MX2 v2.2.1c

Some minor bug fixes, updated Makefile.am for autotools builds
and added logic to pick the best device to use for the Vulkan mxvk shared object.

MX2 v2.2.1b

Small fix to a few of the examples that do not use the mxvk module
Text needed to be properly reset
and compile script updated to support a clean argument.

MX2 v2.2.1 - Update to Model Loader/Viewer

libmx2 v2.2.1 Release Notes

Release Date: March 16, 2026

libmx2 v2.2.1 is a patch release focusing on model viewer parity between the OpenGL and Vulkan backends, MTL material file support, and build system improvements.

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New Features

MTL Material File Support

• Both Model (OpenGL) and MXModel (Vulkan) loaders now parse Wavefront MTL material files referenced via mtllib directives in OBJ files.
• Texture filenames specified in map_Kd entries are automatically resolved and loaded.
• Structured .tex manifest files are now distinguished from MTL files using format auto-detection (presence of newmtl keyword).

Unified Model Viewer Controls

• The OpenGL (gl_mxmod) and Vulkan (vk_mxmodel) model viewers now share the same control scheme:
  • Mouse drag to rotate the model.
  • Scroll wheel or A/S keys to zoom in/out.
  • Arrow keys to toggle auto-rotation axes.
  • W to toggle wireframe rendering.
  • H or Space to show/hide controls overlay.
  • Home to reset the view.
  • Escape to quit.
• Both viewers display a unified on-screen help overlay.

Vulkan Model Viewer Text Overlay

• vk_mxmodel now renders a semi-persistent help text overlay using VKText, toggled with H.
• Text pipeline, descriptor pool, and layout are managed automatically.

Vulkan Model Viewer CLI Unification

• vk_mxmodel now accepts the same command-line flags as gl_mxmod: -m, -t, -T, -p, -r, -f, and --compress.

Model Viewer Backend Selector

• The Qt-based model_viewer launcher now includes a combo box to select between OpenGL and Vulkan backends before launching.

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Bug Fixes

Vertex Shader Double View-Matrix Application (Critical)

• Fixed a bug in the OpenGL vertex shader (tri.vert) where the view matrix was applied twice to vertex positions, causing models to render at half their expected size.
• Before: gl_Position = projection * view * vec4(fragPos, 1.0) where fragPos was already in view space.
• After: gl_Position = projection * viewPos4 — projection is applied directly to the view-space position.
• Fixed in gl_mxmod/data/, gl_mxmod/v4/data/, and model_viewer/data/.

Model Startup Position Parity

• OpenGL and Vulkan model viewers now display models at the same position and scale on startup.
• Both viewers center the model at the origin, normalize scale to fit a 2.5-unit bounding box, and position the camera at distance 5.0 with 45° FOV.
• GL viewer default window size changed from 1440×1080 to 1280×720 to match Vulkan viewer.

MTL File Misidentification

• Fixed a bug where MTL files were incorrectly parsed as texture list files, causing texture loading failures.

Rotation Clamping Removed

• Removed the ±89° pitch clamp in the Vulkan model viewer, allowing full 360° rotation on all axes.

macOS OpenGL Error Fix

• Fixed an OpenGL error on macOS related to context handling.

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Improvements

• VKAbstractModel updated to reduce boilerplate code.
• Improved log messages throughout the model loading pipeline.
• vk_mxmodel texture path support via setTexturePath() for resolving textures relative to a specified directory.

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Build System

• CMake project version updated to 2.2.1.
• Autotools Makefile.am updated with all new programs and library sources:
  • New library source: vk_abstract_model.cpp added to libmxvk.
  • New installed headers: vk_abstract_model.hpp, config.hpp.
  • New programs: mx2-example, mx2-gl-about, mx2-gl-animation, mx2-gl-tux, mx2-vk-abstract-model, mx2-vk-cube, mx2-vk-star3D, mx2-vk-tux, mx2-vk-skybox.
• vk_mxmodel CMakeLists.txt updated with install target.

