09 - Roadmap & Issue Tracker

This document outlines the phased development plan for Khora. It integrates all open and proposed tasks into a structured series of milestones.

Phase 1: Foundational Architecture

Goal: Establish the complete, decoupled CLAD crate structure and render a basic scene through the SDK. (Complete)

With the successful abstraction of command recording and submission, the core architectural goals for the foundational phase are now met. The engine is fully decoupled from the rendering backend.

Phase 2: Scene, Assets & Basic Capabilities

Goal: Build out the necessary features to represent and interact with a game world, starting with the implementation of our revolutionary ECS.

[Rendering Capabilities, Physics, Animation, AI & Strategy Exploration]

#101 [Feature] Implement Skeletal Animation System
#162 [Feature] Implement SkinnedMesh ComputeLane
#104 [Feature] Implement Basic AI System (Placeholder Behaviors, e.g., Simple State Machine)

Phase 3: The Adaptive Core

Goal: Implement the “magic” of Khora: the DCC, ISAs, and GORNA, proving the SAA concept.

[Intelligent Subsystem Agents (ISA) v1 & Basic Adaptation]

#176 [Feature] Evolve AssetAgent into a full ISA (Depends on #174)
#83 [Task] Refactor a Second Subsystem as ISA v0.1

Phase 4: Tooling, Usability & Scripting

Goal: Make the engine usable and debuggable by humans. Build the editor, provide observability tools, and integrate a scripting language.

[Editor GUI, Observability & UI]

#52 [Feature] Choose & Integrate GUI Library
#53 [Feature] Create Editor Layout
#54 [Feature] Implement Render Viewport
#55 [Feature] Implement Scene Hierarchy Panel
#56 [Feature] Implement Inspector Panel (Basic Components)
#57 [Feature] Implement Performance/Context Visualization Panel
#58 [Feature] Implement Basic Play/Stop Mode
#77 [Feature] Visualize Full Context Model in Editor Debug Panel
#102 [Feature] Implement In-Engine UI System
#164 [Feature] Implement UiRenderLane
#165 [Feature] Implement a “Decision Tracer” for DCC/GORNA in the editor
#166 [Feature] Implement a Timeline Scrubber for the Context Visualization Panel

[Editor Polish, Networking & Manual Control]

#175 [Feature] Implement Real-time Asset Database for Editor (Depends on #41)
#177 [Feature] Implement DeltaSerializationLane for Game Saves & Undo/Redo (Depends on #45)
#66 [Feature] Implement Asset Browser (Depends on #175)
#67 [Feature] Implement Material Editor
#68 [Feature] Implement Gizmos
#167 [Feature] Implement EditorGizmo RenderLane
#69 [Feature] Implement Undo/Redo Functionality
#70 [Feature] Implement Editor Panels for Fine-Grained System Control
#103 [Feature] Implement Basic Networking System

[Scripting v1]

#168 [Research] Evaluate and choose a scripting language
#169 [Feature] Implement Scripting Backend and Bindings
#170 [Feature] Make the Scripting VM an ISA (ScriptingAgent)

[Maturation, Optimization & Packaging]

#94 [Task] Extensive Performance Profiling & Optimization
#95 [Task] Documentation Overhaul (Including SAA concepts)
#96 [Task] Build & Packaging for Target Platforms

[Milestone: API Ergonomics & DX (Developer Experience)]

#173 [Feature] Implement a Fluent API for Entity Creation

Phase 5: Advanced Intelligence & Future Capabilities

Goal: Build upon the stable SAA foundation to explore next-generation features and specializations.

[Advanced Adaptivity & Specialization (AGDF, Contracts)]

#89 [Research] Design Semantic Interfaces & Contracts v1
#90 [Research] Investigate Adaptive Game Data Flow (AGDF) Feasibility & Design
#91 [Prototype] Implement basic AGDF for a specific component type
#92 [Research] Explore using Specialized Hardware (ML cores?)
#129 [Feature] Metrics System - Advanced Features (Labels, Histograms, Export)

[DCC v2 - Developer Guidance & Control]

#93 [Feature] Implement more Sophisticated DCC Heuristics / potentially ML-based Decision Model
#171 [Feature] Implement Engine Adaptation Modes (Learning, Stable, Manual)
#172 [Feature] Implement Developer Hints and Constraints System (PriorityVolume)

[Core XR Integration & Context]

#59 [Feature] Integrate OpenXR SDK & Bindings
#60 [Feature] Implement XR Instance/Session/Space Management
#61 [Feature] Integrate Graphics API with XR
#62 [Feature] Implement Stereo Rendering Path
#63 [Feature] Implement Head/Controller Tracking
#64 [Feature] Integrate XR Performance Metrics
#65 [Task] Display Basic Scene in VR with Performance Overlay

Phase 6: Next-Generation Custom Physics

Goal: Replace the 3rd-party solver with a native Khora solver implementing cutting-edge physical simulation research.

