Currently, invocations of `batch_and_prepare_binned_render_phase` and
`batch_and_prepare_sorted_render_phase` can't run in parallel because
they write to scene-global GPU buffers. After PR #17698,
`batch_and_prepare_binned_render_phase` started accounting for the
lion's share of the CPU time, causing us to be strongly CPU bound on
scenes like Caldera when occlusion culling was on (because of the
overhead of batching for the Z-prepass). Although I eventually plan to
optimize `batch_and_prepare_binned_render_phase`, we can obtain
significant wins now by parallelizing that system across phases.
This commit splits all GPU buffers that
`batch_and_prepare_binned_render_phase` and
`batch_and_prepare_sorted_render_phase` touches into separate buffers
for each phase so that the scheduler will run those phases in parallel.
At the end of batch preparation, we gather the render phases up into a
single resource with a new *collection* phase. Because we already run
mesh preprocessing separately for each phase in order to make occlusion
culling work, this is actually a cleaner separation. For example, mesh
output indices (the unique ID that identifies each mesh instance on GPU)
are now guaranteed to be sequential starting from 0, which will simplify
the forthcoming work to remove them in favor of the compute dispatch ID.
On Caldera, this brings the frame time down to approximately 9.1 ms with
occlusion culling on.
# Objective
- Make use of the new `weak_handle!` macro added in
https://github.com/bevyengine/bevy/pull/17384
## Solution
- Migrate bevy from `Handle::weak_from_u128` to the new `weak_handle!`
macro that takes a random UUID
- Deprecate `Handle::weak_from_u128`, since there are no remaining use
cases that can't also be addressed by constructing the type manually
## Testing
- `cargo run -p ci -- test`
---
## Migration Guide
Replace `Handle::weak_from_u128` with `weak_handle!` and a random UUID.
Unfortunately, Apple platforms don't have enough texture bindings to
properly support clustered decals. This should be fixed once `wgpu` has
first-class bindless texture support. In the meantime, we disable them.
Closes#17553.
---------
Co-authored-by: Alice Cecile <alice.i.cecile@gmail.com>
This commit adds support for *decal projectors* to Bevy, allowing for
textures to be projected on top of geometry. Decal projectors are
clusterable objects, just as punctual lights and light probes are. This
means that decals are only evaluated for objects within the conservative
bounds of the projector, and they don't require a second pass.
These clustered decals require support for bindless textures and as such
currently don't work on WebGL 2, WebGPU, macOS, or iOS. For an
alternative that doesn't require bindless, see PR #16600. I believe that
both contact projective decals in #16600 and clustered decals are
desirable to have in Bevy. Contact projective decals offer broader
hardware and driver support, while clustered decals don't require the
creation of bounding geometry.
A new example, `decal_projectors`, has been added, which demonstrates
multiple decals on a rotating object. The decal projectors can be scaled
and rotated with the mouse.
There are several limitations of this initial patch that can be
addressed in follow-ups:
1. There's no way to specify the Z-index of decals. That is, the order
in which multiple decals are blended on top of one another is arbitrary.
A follow-up could introduce some sort of Z-index field so that artists
can specify that some decals should be blended on top of others.
2. Decals don't take the normal of the surface they're projected onto
into account. Most decal implementations in other engines have a feature
whereby the angle between the decal projector and the normal of the
surface must be within some threshold for the decal to appear. Often,
artists can specify a fade-off range for a smooth transition between
oblique surfaces and aligned surfaces.
3. There's no distance-based fadeoff toward the end of the projector
range. Many decal implementations have this.
This addresses #2401.
## Showcase
