Documentation Index
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Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
CommandBuffer is Prowl’s high-level wrapper around a Veldrid CommandList. Instead of interacting with the low-level Veldrid API directly, you record rendering operations into a CommandBuffer — setting render targets, binding materials, uploading shader properties, issuing draw calls — and then submit the entire recorded sequence to the GPU in one call. CommandBufferPool prevents allocation pressure by recycling buffer objects across frames. Together these types form the backbone of every render pass in the engine, from the default forward pipeline to user-authored post-processing effects.
CommandBufferPool
The pool is the preferred way to obtain a CommandBuffer. It recycles used buffers to avoid per-frame allocations.
Get
public static CommandBuffer Get()
public static CommandBuffer Get(string name)
CommandBuffer. If a pooled buffer is available it is reused; otherwise a new one is created.
name
string
default:"\"New Command Buffer\""
A debug name attached to the underlying Veldrid CommandList. Useful for GPU capture tools.
A CommandBuffer whose BeginRecording() has already been called. Ready to accept commands immediately.
Release
public static void Release(CommandBuffer buffer)
Graphics.SubmitCommandBuffer.
The buffer to return. Must not be used after this call.
Typical Usage Pattern
// 1. Acquire from pool
CommandBuffer cmd = CommandBufferPool.Get("My Render Pass");
// 2. Record commands
cmd.SetRenderTarget(myRenderTexture);
cmd.ClearRenderTarget(true, true, Color.black);
cmd.SetMaterial(myMaterial, 0);
cmd.SetMatrix("_Model", modelMatrix.ToFloat());
cmd.DrawSingle(meshDrawData);
// 3. Submit to GPU
Graphics.SubmitCommandBuffer(cmd);
// 4. Release back to pool
CommandBufferPool.Release(cmd);
CommandBuffer Reference
Construction
public CommandBuffer()
public CommandBuffer(string name)
CommandBufferPool.Get() over direct construction.
Get or set the debug name of the underlying command list.
Render Targets
SetRenderTarget
public void SetRenderTarget(Framebuffer framebuffer)
public void SetRenderTarget(RenderTexture renderTarget)
A Veldrid Framebuffer to render into.
A Prowl RenderTexture; its Framebuffer property is used internally.
ClearRenderTarget
public void ClearRenderTarget(
bool clearDepth,
bool clearColor,
Color backgroundColor,
int attachment = -1,
float depth = 1,
byte stencil = 0)
When true, clears the depth/stencil buffer to depth/stencil.
When true, clears colour attachments to backgroundColor.
Index of the colour attachment to clear. Pass -1 to clear all colour attachments.
Materials and Passes
SetMaterial
public void SetMaterial(Material material, int pass = 0)
The shader pass index to activate.
SetPass
public void SetPass(ShaderPass pass)
ShaderPass without going through a Material.
SetKeyword
public void SetKeyword(string keyword, string value)
The keyword name (e.g. "_NORMALMAP").
The keyword value (e.g. "ON" or "OFF").
Drawing
DrawSingle
public void DrawSingle(IGeometryDrawData drawData, int indexCount = -1, uint indexOffset = 0)
Geometry to draw (e.g., a Mesh which implements this interface).
Number of indices to draw. Pass -1 to draw all indices in drawData.
Offset into the index buffer.
DrawIndexed
public void DrawIndexed(uint indexCount, uint indexOffset, uint instanceCount, uint instanceStart, int vertexOffset)
SetDrawData to have been called beforehand.
DrawIndirect / DrawIndexedIndirect
public void DrawIndirect(GraphicsBuffer buffer, uint offset, uint drawCount, uint stride)
public void DrawIndexedIndirect(GraphicsBuffer buffer, uint offset, uint drawCount, uint stride)
GraphicsBuffer.
Blit Operations
Blit (Texture2D → Framebuffer)
public void Blit(Texture2D source, Framebuffer target, int pass = 0)
public void Blit(Texture2D source, Framebuffer target, Material mat, int pass = 0)
Texture2D to a Framebuffer using a full-screen quad.
Blit (RenderTexture → Framebuffer)
public void Blit(RenderTexture source, Framebuffer target, int pass = 0)
public void Blit(RenderTexture source, Framebuffer target, Material mat, int pass = 0)
RenderTexture.
Shader Properties
Set scalar, vector, matrix, texture, and buffer values that are uploaded to shaders at draw time.
public void SetTexture(string name, Texture texture)
public void SetInt(string name, int value)
public void SetFloat(string name, float value)
public void SetVector(string name, System.Numerics.Vector2 value)
public void SetVector(string name, System.Numerics.Vector3 value)
public void SetVector(string name, System.Numerics.Vector4 value)
public void SetColor(string name, Color value)
public void SetMatrix(string name, System.Numerics.Matrix4x4 value)
public void SetBuffer(string name, GraphicsBuffer buffer, int start = 0, int length = -1)
public void SetRawBuffer(string name, DeviceBuffer buffer, int start = 0, int length = -1)
ApplyPropertyState
public void ApplyPropertyState(PropertyState state)
PropertyState (a map of typed shader properties) into the buffer’s active property state, overriding any previously set values with the same names.
Viewports and Scissors
public void SetViewport(uint viewport, int x, int y, int width, int height, float z, float depth)
public void SetViewports(int x, int y, int width, int height, float z, float depth)
public void SetFullViewport(uint index = 0)
public void SetFullViewports()
public void SetScissorRect(uint index, uint x, uint y, uint width, uint height)
public void SetScissorRects(uint x, uint y, uint width, uint height)
public void SetFullScissorRect(uint index)
public void SetFullScissorRects()
public void SetScissor(bool active)
Wireframe
public void SetWireframe(bool wireframe)
Solid and Wireframe for subsequent draw calls.
Texture Operations
CopyTexture
public void CopyTexture(Texture2D src, Texture2D dest)
src to dest.
ResolveMultisampledTexture
public void ResolveMultisampledTexture(Texture src, Texture dest)
public void ResolveMultisampledTexture(RenderTexture src, RenderTexture dest)
InvalidOperationException otherwise.
Debug Groups
public void PushDebugGroup(string name)
public void PopDebugGroup()
Lifecycle
Clear
Ends recording, submits queued resource disposals to Graphics, and resets all state. Called automatically by CommandBufferPool.Release.
Dispose
Disposes the underlying CommandList and all associated Veldrid resources. Do not use a buffer after calling Dispose.
PropertyState and KeywordState
PropertyState is a typed dictionary of shader uniform values — textures, scalars, vectors, matrices, and raw buffers — that travels with a CommandBuffer and is uploaded to the GPU when BindResources is called internally.
KeywordState stores string key/value pairs that select compiled shader variant permutations. Setting a keyword causes the pipeline cache to look up or compile the correct ShaderPipeline variant.
// PropertyState example (applied to a CommandBuffer)
cmd.SetFloat("_Roughness", 0.4f);
cmd.SetTexture("_AlbedoMap", albedoTexture);
cmd.SetMatrix("_Model", myTransform.localToWorldMatrix.ToFloat());
// KeywordState example
cmd.SetKeyword("_RECEIVE_SHADOWS", "ON");
PropertyState values set directly on a CommandBuffer accumulate for the lifetime of the recording. They are reset when Clear() is called (i.e., when the buffer is returned to the pool).