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Upgrading from v2.2.0

• Vertex shader change: If you copied tri.vert from gl_mxmod for your own project, update gl_Position from projection * view * vec4(fragPos, 1.0) to projection * viewPos4 to fix the double view-matrix bug.
• GL viewer window size: Default resolution changed from 1440×1080 to 1280×720. Use -r WIDTHxHEIGHT to override.
• Model positioning: GL viewer now centers models at the origin with normalized scale, matching the Vulkan viewer. If your code depended on the old camera-relative-to-model-center behavior, update accordingly.

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Dependencies

• C++20 compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 10+, MSVC 2019+)
• SDL2, SDL2_ttf, SDL2_mixer (optional)
• libpng, zlib
• OpenGL + GLM (optional), Vulkan SDK (optional)
• libjpeg (optional), OpenCV (optional)

MX2 v2.2.0 Source Code Release

libmx2 v2.2.0 Release

Documentation:
https://lostsidedead.biz/libmx2/docs/

Source Code Release

Release Date: March 2026

libmx2 v2.2.0 is a feature and stability release of the cross-platform C++20 multimedia library built on SDL2, OpenGL, and Vulkan. This release adds a high-level Vulkan model abstraction, Vulkan text caching, new demo projects, expanded platform support, and numerous bug fixes since v2.0.

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New Features

VKAbstractModel — High-Level Vulkan 3D Model Wrapper

• New VKAbstractModel class (vk_abstract_model.hpp/cpp) provides a convenience layer over MXModel for Vulkan rendering.
• Automatically handles texture loading from .tex manifest files, uniform buffer allocation, descriptor pool/set creation, and bounding-box centring.
• Supports per-model custom vertex and fragment shaders via setShaders().
• Manages its own pipeline, UBO updates, and swapchain resize lifecycle.

Vulkan Text Caching

• VKText now caches rendered text textures in an unordered_map keyed by text content and colour.
• Eliminates redundant GPU texture uploads for repeated strings, improving frame performance.
• New clearCache() method to explicitly free cached GPU textures.
• Cache-aware ownership tracking (ownsTexture flag) prevents double-free of shared textures.

OBJ Model Loading

• Model class now supports loading Wavefront OBJ files directly via the new openOBJ() method.
• OBJ files can be loaded alongside the existing MXMOD and compressed MXMOD.z formats.

GLWindow::makeCurrent()

• New makeCurrent() method on GLWindow restores the window's OpenGL context as current on the calling thread, useful for multi-window or threaded GL workflows.

Console Home/End Key Support

• GLConsole now supports Home and End keys (moveCursorHome(), moveCursorEnd()) for fast cursor navigation in the input line.

Controller Subsystem On-Demand Initialization

• New enableControllerInput() method on VKWindow initializes joystick and game controller subsystems only when needed.
• controllerInputEnabled() query to check initialization state.

VKWindow Device Accessors

• Added public accessors: getPhysicalDevice(), getDevice(), getGraphicsQueue(), getCommandPool().
• Enables external code and VKAbstractModel to interact with the Vulkan device without exposing internal state directly.

MXCMD Plugin API

• New C plugin interface (plugin_api.h) for cmd modules, enabling stable ABI-safe plugin development.
• New plugin_output.hpp for structured plugin output handling.
• Multiline input support, wildcard pattern matching, and improved help/output messages in the command system.

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New Examples & Demos

• gl_tux — OpenGL Tux penguin model rendering with shadow support and background shader.
• vk_tux — Vulkan Tux model rendering with sprite overlays and text.
• vk_abstract_model — Demonstrates the VKAbstractModel API for simplified Vulkan model loading and rendering.
• gl_asteroids v2.0 — Updated asteroids game with new starship OBJ model and multi-texture support.
• Hello World — Minimal example for getting started quickly.
• WebAssembly build — Updated MX2_Project for Emscripten/WebAssembly targets.

