README.md

RenderGraph based Vulkan Renderer

This is a personal project build by myself while learning Vulkan API. It mainly consists of following 2 parts:

1. RHI & VulkanRHI: Vulkan Render Hardware Interface
2. RenderCore(V2): high level rendering framework build on VulkanRHI:
   • RenderGraph: Manage passes, dependencies, resources, barriers.
   • RenderDevice: Manage frame acquirement and frame presentation.
   • SceneRenderer: Render scene-graph based scenes.
   • SkyboxRenderer: Process environment textures and draw skybox.

M4-2025.2.6

Current Status:

Implemented basic IBL+PBR lighting. Adds a separate SkyboxRenderer for processing environment textures.

scene_renderer_demo (basic PBR with IBL, use SceneGraph to manage gltf models)

Next steps: Focus on refactor and new rendering algorithms.

• Optimize texture loading command submission: RenderDoc capture events show that too many command submission when copying from stating buffer to gpu texture, to be optimized and fixed.
• Implement more concise and explicit layout transition: consider using dynamic rendering feature to replace current framebuffer/renderpass setup.
• Fix bugs in render graph cpu memory allocation and deallocation.
• Refactor & Fix Bugs in current asset loading code (model & texture): when loading some gltf models, the result is not correct, maybe sth wrong with the coordinate system. Consider implementing a robust asset lib and convert various asset format to self-defined format.
• Study state of the art global illumination algorithms.

M3-2025.2.2

Current Status:

Refined VulkanRHI and Render framework V2. Implemented scene graph based renderer demo.

scene_renderer_demo(basic PBR with static lighting, use SceneGraph to manage gltf models)

Next steps:

Refine further ZenEngine's VulkanRHI and RenderCoreV2 framework. Implement more rendering algorithms.

M2-2024.10.21

Current Status:

Implemented VulkanRHI and Render framework V2 from scratch (Basic structure and functionality implemented, but may contain bugs). Already implemented 2 sample applications based on Vulkan Samples.

hello_triangle(with texture)

gears

Next steps:

Re-write all Vulkan Samples using ZenEngine's VulkanRHI and RenderCoreV2.

M1-2024.1.3

Implemented Simple PBR with static point lights.

Main Features(Implemented):

1. Vulkan Abstraction Layer
2. Simple RenderGraph.
3. Scene Graph.
4. PBR with static point lights.

Next Steps

1. Refactor Vulkan Abstraction Layer

   • Main Goal: Robust Pipeline Management, Support for Raytracing.

2. Refactor RenderGraph

   • Main Goal: Barrier Management, Aliasing, Reorder, Multi-RDGPass, Support for Raytracing.

3. Hybrid Rendering.

4. Dynamic Diffuse Global Illumination (DDGI).

M0-2023.10.2

Current Status:

Finally! Hello, Triangle! (single pass, fixed shader without input)

Next steps:

1. Vertex inputs.
2. Uniform buffers.
3. Load Meshes.
4. Load Textures.
5. More passes.
6. More reasonable barriers.
7. Merging passes, use Subpass dependency instead of pipeline barriers.