Terrarum/CLAUDE.md

Terrarum

A modular 2D side-scrolling tilemap platformer engine and game, built on LibGDX with Kotlin/Java. GPL-3.0.

Build & Run

• IDE: IntelliJ IDEA (project files: Terrarum_renewed.iml, TerrarumBuild.iml)
• JDK: 21
• Language: Kotlin + Java mixed; Kotlin is primary, App.java and FrameBufferManager.java are Java
• Dependencies: All libraries are in lib/ (fat-jar approach, no Maven/Gradle). Includes LibGDX, GraalVM JS (modified), dyn4j (Vector2 only), custom bitmap font lib
• Entry point: net.torvald.terrarum.Principii.main() (Java) which launches App (the LibGDX ApplicationListener)
• Distribution: buildapp/ scripts produce per-platform bundles with jlink'd runtimes
• Assets: assets/ for development, assets_release/ for distribution. Custom .tevd archive format for release assets (AssetCache.kt)

Project Structure

src/net/torvald/terrarum/
  App.java                  -- Main application class (LibGDX ApplicationListener). GL thread, render loop, splash screen
  CommonResourcePool.kt     -- Thread-safe GL resource loading with dispatch queues
  ModMgr.kt                 -- Module manager. Scans/loads game modules, provides getGdxFile/getJavaClass
  IngameInstance.kt          -- Base class for game screens (show/hide/render/resize lifecycle)
  Terrarum.kt               -- Game-level singleton (ingame instance management, extension functions)
  GameUpdateGovernor.kt      -- Update/render tick governors (ConsistentUpdateRate, Anarchy)
  MusicService.kt            -- Music playback management

  modulebasegame/
    EntryPoint.kt            -- Basegame module entry point (registers items, fixtures, blocks, weather)
    TitleScreen.kt           -- Title screen (demo world rendering, async loading)
    TerrarumIngame.kt        -- Main gameplay screen
    IngameRenderer.kt        -- World rendering pipeline (FBO composition, lightmap, blur, shadows)
    BuildingMaker.kt         -- Building editor screen

  worlddrawer/
    WorldCamera.kt           -- Camera position tracking (follows player, interpolated movement)
    LightmapRenderer.kt      -- Per-tile RGB+UV light calculation and rasterisation
    BlocksDrawer.kt          -- Tile rendering
    FeaturesDrawer.kt        -- Wire/feature overlay rendering

  gamecontroller/
    IME.kt                   -- Input Method Engine (GraalVM JS keyboard layouts, loaded on daemon thread)

  weather/
    WeatherMixer.kt          -- Weather state machine, skybox rendering
    SkyboxModelHosek.kt      -- Physically-based sky model

Architecture: Threading & GL Dispatch

All OpenGL calls (Texture, ShaderProgram, FrameBuffer creation) must happen on the GL thread. The codebase uses a dispatch mechanism to safely create GL resources from background threads.

CommonResourcePool (the dispatch hub)

Background Thread                          GL Thread (App.render)
     |                                          |
     |-- addToLoadingList("name", { Texture() })|
     |-- loadAll()                              |
     |     |                                    |
     |     +-- if on GL thread: run directly    |
     |     +-- if not: enqueue to               |
     |         glDispatchQueue + latch.await()  |
     |                                     CommonResourcePool.update()
     |                                          |-- poll glDispatchQueue
     |                                          |   run loadfun, latch.countDown()
     |                                          |-- poll glRunnableQueue
     |                                          |   run block, latch.countDown()
     |                                          |-- poll slowLoadingQueue (one per tick)
     |                                          |
     +-- latch released, continues <------------+

Key methods:

• loadAll() -- batch load; blocks background thread until GL thread processes
• loadAllSlowly() -- timesliced; one resource per tick via update()
• runOnGLThread { } -- run arbitrary block on GL thread, blocking caller
• update() -- called every tick from App.render(), processes all queues
• getOrPut(name, loadfun, killfun) -- thread-safe get-or-create with GL dispatch

App.java Boot Sequence

create()
  -> postInit()          [GL thread, synchronous]
       |-- load shaders, fonts, audio device, IME
       |-- CommonResourcePool.setGLThread(currentThread)
       |-- spawn Terrarum-PostInitLoader thread:
       |     ModMgr.invoke()           // module entry points (dispatched to GL via runOnGLThread)
       |     CommonResourcePool.loadAllSlowly()  // timesliced resource loading
       |     loadingThreadDone = true
       +-- return (non-blocking)

render() loop [GL thread]
  while currentScreen == null:
       |-- drawSplash()
       |-- CommonResourcePool.update()   // process GL dispatch queues
       |-- when loadingThreadDone && loaded:
       |     postLoadInit()              // tile atlas, audio mixer, Terrarum.initialise()
       |     setScreen(titleScreen)      // transitions to title screen

