LEARNING PROJECT · ALPHA RELEASES 2023–2024

Horus Vision

An early C++ renderer-integration project built to learn scene architecture and artist-facing tooling around Radeon ProRender. It is preserved as a record of what I learned, not presented as a production-ready engine.

View the historical source
Status
Personal learning project
Published period
Alpha releases from October 2023 to February 2024
Role
C++ and tools development
Stack
C++, Radeon ProRender, ImGui and Assimp

Original goal

I used Horus Vision to understand how a renderer SDK, scene data and an interactive tools layer fit together. The work focused on integration and interface architecture rather than developing a new light-transport algorithm.

Coffee scene rendered through the Horus Vision learning project
A test scene rendered through the Radeon ProRender integration.

What I implemented

  • Radeon ProRender SDK integration
  • Object and scene-state management
  • An ImGui inspector for selected properties
  • Assimp-based geometry import
  • Material and light controls
  • An application console for feedback and debugging
Horus Vision interface with viewport, object list, inspector and console
The interface brought scene selection, property editing and feedback into one test application.

What I would build differently today

Define a smaller supported scope

I would begin with a narrow scene model and explicit supported workflows instead of accumulating renderer features before the foundations were validated.

Separate the renderer backend

I would place a clearer boundary between artist-facing scene data and Radeon ProRender-specific objects so the application is easier to test and change.

Validate before advertising

I would add repeatable reference scenes, image comparisons, supported-platform checks and measured timings before making quality or performance claims.

Prioritise data and persistence

I would stabilise scene ownership, serialization and error reporting before expanding experimental interface features.

Historical status

This portfolio entry describes the public alpha releases, from version 1.0 in October 2023 to version 1.3 in February 2024. It does not make claims about production readiness, commercial support, rendering performance or future features.

Alpha 1.0 release → Alpha 1.3 release →

What I learned

I learned that renderer features are useful only when scene state and feedback remain understandable. Integrating a third-party SDK made ownership and abstraction boundaries more important than feature count. Today I would validate a smaller core before extending the UI.

Credits and confidentiality

Production
Personal learning project
Exact role
C++ application architecture, SDK integration and tools UI
Work by others
Radeon ProRender, ImGui, Assimp and the other listed libraries are third-party technologies.
Confidentiality
No NDA. The source and alpha releases are public on GitHub.