
#2

I notice in a test conversion of a 1.8.2 terrain with multiple patches that splits became visible at the patch boundaries when the project was opened in the 1.9 update. Removing the terrain (and the height map files that are in the scene / terrain data and not automatically deleted without an editor shutdown), and rebuilding the terrain removes the problem - this may not be a viable fix for someone updating manually sculpted terrain from 1.8, so make a backup.

This issue is still present: Issues with terrain LOD distribution

On the plus side, amazing update and a big thanks to everyone for the hard work!

#3

Thanks for the nice update. A lot to test. The project converted from 1.8 for me.

Note: I don’t use the terrain system as above so cannot add comment.