Rendering system: Vulkan and DirectX 12 pipelines

Prisma Engine’s rendering system is a modern, modular graphics layer built for C++20. It abstracts over Vulkan and DirectX 12 through a shared IRenderBackend interface, providing forward and deferred pipelines, a high-level Renderer submission API, and an in-progress RenderGraph for automatic resource dependency management and barrier optimization.

Backend architecture

The rendering stack is organized in four layers:

RenderSystem
├── RenderBackend (IRenderBackend abstraction)
│   ├── DirectX 12 adapter  — Windows primary backend
│   ├── Vulkan adapter      — Windows, Linux, Android
│   └── [Future: Metal]     — macOS / iOS
├── IResourceFactory
│   ├── DX12ResourceFactory
│   └── VulkanResourceFactory
├── Render Pipelines
│   ├── Forward Pipeline
│   └── Deferred Pipeline
└── RenderGraph (in progress)

Vulkan
DirectX 12

The Vulkan backend runs on Windows, Linux, and Android. Shaders are loaded as SPIR-V binaries compiled from GLSL source via glslangValidator. RenderDoc integration is available for frame capture and debugging.Sources: src/engine/graphic/adapters/vulkan/

The DX12 backend is the primary renderer on Windows. It uses Enhanced Barriers and integrates with PIX for GPU debugging. Shaders are authored in HLSL and compiled to DXIL bytecode with fxc or dxc.Sources: src/engine/graphic/adapters/dx12/

Render pipelines

Forward pipeline
Deferred pipeline

The forward pipeline renders geometry in a single pass per light, keeping memory bandwidth low and making it well-suited for scenes with few light sources or transparent geometry.Passes (in order):

Pass	File	Purpose
`DepthPrePass`	`pipelines/forward/DepthPrePass.*`	Fill the depth buffer before shading
`OpaquePass`	`pipelines/forward/OpaquePass.*`	Shade fully opaque geometry
`TransparentPass`	`pipelines/forward/TransparentPass.*`	Alpha-blended geometry, back-to-front sorted

The deferred pipeline separates geometry from lighting. A G-Buffer accumulates surface attributes, and a separate composition pass evaluates all lights in screen space.Passes (in order):

Pass	File	Purpose
`GeometryPass`	`pipelines/deferred/GeometryPass.*`	Write albedo, normals, and depth to G-Buffer
`CompositionPass`	`pipelines/deferred/CompositionPass.*`	Evaluate lights and compose final image

RenderSystem lifecycle

RenderSystem is the top-level manager. Initialize it once at startup, then drive the frame loop with the methods below.

namespace PrismaEngine {
namespace Graphic {

class RenderSystem {
public:
    // Initialize rendering system
    bool Initialize(Platform* platform, RenderAPI api,
                   WindowHandle window, void* surface,
                   uint32_t width, uint32_t height);

    // Frame control
    void BeginFrame();
    void EndFrame();
    void Present();
    void Resize(uint32_t width, uint32_t height);

    // Access the active backend
    IRenderBackend* GetBackend() const;
};

} // namespace Graphic
} // namespace PrismaEngine

A typical game loop looks like this:

auto renderSystem = Graphic::RenderSystem::GetInstance();
renderSystem->Initialize(platform.get(), Graphic::RenderAPI::Vulkan,
                         window, nullptr, 1920, 1080);

while (running) {
    renderSystem->BeginFrame();

    // Submit draw commands via Renderer (see below)
    Graphic::Renderer::BeginScene(cameraData);
    Graphic::Renderer::Submit(mesh, material, transform);
    Graphic::Renderer::EndScene();

    renderSystem->EndFrame();
    renderSystem->Present();
}

High-level Renderer API

Renderer is a lightweight static submission front-end. It accumulates RenderCommand entries into a queue that the active pipeline consumes during EndScene.

// From src/engine/graphic/Renderer.h
namespace Prisma::Graphic {

struct RenderCommand {
    Mesh*               mesh;
    Material*           material;
    PrismaMath::mat4    transform;
    BoundingBox         boundingBox;
    Prisma::Color       color;
};

class ENGINE_API Renderer {
public:
    static void BeginScene(const CameraData& camera);
    static void EndScene();

    static void Submit(Mesh* mesh, Material* material,
                       const PrismaMath::mat4& transform,
                       const Prisma::Color& color = Prisma::Color(1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f, 1.0f));

    static const std::vector<RenderCommand>& GetCommandQueue();
    static const SceneData& GetSceneData();
    static void ClearQueue();
};

} // namespace Prisma::Graphic

Shader management

Prisma Engine maintains separate shader trees for each backend.

HLSL (DirectX 12)
GLSL (Vulkan)

resources/common/shaders/hlsl/
├── default.hlsl    # Default mesh shader
├── Skybox.hlsl     # Skybox rendering
└── Text.hlsl       # Text rendering

Compile with fxc or dxc to produce DXIL bytecode. Use dxc for shader model 6.x features such as wave intrinsics.

resources/common/shaders/glsl/
├── clearcolor.vert / .frag   # Clear color pass
├── shader.vert    / .frag    # Standard mesh
└── skybox.vert    / .frag    # Skybox

Compile with glslangValidator to SPIR-V. On Android, the Gradle plugin compiles GLSL automatically during the build; outputs land in build/intermediates/shader_assets/**/*.spv.