[Pillar 1: Unified Simulation & Material Point Method]

#300 [Research] Unified Simulation (MLS-MPM)

Tip

Implement “MLS-MPM: Moving Least Squares Material Point Method” for unified simulation of snow, sand, and fluids. Target: Pure algorithmic interaction between disparate materials.
#301 [Research] Sparse Volume Physics (NanoVDB)

Note

Integrate NanoVDB (OpenVDB) for GPU-accelerated sparse volume simulation (fire, smoke, large-scale explosions).

[Pillar 2: Robust Constraints & Collision (The End of Clipping)]

#302 [Research] Incremental Potential Contact (IPC)

Important

Integrate “Incremental Potential Contact (Li et al. 2020)” to guarantee intersection-free and inversion-free simulation. Focus: Eliminating clipping in soft-bodies and high-speed collisions.
#303 [Research] Stable Constraints (XPBD & ADMM)

Note

Combine XPBD for stability with ADMM optimization for complex, hard constraints and heterogeneous materials.

[Pillar 3: Soft-Body & Gaussian Dynamics]

#304 [Research] High-Speed Soft Bodies (Projective Dynamics)

Note

Study Projective Dynamics for real-time muscle and “flesh” simulation with implicit stability.
#305 [Research] Differentiable & Gaussian Physics

Note

Explore PhysGaussian and DiffTaichi for physics-integrated Gaussian splatting and differentiable simulation.

[Pillar 4: Intelligent Characters & Neural Simulation]

#306 [Research] Learning-Based Character Motion (DeepMimic)

Tip

Research DeepMimic (Arxiv) for physics-based character animation using Reinforcement Learning.
#307 [Research] Graph Network Simulation (DeepMind)

Note

Analysis of “Learning to Simulate Complex Physics with Graph Networks” for complex particle-based interactions.

[Implementation & Transition]

#308 [Feature] Implement Custom Khora-Solver v1 (Rigid Body + XPBD Core)
#309 [Feature] Transition PhysicsAgent & Lanes to Native Solver
#310 [Task] Performance Match & Exceed against previous 3rd-party backend

Closed Issues (Historical Reference)

[Core Foundation & Basic Window]

#1 [Feature] Setup Project Structure & Cargo Workspace
#2 [Feature] Implement Core Math Library (Vec3, Mat4, Quat) - Design for DOD/Potential ADF
#3 [Feature] Choose and Integrate Windowing Library
#4 [Feature] Implement Basic Input System (Feed events into core)
#5 [Feature] Create Main Application Loop Structure
#6 [Task] Display Empty Window & Basic Stats (FPS, Mem)
#7 [Task] Setup Basic Logging & Event System
#8 [Task] Define Project Coding Standards & Formatting
#18 [Feature] Design Core Engine Interfaces & Message Passing (Thinking about ISAs & DCC)
#19 [Feature] Implement Foundational Performance Monitoring Hooks (CPU Timers)
#20 [Feature] Implement Basic Memory Allocation Tracking

[Core Foundation & Context Hooks]

#21 [Feature] Setup Project Structure & Cargo Workspace
#22 [Feature] Implement Core Math Library (Vec3, Mat4, Quat) - Design for DOD/Potential AGDF
#23 [Feature] Design Core Engine Interfaces & Message Passing (Thinking about ISAs & DCC)
#24 [Feature] Implement Basic Logging & Event System
#25 [Feature] Implement Foundational Performance Monitoring Hooks (CPU Timers)
#26 [Feature] Implement Basic Memory Allocation Tracking
#27 [Feature] Choose and Integrate Windowing Library
#28 [Feature] Implement Basic Input System (Feed events into core)
#29 [Feature] Create Main Loop Structure (placeholder for future DCC control)
#30 [Task] Display Empty Window & Basic Stats (FPS, Mem)

[Rendering Primitives & ISA Scaffolding]

