Getting Started

SolEngine is currently Windows-only (Vulkan / MSVC). Linux and macOS are planned.

Prerequisites

Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ workload
CMake 3.25+
Vulkan SDK (1.3+) — add VULKAN_SDK to PATH
Qt 6.7+ — add Qt6_DIR or install via Qt Installer (MSVC 2022 kit)
Git

Clone

git clone https://github.com/mathiassol/solengine.git
cd solengine

Build

build.bat

This runs cmake --preset windows-release and compiles everything: sol_engine.dll, sol_editor.exe, and the demo project. First build takes 10–15 minutes (CMake FetchContent downloads Jolt, GLM, cgltf, LuaBridge, etc.).

Launch the Editor

editor.bat

Opens sol_editor.exe with the FPS demo project pre-loaded. Press Play to run in the viewport, or open the scene hierarchy and inspector to explore the scene.

Run the Demo Standalone

runDemo.bat

Starts the FPS demo directly without the editor. WASD + mouse to move.

Install to AppData (optional)

install.bat

Copies binaries to %LOCALAPPDATA%\SolEngine\bin\ so you can open any project from the editor’s file picker.

Project Structure

engine/          C++ engine source + headers
editor/          Qt6 + ImGui editor source
demo/            Example FPS project
  scenes/        .solscene scene files
  scripts/       Lua scripts
  assets/        Models, textures, audio
cmake/           CMake helpers
Website/         Astro documentation site

Next Steps

Lua API Reference — Script nodes with Lua
Node Types — What nodes are available and what they do
Material Editor — Editing PBR materials in the editor