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Improvements

• Vulkan UBO cleanup — Removed raycaster-specific fields (playerPos, playerPlane) from the core UniformBufferObject, keeping it general-purpose.
• Wireframe support check — Vulkan pipeline creation now checks for fillModeNonSolid device feature before enabling wireframe mode.
• Validation layer updates — Improved Vulkan validation layer integration and resource release logging.
• Texture layout tracking — Better Vulkan texture image layout state management.
• Shader lifecycle — Added shutdown log messages and reload-on-load behaviour for ShaderProgram.
• Streaming output — Console and cmd output is now printed as it streams rather than buffering until program completion.
• ABI fix — Fixed an ABI incompatibility in cmd module loading by using a C interface.
• macOS compatibility — Fixed OpenGL errors on macOS and resolved header differences between platforms.
• Windows console — Added readline-equivalent input handling for Windows; falls back to cmd.exe when bash is unavailable.
• Static library linking — Fixed static linking for DLL builds on Windows/MinGW.

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Bug Fixes

• Fixed undefined behaviour when variable-length argument lists were used.
• Fixed resource leak detected by Vulkan validation layers.
• Fixed clean exit handling to properly release all resources.
• Fixed linker errors in Autotools and CMake builds.
• Removed duplicate log prints in cmd output.
• Removed unused projects (gl_about) and dead code.

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Build System

• CMake project version updated to 2.2.0.
• New -DES3=OFF option for OpenGL ES3 builds.
• New -DFRACTAL=OFF option for fractal demo builds.
• New -DCROSS=OFF option for cross-platform glue code.
• New -DBUILD_STATIC_LIB=OFF option for static library compilation.
• Updated shared object path locations for installation.

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Documentation

• Added comprehensive Doxygen documentation (mainpage.dox) with full class reference.
• Updated README with current build instructions, feature flags, and example listing.

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Platform Support

Platform	Status
Linux	Full support (OpenGL + Vulkan)
macOS	Supported via MoltenVK (Homebrew auto-detection)
Windows	MinGW cross-compilation with GCC 15 compatibility
WebAssembly	Emscripten demos available

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Upgrading from v2.0

• UBO layout change: UniformBufferObject no longer contains playerPos and playerPlane fields. If your shaders referenced these, move them to application-specific UBO extensions or push constants.
• Raycaster state removed: VKWindow::raycastPlayer struct has been removed. Applications using raycasting should manage player state externally.

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Dependencies

• C++20 compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 10+, MSVC 2019+)
• SDL2, SDL2_ttf, SDL2_mixer (optional)
• libpng, zlib
• OpenGL + GLM (optional), Vulkan SDK (optional)
• libjpeg (optional), OpenCV (optional)

MX2 v2.1.0 - Source Code

Fixed a memory leak when recreating a texture.
Also updated the documentation:

https://lostsidedead.biz/libmx2/docs

v2.1.0 of the Source Code.

MX2 version 2.0 - Source Code Release

libmx2 2.0 Release

libmx2 2.0 is a cross-platform C++20 multimedia library designed to accelerate SDL2-based development with a modular architecture.

Documentation

https://lostsidedead.biz/libmx2/docs/

Version 2.0 provides:

• A core mx module for SDL2 windowing, input, text, image loading, audio integration, and utility systems.
• An optional mxgl module for OpenGL rendering (GL + GLM + bundled GLAD support).
• An optional mxvk module for Vulkan rendering (volk-based loader and Vulkan helper systems).
• Cross-platform Linux/macOS/Windows workflows with both CMake and Autotools build support.

This modular design lets you build only what you need: core-only, OpenGL-enabled, Vulkan-enabled, or both.

