The main goal of the performance updates is to separate FrooxEngine from Unity so that FrooxEngine can benefit from a faster runtime in .NET 9+. In addition, this allows for easier switching to an alternate renderer in the future.
The Issue
Prior to separation, if Unity crashes it takes down FrooxEngine with it. Another problem is that Unity uses a slower runtime called Mono which reduces the performance of FrooxEngine considerably, as it runs FrooxEngine inside of a MonoBehavior (Unity component). FrooxEngine also slows down Unity to an extent as well (comment from Frooxius)
The Solution
Frooxius has devised a series of updates to address this. Each stage brings more systems from Unity into FrooxEngine, allowing more control over them and lowering the dependency on Unity. These are pre-requisites for the separation.
The major steps:
- PhotonDust (Particles update) Issue 587
- Awwdio (Audio update) Issue 2430
- Process-based architecture (Inter-process communication) Issue 706
These updates change core components of the engine, and allow it to work more standalone.
The engines will be separated into different processes and communicate via a shared memory file. Unity will still handle parts of the input, however its main function will be for the rendering.