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Vespera Engine

Version: 1.1.0
Production platform: Windows x64 + Direct3D 12

Vespera is an open-source C++20 game engine built around a native editor, C# gameplay scripting, optional Lua, RmlUi, scenes, prefabs, audio, input, save data, and a standalone game export workflow.

The Windows + Direct3D 12 path is the production baseline. Vulkan is available as an opt-in preview backend on Windows, and Linux + Vulkan remains experimental while cross-platform validation continues.

Highlights

• Native C++20 engine and editor
• Windows x64 / Direct3D 12 production renderer
• Optional Vulkan renderer for parity testing
• Project-owned C# gameplay scripting
• Optional project-level Lua scripting
• Entity/component scenes with sector-based 2.5D world authoring
• Sprites, materials, textures, point lights, collision, triggers, overlaps, and raycasts
• RmlUi runtime UI with project-owned RML/RCSS
• Prefabs, scenes, input actions, audio, timers, save data, and runtime spawning/destruction
• Stable asset IDs with move/rename repair
• Editor Play Mode
• Debug, Development, and Release game builds
• Framework-dependent or portable private .NET deployment
• Localhost editor/runtime automation and MCP developer tooling

Quick start

Build Vespera from source:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass
.\build.ps1

Open the Project Hub:

.\vespera.ps1

Create a project, open it in the editor, press Play, and use Build → Build Game… when you are ready to make a standalone build.

For the guided setup, see:

1. Getting Started
2. Your First Vespera Game
3. Build & Ship

A dependency-free documentation site is also included in website/ and can be published with GitHub Pages.

Platform status

Platform / renderer	Status
Windows x64 + Direct3D 12	Production-supported
Windows x64 + Vulkan	Preview / parity testing
Linux + Vulkan	Experimental

D3D12 remains the default renderer on Windows. To run the reference game with Vulkan:

.\run-game.ps1 -Renderer vulkan

Use -Renderer d3d12 to force Direct3D 12 or -Renderer auto to use the platform default.

On Linux, the current development path is:

./build-linux.sh
./run-game-linux.sh

Linux support is still experimental and should not be treated as production-certified across distributions, GPUs, or drivers.

Starter projects

3D / 2.5D Game

The main starter project. It includes a sector-world scene, project-owned C# controller code, collision, input, lighting, sprites, and the normal standalone export workflow.

2D / UI Foundation (Experimental)

A screen-space 2D starter built around RmlUi and C#. It works well for card games, board/grid games, puzzle games, HUD-heavy projects, and other UI-driven games.

It is not a complete orthographic world-authoring mode. Vespera does not currently ship a tilemap workflow, dedicated 2D scene tools, or a full 2D physics stack. See Current Limitations.

Empty Project

A blank scene with a minimal project-owned C# bootstrap and no hidden gameplay.

Build and test

Run the lightweight behavioral tests:

.\test.ps1

Run the editor:

.\run.ps1

Run the editor with localhost automation enabled:

.\run.ps1 -Automation

Run the full Windows release validation:

.\test-rc.ps1

The release validation runner performs the automated release/export/editor/runtime checks first, then launches D3D12 and Vulkan editor/game smoke tests for manual visual confirmation.

Included samples

• examples/emberlight_guild — UI-heavy sample game using C#, RmlUi, SaveData, scenes, assets, and the shared player/export workflow.
• examples/performance_lab — benchmark/sample project covering C#, UI, scenes, entities, lighting, culling, and runtime telemetry.
• examples/reference_game — reference and stress-test project used by the test and automation tooling.

Documentation

• Editor
• Gameplay API
• Managed C#
• Lua
• Input
• RmlUi
• Asset Pipeline
• Sprites
• Exporting
• Architecture
• Testing
• Current Limitations
• Roadmap

Current boundaries

Vespera does not currently claim production-certified Linux/Vulkan support, a complete orthographic 2D world editor, visual scripting, multiple simultaneous RmlUi surfaces, per-entity Lua components, advanced rigid-body physics, hardware ray tracing, or built-in upscaler integrations.

These are documented limits, not hidden requirements for the Windows/D3D12 production workflow.

License

Vespera Engine is released under the MIT License. Third-party dependencies retain their own licenses; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Copyright © 2026 Timingplanet.