#31 [Feature] Choose & Integrate Graphics API Wrapper
#32 [Feature] Design Rendering Interface as potential ISA (Clear inputs, outputs, potential strategies)
#33 [Feature] Implement Graphics Device Abstraction
#34 [Feature] Implement Swapchain Management
#35 [Feature] Implement Basic Shader System
#36 [Feature] Implement Basic Buffer/Texture Management (Track VRAM usage)
#37 [Feature] Implement GPU Performance Monitoring Hooks (Timestamps)
#110 [Feature] Implement Robust Graphics Backend Selection (Vulkan/DX12/GL Fallback)
#118 [Feature] Implement Basic Rendering Pipeline System
#121 [Feature] Develop Custom Bitflags Macro for Internal Engine Use
#123 [Feature] Implement Core Metrics System Backend v1 (In-Memory)
#124 [Task] Integrate VRAM Tracking into Core Metrics System
#125 [Task] Integrate System RAM Tracking into Core Metrics System
#38 [Task] Render a Single Triangle/Quad with Performance Timings
#135 [Enhancement] Advanced GPU Performance & Resize Heuristics
#140 [Feature] Implement Basic Command Recording & Submission

[Scene Representation, Assets & Data Focus]

#39 [Research & Design] Define Khora’s ECS Architecture
#154 [Task] Implement Core ECS Data Structures (CRPECS v1)
#155 [Task] Implement Basic Entity Lifecycle (CRPECS v1)
#156 [Task] Implement Native Queries (CRPECS v1)
#40 [Feature] Implement Scene Hierarchy & Transform System (Depends on #156)
#41 [Design] Design Asset System with VFS & Define Core Structs
#174 [Feature] Implement VFS Packfile Builder & Runtime (Depends on #41)
#42 [Feature] Implement Texture Loading & Management (Depends on #174)
#43 [Feature] Implement Mesh Loading & Management (Depends on #174)
#44 [Task] Render Loaded Static Model with Basic Materials (Depends on #40, #42, #43)
#157 [Task] Implement Component Removal & Basic Garbage Collection (CRPECS v1)
#45 [Feature] Implement Basic Scene Serialization
#99 [Feature] Implement Basic Audio System (Playback & Management)

[Rendering Capabilities, Physics, Animation, AI & Strategy Exploration]

#159 [Feature] Implement SimpleUnlit RenderLane
#46 [Feature] Implement Camera System & Uniforms
#47 [Feature] Implement Material System
#48 [Feature] Implement Basic Lighting Models (Track shader complexity/perf)
#160 [Feature] Implement Forward+ Lighting RenderLane
#49 [Feature] Implement Depth Buffering
#50 [Research] Explore Alternative Rendering Paths/Strategies (e.g., Forward vs Deferred concept)
#158 [Feature] Implement Transversal Queries (CRPECS v1)
#100 [Feature] Implement Basic Physics System (Integration & Collision Detection) (Depends on #40)
#161 [Feature] Define and Implement Core PhysicsLanes (Broadphase, Solver)

[Intelligent Subsystem Agents (ISA) v1 & Basic Adaptation]

#75 [Feature] Design Initial ISA Interface Contract v0.1
#76 [Task] Refactor one Subsystem to partially implement ISA v0.1 (RenderAgent Base)
#78 [Feature] Implement Multiple Strategies for one key ISA (RenderAgent: Unlit, LitForward, ForwardPlus, Auto)
#79 [Feature] Refine ISA Interface Contract (Agent trait: negotiate, apply_budget, report_status)
#80 [Feature] Implement DCC Heuristics Engine v1 (9 heuristics in khora-control)
#81 [Feature] Implement DCC Command System to trigger ISA Strategy Switches (GornaArbitrator → apply_budget flow)
#82 [Task] Demonstrate Automatic Renderer Strategy Switching (Auto mode + GORNA negotiation, 16 tests)
#224 [Feature] Implement RenderLane Resource Ownership (Pipelines, buffers, bind groups; proper on_shutdown)
#225 [Feature] Implement Light Uniform Buffer System (UniformRingBuffer in khora-core, persistent GPU ring buffers for camera/lighting uniforms)

[Goal-Oriented Resource Negotiation (GORNA) v1]

#84 [Research] Design GORNA Protocol
#85 [Feature] Implement Resource Budgeting in DCC
#86 [Feature] Enhance ISAs to Estimate Resource Needs per Strategy (estimate_cost + VRAM-aware negotiate)
#88 [Task] Demonstrate Dynamic Resource Re-allocation under Load

[Dynamic Context Core (DCC) v1 - Awareness]

#71 [Feature] Design DCC Architecture
#72 [Feature] Implement DCC Core Service
#73 [Feature] Integrate Performance/Resource Metrics Collection into DCC
#74 [Feature] Implement Game State Monitoring Hook into DCC
#128 [Feature] DCC v1 Integration with Core Metrics System (MetricStore, RingBuffer, GpuReport ingestion)
#163 [Feature] Make CRPECS Garbage Collector an ISA
#116 [Research/Refactor] Evaluate Abstraction for Windowing/Platform System

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