TitleScreen Async Loading

TitleScreen.show() returns immediately after starting a background thread. The splash screen continues displaying until all loading completes.

show()
  |-- quick GL setup (viewport, input processor, FBO, savegame list)
  |-- spawn Terrarum-TitleScreenLoader thread:
  |     load demo world, compute camera nodes, bogoflops, audio reset
  |     backgroundLoadDone = true
  +-- return

renderImpl() [GL thread, every frame]
  if !loadDone:
       |-- App.drawSplash()
       |-- processGLLoadStep()  // state machine, one step per frame:
       |     0: wait for backgroundLoadDone
       |     1: SkyboxModelHosek.loadlut()
       |     2: IngameRenderer.setRenderedWorld + WeatherMixer init
       |     3: load halfgrad texture
       |     4: UIFakeGradOverlay
       |     5: UIFakeBlurOverlay
       |     6: UIRemoCon
       |     7: MusicService.enterScene, gameUpdateGovernor.reset(), loadDone=true
  else:
       normal title screen rendering (world + UI via IngameRenderer)

IME Loading

IME.kt object init {} spawns a Terrarum-IMELoader daemon thread for GraalVM JS context binding and key layout/IME file scanning. Icon texture loading remains synchronous (requires GL thread).

ModMgr Class Initialisation

ModMgr.kt object init {} only does metadata loading and class instantiation (fast). The heavy invoke() method runs entry points wrapped in CommonResourcePool.runOnGLThread { } to avoid GL calls on the wrong thread. This separation prevents <clinit> lock deadlocks where a background thread holding the class init lock blocks on a GL dispatch latch while the GL thread tries to access the same class.

Architecture: Rendering Pipeline

IngameRenderer

Singleton object. Lazily initialised on first invoke() call via invokeInit().

Render path (per frame):

1. LightmapRenderer.recalculate() -- every 3 frames, computes per-tile RGBA light values
2. prepLightmapRGBA() -- Kawase blur on lightmap into lightmapFbo
3. BlocksDrawer.renderData() -- prepare tile draw data
4. drawToRGB() -- render world tiles + actors into fboRGB (with shadow FBOs)
5. drawToA() -- render alpha/glow channel
6. Composite: sky -> world -> light multiply -> emissive blend -> vibrancy -> UI
7. Output to App.renderFBO, then TerrarumPostProcessor.draw() applies final effects

Critical ordering in resize(): BlocksDrawer.resize() and LightmapRenderer.resize() must be called before lightmapFbo creation, because lightmapFbo dimensions derive from LightmapRenderer.lightBuffer size.

WorldCamera

Follows an ActorWithBody (player or camera actor). Position interpolated per frame. WorldCamera.x/y = top-left corner of visible area. gdxCamX/Y = centre of visible area. moveCameraToWorldCoord() positions the IngameRenderer camera for world-space drawing; setCameraPosition(0,0) positions it for screen-space drawing.

FBO Extension Functions

• FrameBuffer.inAction(camera, batch) { } -- bind FBO, set camera to FBO dimensions (Y-down), run block, restore camera to screen dimensions
• FrameBuffer.inActionF(camera, batch) { } -- same but Y-up (for flipped FBO content)

Both save/restore camera.position and call setToOrtho with App.scr.wf/hf on exit.

Key Conventions

• GL thread safety: Any code creating Texture, TextureRegion, TextureRegionPack, ShaderProgram, FrameBuffer, or Pixmap must run on the GL thread. Use CommonResourcePool.runOnGLThread { } when on a background thread.
• Kotlin object singletons: First access triggers <clinit>. Keep init {} blocks fast (no blocking, no GL dispatch). Defer heavy work to explicit invoke() methods.
• ConcurrentHashMap cannot store null values. Use HashMap for maps that need nullable values (e.g. poolKillFun).
• @Volatile for cross-thread boolean flags (loadDone, backgroundLoadDone, etc.)
• lateinit var guards: Use ::prop.isInitialized checks in resize() and dispose() for properties set during async loading steps.
• ConsistentUpdateRate: Accumulates delta time; may call updateFunction multiple times before renderFunction. Call .reset() before transitioning to active rendering to avoid catch-up storms.
• Textures: Use TGA format. Images with semitransparency must be TGA; opaque images may be PNG.
• Coordinate system: Y-down (camera setToOrtho(true, ...)). setCameraPosition(0, 0) places origin at screen top-left.
• ROUNDWORLD: World wraps horizontally. WorldCamera.x uses fmod worldWidth. Lightmap and tile drawing account for wrapping.