Tempest is a native game engine built from the ground up for modern rendering, fast iteration, editable worlds and direct control over the technology.
LanguageC + C++20
GraphicsVulkan
PhysicsJolt
Engine build5.4 seconds
Documentation status
This documentation covers the public engine model currently represented by the Tempest website. Detailed API reference material is still being written.
01
Engine model
Tempest uses a handmade, data-oriented engine architecture rather than building the runtime around a large general-purpose framework.
Data-oriented coreRuntime systems are organized around data access and execution rather than deep object hierarchies.
Handmade entity systemTempest owns its entity representation instead of delegating the architecture to a generic third-party ECS.
Purpose-built allocationArena and frame allocation strategies keep transient and persistent memory lifetimes explicit.
Parallel executionTask-based CPU work distributes engine workloads across available cores.
02
Editor & worlds
Scene editing, reusable prefabs and runtime inspection form the core world-authoring workflow.
ScenesEditable scene data represents authored game worlds.
PrefabsReusable authored objects integrate directly into scene composition.
Large worldsTerrain, partitioning and large-world transforms support expansive environments.
Runtime inspectionEngine and scene state remain inspectable during development.
03
Rendering
Tempest starts from an explicit Vulkan-first rendering architecture instead of carrying a legacy graphics backend forward.
PBRPhysically based materials and lighting.
Deferred renderingDeferred shading for complex lighting workloads.
Bindless resourcesModern resource access for large rendering workloads.
HDRHigh-dynamic-range rendering and environment lighting.
Shader languagesGLSL, HLSL and Slang workflows.
Temporal renderingModern temporal techniques form part of the renderer.
04
Physics & gameplay
Jolt Physics provides the simulation foundation used by Tempest gameplay systems.
Rigid bodiesDynamic rigid-body simulation, forces and impulses.
CollisionBroad-phase and narrow-phase collision across multiple shape types.
CharactersPhysics-backed character movement and world interaction.
VehiclesVehicle simulation integrates with the Tempest gameplay layer.
05
Iteration
Fast iteration is part of the engine architecture, not an editor-side convenience layered on afterwards.
Game codeRuntime code iteration remains inside the development loop.
ShadersShader changes can be refreshed during development.
AssetsChanged asset data can be reloaded without rebuilding the entire application.
Build timeThe current published full-engine build figure is 5.4 seconds on a 16-core Ryzen 9.
06
Platforms
The current Tempest website identifies four target platforms.