Shader compilation matrix

Platform	Compiler	Output
Windows (DX12)	`fxc` / `dxc`	DXIL bytecode
Windows (Vulkan)	`glslangValidator`	SPIR-V
Linux	`glslangValidator`	SPIR-V
Android	Android Gradle Plugin	SPIR-V (automatic)

RenderGraph (in progress)

The engine is migrating from ScriptableRenderPipeline to a RenderGraph architecture. RenderGraph tracks resource reads and writes per pass, resolves barrier placement automatically, and enables parallel pass execution.

// From src/engine/graphic/RenderGraph.h
namespace Prisma::Graphic {

class ENGINE_API RenderGraph {
public:
    RenderGraph(IRenderDevice* device);

    // Add a typed pass with setup and execute lambdas
    template<typename PassData, typename SetupFunc, typename ExecuteFunc>
    void AddPass(const std::string& name, SetupFunc&& setup, ExecuteFunc&& execute);

    void Compile();
    void Execute(RenderCommandContext* cmd);
};

} // namespace Prisma::Graphic

Usage example:

RenderGraph graph(device);

struct GBufferData {
    RGResourceHandle color;
    RGResourceHandle depth;
};

graph.AddPass<GBufferData>("GBuffer",
    [&](RGBuilder& builder, GBufferData& data) {
        data.color = builder.CreateTexture(
            RGResourceDesc::Texture2D(1920, 1080, RGResourceDesc::Format::RGBA8), "GBufferColor");
        data.depth = builder.CreateTexture(
            RGResourceDesc::Texture2D(1920, 1080, RGResourceDesc::Format::D32F), "Depth");
        builder.Write(data.color);
        builder.Write(data.depth);
    },
    [](const GBufferData& data, RGContext& ctx) {
        // Record geometry draw calls via ctx.GetCmd()
    });

graph.Compile();
graph.Execute(commandContext);

RenderGraph is under active development. The RGBuilder::Read / Write dependency tracking is implemented; automatic barrier insertion and aliasing are planned. Refer to docs/RenderGraph_Migration_Plan.md in the repository for the full migration schedule.

Material and mesh descriptors

// From src/engine/graphic/RenderDesc.h
namespace PrismaEngine::Graphic {

struct MeshDesc {
    const Vertex*   vertices;
    size_t          vertexCount;
    const uint32_t* indices;
    size_t          indexCount;
};

struct MaterialDesc {
    glm::vec4                        albedo;
    float                            metallic;
    float                            roughness;
    float                            ao;
    std::shared_ptr<TextureAsset>    albedoMap;
    std::shared_ptr<TextureAsset>    normalMap;
};

} // namespace PrismaEngine::Graphic

Material exposes a higher-level mutating API and supports JSON round-trip serialization via nlohmann::json.

Key classes

RenderSystem

Top-level lifecycle manager. Owns the active backend and drives BeginFrame / EndFrame / Present.

Renderer

Static submission API. Collects RenderCommand entries and hands them to the active pipeline.

RenderGraph

Declarative pass graph with typed PassData, RGBuilder setup, and automatic dependency resolution.

IRenderBackend / IResourceFactory

Abstraction boundary. Vulkan and DX12 adapters implement these interfaces independently.

Material

PBR material with albedo, metallic, roughness, and texture map slots. Serializable to JSON.

Camera

Provides GetViewMatrix(), GetProjectionMatrix(), and GetViewProjectionMatrix() for the scene.

Platform-specific notes

Windows

The primary backend is DirectX 12. Vulkan is available as an opt-in by passing RenderAPI::Vulkan to RenderSystem::Initialize. Entry point: src/runtime/windows/WindowsRuntime.cpp.

Linux

Vulkan is the only supported backend. The Linux CMake presets are defined but not fully validated; community testing is welcome. Entry point: src/runtime/linux/LinuxRuntime.cpp.

Android

Vulkan is the primary backend. GLSL shaders are compiled to SPIR-V automatically by the Android Gradle Plugin. Assets are loaded via AAssetManager. Entry point: src/runtime/android/AndroidRuntime.cpp.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Engine Systems

Platform Guides

SDK & Integration

Rendering system: Vulkan and DirectX 12 pipelines

Backend architecture

Render pipelines

RenderSystem lifecycle

High-level Renderer API

Shader management

RenderGraph (in progress)

Material and mesh descriptors

Key classes

RenderSystem

Renderer

RenderGraph

IRenderBackend / IResourceFactory

Material

Camera

Platform-specific notes

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Engine Systems

Platform Guides

SDK & Integration

Documentation Index

​Backend architecture

​Render pipelines

​RenderSystem lifecycle

​High-level Renderer API

​Shader management

​RenderGraph (in progress)

​Material and mesh descriptors

​Key classes

RenderSystem

Renderer

RenderGraph

IRenderBackend / IResourceFactory

Material

Camera

​Platform-specific notes

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Backend architecture

Render pipelines

RenderSystem lifecycle

High-level Renderer API

Shader management

RenderGraph (in progress)

Material and mesh descriptors

Key classes

Platform-specific notes