Hephaestus Engine — Devlog v0.0.5

Introduction

Hephaestus is our in-house game engine that has reached a meaningful milestone with v0.0.5. This devlog captures where the engine stands today, the improvements delivered in this release, how we expect to reach v0.1.0 by the end of the year, and our approach to public availability and indie-friendly licensing in future versions.

Quick Summary

A snapshot of what v0.0.5 represents and where we are headed next.

• Current release: Hephaestus Engine v0.0.5
• Short-term goal: v0.1.0 by 2025-12-31
• Primary languages: C++ (~96%) and GLSL (shaders)
• Availability: Not publicly released yet; staged public rollout planned with a free-for-indie offering targeted around releases 2.x-3.x.

What's New in v0.0.5

v0.0.5 is a stability-and-foundation release focused on consolidating core systems, improving developer workflow, and eliminating hard-to-reproduce crashes that slowed iteration.

Highlights

• Core & architecture:
  • Stabilized the main engine lifecycle (initialization, update loop, shutdown) and tightened module boundaries.
  • Improved plugin/module initialization order to prevent startup races and reduce hard crashes.
• Rendering & shaders:
  • Refined rendering pipeline flow and resource lifetime management for meshes and textures.
  • Enabled GLSL shader hot-reload in developer builds for faster iteration on effects and materials.
• Asset & resource pipeline:
  • Added a more robust asset loader with caching and basic dependency tracking.
  • Reduced memory spikes during bulk or imported asset operations.
• Tools & developer experience:
  • Expanded logging and debug layers to speed up diagnosis.
  • Improved build scripts alongside C++ configuration checks.
• Stability fixes:
  • Resolved several multi-threaded loading crashes.
  • Closed out a batch of memory leak and dangling pointer issues.
• Documentation:
  • Updated the README and refreshed developer onboarding guidance (build & run steps, dev flags).

Technical Snapshot

A quick look at the engine's composition, readiness, and platform focus as of v0.0.5.

• Codebase composition: Primarily C++ for engine core and systems, with GLSL powering GPU shader programs and effects.
• Current readiness: Core loop, rendering, and resource management are stable for internal development and prototyping. Audio, physics, editor tooling, and higher-level gameplay APIs are functional but need additional polish for a production-ready v0.1.0.
• Platform focus: Desktop-first (Windows / Linux / macOS). Mobile and console support remain on the roadmap pending additional QA and platform-specific work.

Milestones

Key dates anchoring the road to v0.1.0.

• 2025-11-20: Lock API for core systems and merge stabilization PRs.
• 2025-12-05: Merge basic editor/inspection tooling.
• 2025-12-18: Complete sample demo and documentation draft.
• 2025-12-31: Ship v0.1.0.

Availability & Licensing

Here is the current public stance on access and licensing.

• Private for now: Hephaestus remains internal while we prepare a staged public rollout post v0.1.0, starting with beta access for interested developers.
• Indie-friendly target: We plan to offer a free tier or free-for-indie licensing in the 2.x-3.x release window, with modular engine design supporting that goal.
• Clear terms: Once public access opens, we will publish transparent licensing terms and a straightforward FAQ.

Known Limitations

• Editor UX is minimal—expect CLI workflows and focused demo apps for now.
• Several subsystems remain feature-incomplete and will mature after v0.1.0.
• Performance edge cases under very large scene or asset loads are still under investigation.
• Platform coverage beyond desktop is limited at this stage.

How You Can Help

For early testers, contributors, and partners keen to support v0.1.0 readiness:

• Test internal builds, exercise sample scenes, and share reproducible bug reports.
• Submit focused PRs—crash fixes, leak fixes, build fixes, and tooling improvements are especially valuable.
• Assist with documentation, onboarding guides, and "how to" tutorials.
• Create sample content that stresses the asset pipeline and rendering stack.
• Register interest for early access or future free tiers once we publish the signup form.

Release Blurb

Hephaestus Engine v0.0.5 is a foundation and stability milestone. The engine is currently in private/internal builds for contributors and partners. Our next target is v0.1.0 by 2025-12-31, with a staged public rollout afterward and a promise to provide a free-for-indie option around the 2.x-3.x release window.

Contact & Follow

• Follow Olympus Game Studios for updates on the public rollout and licensing plans. We will share announcements and documentation once staged access begins.
• Partners, contributors, and press can reach us through the official channels listed on our website.

Wrapping Up

We are proud of the progress made in v0.0.5. The engine's foundations are solid, and we are entering a focused stretch to deliver a stable v0.1.0. Thank you to the testers, early adopters, and contributors helping us reach the next milestone.