Quick Start Tutorial

Quick-Start Tutorial

A hands-on guide to your first 10 minutes with SparkEngine. By the end, you will have built the engine, launched it with an explicitly selected module, opened the separate editor executable, and spawned objects in a scene.

Release boundary: These are development instructions. The declared stable-v1 Windows 11 x64/MSVC v143 profile remains blocked and uncertified; other hosts and module breadth are outside it.

Prerequisites: You have already completed the Getting Started guide and have a successful build.

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Step 1: Launch the Engine

# Windows: Visual Studio or Ninja Multi-Config Release build; select a module explicitly
cd build\bin\Release
.\SparkEngine.exe -game .\SparkGameFPS.dll

# Linux: select a built module explicitly
cd build/bin
./SparkEngine -game ../lib/libSparkGameFPS.so

The engine does not auto-load SparkGameFPS. Replace the placeholder with the path to a built game-module binary; the command above selects that module explicitly. On Windows, a bare launch loads one discovered candidate directly or asks the user to choose among several (windowed selector or headless guidance). The current non-Windows fallback still scans the executable directory and attempts to load its matches, subject to the one-Game-module refusal, so use -game or -manifest there instead of relying on a bare launch.

SparkGameFPS controls (when that module is selected):

Key	Action
W/A/S/D	Move
Mouse	Look around
Space	Jump
Shift	Sprint
Left Click	Fire (captures mouse)
Esc	Release mouse

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Step 2: Open the Console

SparkGameFPS has no in-game console overlay (the unreachable one was removed) and binds neither backtick nor F3. Console commands are reached through the SparkConsole process that the Windows engine launches beside itself (engine logs are mirrored into it), or through the Engine Console panel in SparkEditor. Try these commands there:

help                    # List all available commands
version                 # Show engine version
render_stats            # Display rendering statistics
physics_metrics         # Show physics performance

Both console surfaces support tab-completion and command history (up/down arrows).

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Step 3: Launch SparkEditor Separately

SparkEditor is a separate executable, not an in-engine F1 overlay. Configure with ENABLE_EDITOR=ON, build its target, then launch it from the active output directory:

# Windows: Visual Studio or Ninja Multi-Config Release build
.\build\bin\Release\SparkEditor.exe

# Non-Windows single-config development build
./build/bin/SparkEditor

Replace Release with the configuration you built. You will see these panels:

Panel	Purpose
Scene View (center)	3D viewport — click and drag to orbit, scroll to zoom
Hierarchy (left)	Lists every entity in the scene
Inspector (right)	Shows components of the selected entity
Asset Browser (bottom)	Browse project files
Console (bottom)	Log output and commands

Try it:

1. Select an entity — Click any item in the Hierarchy panel
2. Inspect it — The Inspector shows its Transform, MeshRenderer, and other components
3. Move it — In the Scene View, use W and the translate arrows to drag the entity. E and R select rotate/scale modes, but applying those transforms remains incomplete (EDT-210)
4. Add a component — In the Inspector, click "Add Component" and choose a type

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Step 4: Spawn Objects via Console

Use the console to spawn entities at specific coordinates:

spawn box 0 5 0          # Spawn a physics box 5 units above origin
spawn sphere 2 10 0       # Spawn a physics sphere
spawn box -3 8 0          # Another box

Watch the physics objects fall and collide. Toggle physics debug visualization:

physics_debug on          # Show collision shapes and contacts
physics_debug off         # Hide debug overlay

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Step 5: Adjust the World

Try changing the environment:

# Time of day
time_set 6               # Sunrise
time_set 12              # Noon
time_set 18              # Sunset
time_set 0               # Midnight
time_speed 10            # Speed up the day/night cycle

# Weather
weather clear
weather rain
weather snow
weather storm

# Physics
physics_gravity 0 -5 0   # Low gravity
physics_gravity 0 -20 0  # Normal gravity (default)

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Step 6: Change Graphics Settings

Experiment with rendering settings:

# Quality presets
render_quality low
render_quality high
render_quality ultra

# Individual toggles
wireframe on              # Wireframe rendering
wireframe off
vsync off                 # Disable VSync
shadows off               # Disable shadows
hdr on                    # Enable HDR

Or edit Resources/Config/settings.ini for persistent changes. See Configuration Reference for all available settings.

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Step 7: Try Game Modes (FPS Module)

If the FPS game module is loaded:

# Cheat commands
god                       # Toggle god mode
noclip                    # Toggle noclip (fly through walls)
player_tp 0 50 0          # Teleport to coordinates

# Game modes
gamemode freeplay         # Free exploration
gamemode deathmatch       # Deathmatch mode
gamemode survival         # Wave-based survival

# Inventory
give 1                    # Give item ID 1
inventory                 # Show inventory

Start a wave-based survival round:

wave_start                # Begin waves
wave_status               # Check current wave
wave_difficulty 2.0       # Increase difficulty

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Step 8: Look Under the Hood

Check what the engine is doing:

engine_subsystems         # List all active subsystems
metrics                   # Comprehensive system metrics
asset_list                # All loaded assets
shader_list               # All loaded shaders

Toggle debug visualizations:

physics_debug on          # Collision shapes

Open the Profiler panel in the editor (Window menu) to see frame timings, draw call counts, and system performance.

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What's Next?

Now that you have a feel for the engine, explore these guides based on your role:

Programmers

1. Creating a Game Module — Build your own game module
2. Entity Component System — ECS architecture
3. Scripting with AngelScript — Hot-reload scripting

Artists & Designers

1. Artist Workflow Guide — Asset creation and import
2. Editor Walkthrough — Complete editor guide
3. Terrain and Procedural Generation — Terrain tools

Gameplay Designers

1. Making Your First Game — Build a complete game
2. Gameplay Systems — Weapons, inventory, quests
3. AI and Navigation — Behavior trees and pathfinding

Multiplayer Developers

1. Multiplayer Quick Start — Set up client/server
2. Networking — Full networking reference
3. Dedicated Server — Headless server setup

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See Also

• FAQ — Common questions and answers
• Configuration Reference — All settings and commands
• Editor Walkthrough — Practical editor guide
• Troubleshooting — Common issues and solutions