Prerequisites

• C++20 compiler (g++/clang++/MSVC with C++20 support)
• SDL2
• SDL2_ttf
• zlib
• libpng
• Optional features:
  • SDL2_mixer (audio)
  • libjpeg (JPEG)
  • OpenGL + GLM
  • Vulkan SDK/loader + GLM

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Build with CMake

All CMake commands below use libmx/ as the source directory.

1) Configure + build (default)

cd libmx2
mkdir -p build
cmake -S libmx -B build
cmake --build build -j"$(nproc)"

2) Install

cmake --install build

Use sudo if your install prefix requires elevated permissions:

sudo cmake --install build

3) Common CMake feature flags

# Core + OpenGL (default)
cmake -S libmx -B build -DOPENGL=ON -DVULKAN=OFF

# Core + Vulkan only
cmake -S libmx -B build -DOPENGL=OFF -DVULKAN=ON

# Enable/disable extras
cmake -S libmx -B build -DMIXER=ON -DJPEG=OFF -DEXAMPLES=ON

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Build with Autotools

Autotools files are in libmx/.

1) Generate build system (if needed)

If configure is missing or you want to regenerate autotools outputs:

cd libmx2/libmx
./autogen.sh

2) Configure + build (default)

cd libmx2/libmx
./configure
make -j"$(nproc)"

3) Install

make install

Use sudo if needed:

sudo make install

4) Common Autotools feature flags

# OpenGL on (default), Vulkan off (default)
./configure --enable-opengl --disable-vulkan

# Vulkan on, OpenGL off
./configure --enable-vulkan --disable-opengl

# Optional components
./configure --enable-mixer --enable-jpeg --enable-examples --enable-opencv

5) Prefix example

./configure --prefix=/usr/local
make -j"$(nproc)"
sudo make install

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Notes for 2.0

• Project version is 2.0.0 in both CMake and Autotools metadata.
• C++20 is required.
• OpenGL and Vulkan modules are independent optional layers built on top of the mx core.

libmx2 v1.4.1

source code for libmx2 v1.4.1

libmx2 v1.3.1 Source Code

Update fixing Makefiles for ocmpiling with DMOLTEN=ON for MacOS.

libmx2 - 1.3 Source Code

v1.3 source code

MXCMD v1.10 Windows X64 build

MXCMD Online Guide:

visit: https://lostsidedead.biz/mxcmd for an online guide

Technical Details

Graphics: OpenGL 3.3+ with SDL2

Language: C++20 with modern STL features

Threading: Multi-threaded with mutex-protected console operations

Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows (with WSL support)

Dependencies: SDL2, SDL2_TTF, OpenGL, libmx2 framework

Core Components

Interactive Console: Full-featured terminal with scrolling, history, and scripting language

MXCMD Integration: Execute MXCMD scripts with and execute commands

Shader System: Real-time visual effects with customizable fragment shaders

Cross-Platform: Native support for Linux/macOS with Windows WSL integration

Thread-Safe Operations: Multi-threaded command execution with main thread task queuing

Architecture

The application follows a modular architecture with clear separation between the console interface (GLConsole), the command execution engine (AstExecutor), and the rendering system (Game class). The main components include:

Game Class: Handles OpenGL rendering, shader management, and input processing

MainWindow: SDL2/OpenGL window management with console integration

Console System: Text rendering, scrolling, input handling, and command history

Command Processor: MXCMD script parsing and execution with interrupt support

Key Features

Console Features

Scrollable text output with mouse wheel and page up/down support

Command history navigation (up/down arrows)

Real-time text rendering with custom font support

Thread-safe message queuing for command output

Configurable prompt and console appearance

Visual Effects

Dynamic shader switching with 10+ built-in effects

Real-time time-based animations

Custom GLSL fragment shader support

Keyboard shortcuts for quick shader changes

Command System

Built-in console commands (clear, about, help, exit)

MXCMD script execution with full language support

Windows WSL integration for cross-platform commands

Command echo control and debugging features