nowfound

Dev tools · June 9, 2025

IM

I made a 3D networked open world automation game with no game engine

Over the last 4 years I've been developing Skyformer, including making all the art. Technical features include: - OpenGL for graphics, OpenAL for sound, GLFW for input - Terrain rendered using techniques inspired by REDengine 3 with a custom terrain/world editor. - Networking framework for co-op with TCP + custom binary protocol - Immediate mode UI framework, SDF text rendering - Cascaded shadow mapping with soft shadows. - Weather simulation (with my own fake physics) - Dynamic skydome - Water based on Gerstner waves - Swept-sphere collision detection and response - Soft-particles…

In plain words

Skyformer is a 3D open-world automation game built without a commercial game engine, featuring custom-built graphics, networking, and physics systems. Players can explore procedurally rendered terrain, build automated systems, and play cooperatively online. The creator built all art assets and engineered core systems including terrain rendering, real-time weather simulation, water effects, and collision detection, targeting players interested in automation gameplay and technical depth.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

In the maker’s words, at launch

Over the last 4 years I've been developing Skyformer, including making all the art. Technical features include: - OpenGL for graphics, OpenAL for sound, GLFW for input - Terrain rendered using techniques inspired by REDengine 3 with a custom terrain/world editor. - Networking framework for co-op with TCP + custom binary protocol - Immediate mode UI framework, SDF text rendering - Cascaded shadow mapping with soft shadows. - Weather simulation (with my own fake physics) - Dynamic skydome - Water based on Gerstner waves - Swept-sphere collision detection and response - Soft-particles / transparency - God rays - Grass rendering - FXAA, SSAO, Bloom - etc. You can ask me anything and let me know if you have any feedback. Thanks!

Does the same job

all alternatives →
  • IB
    I built an indie, browser-based MMORPG2024 · alpha.reconquer.online · ▲340

    I've been working on an MMORPG that is now in alpha as a solo developer. Here are the major open source technologies that I use: Blender - 3D modeling software for creating the overall environment and every game object. I've gotten a lot of CC and Public Domain assets from https://poly.pizza GLTF - I export assets from blender to the GLTF asset format JSON - I write a JSON config for every game object that describes things like its name, its interactions, its collisions, etc. Node.js exporter - I iterate over the environment and every asset to create a scene hierarchy. I use…

  • AM
    A Marble Madness-inspired WebGL game we built for Netlify2024 · 5-million-devs.netlify.com · ▲616

    Hello HN! We’re a small creative studio specializing in real-time 3D experiences. Netlify approached us to design and build an interactive experience to celebrate reaching 5 million developers. Inspired by the classic game Marble Madness, we created a gamified experience where users control a ball through playful, interactive levels. The goal was to blend marketing content with the look and feel of a game to engage users. The app is built with Three.js [1], using our custom render pipeline and shaders, and uses Rapier for physics simulation [2]. The 2D content is overlaid on the WebGL view…

  • CA
    Consol3 – A 3D engine for the terminal that executes on the CPU2024 · github.com · ▲170

    Hi all This has been my hobby project for quite a few years now It started as a small engine to serve as a sandbox to try out new 3d graphics ideas After adding many features through out the years and re-writing the entire engine a few times, this is the latest state It currently supports loading models with animations, textures, lights, shadow maps, normal maps, and some other goodies I've also recently added voxel raymarching as an alternative renderer, along with a fun physics simulation :)

  • IM
    I'm open-sourcing my game engine2023 · github.com · ▲318

    Modd.io is a collaborative game editor that runs in browser. It's kind of like Figma for game dev. We made this engine low-code and multiplayer-first, so developeres can quickly prototype casual multiplayer games. I hope some of you guys will find this useful. Would love to hear feedback also. Thank you. Engine Demo: https://www.modd.io

  • OS
    Open-source shooter which made it to AC: Valhalla and Skydio drones2023 · github.com · ▲270

    So just for fun, I wrote a complete multiplayer game in pure C++. I even wrote my own texture atlas packer, which is now used by Assassin's Creed, 2 scientific publications as well as a drone manufacturing company - each of these basically mentions the name of my game. There is even a claim that Unity patented some of the ECS ideas that originate from this project. See https://github.com/TeamHypersomnia/Hypersomnia#tech-highligh... for details. By the way the game is pretty darn good. 10 people connected yesterday to test a new map:…

  • F3
    Fio: 3D World editor/game engine – inspired by Radiant and HammerMar 2026 · github.com · ▲96

    A liminal brush-based CSG editor and game engine with unified (forward) renderer inspired by Radiant and Worldcraft/Hammer Compact and lightweight (target: Snapdragon 8CX, OpenGL 3.3) Real-time lighting with stencil shadows without the need for pre-baked compilation

More dev tools this month

the category →
  • Dograh592

    The open source VAPI alternative

    Dev tools · 25d ago · dograh.com

  • Meridian530

    Don't let your work go unnoticed. Get promoted!

    Dev tools · 20d ago · meridiona.com

  • x1516

    Lovable for iPhone apps go from idea to App Store

    Dev tools · 11d ago · x1.new

  • The first open-source price index for GPU compute

    Dev tools · 10d ago · getcomputable.com

  • OpenTrailPaper is open-source bike computer firmware for the LilyGO T5S3 4.7" E-Paper PRO. It supports offline maps, GPX routes, FIT recording and Bluetooth sensors.

    Dev tools · 2d ago · opentrailpaper.com

  • Open-source GTM skills for technical founders

    Dev tools · 29d ago · gtmcofounder.com

Launched alongside, June 2025

the whole month →
  • IM

    Hey HN! Pilots everywhere are required to keep a logbook of all their flying hours, aircraft, airports, and so on. Since I track everything digitally (some people still just use paper logbooks!), I put together some data visualizations and a few 3D globes to show my flying history. This globe is probably my favourite so far: https://jameshard.ing/pilot/globes/all If you’ve got ideas for other graphs or ways to show this kind of data, I’d love to hear them!

    Life & fun · 2025 · jameshard.ing

  • Stunning presentations with AI. No design skills required.

    AI · 2025 · chroniclehq.com

  • Build native mobile apps for iOS and Android without code.

    Dev tools · 2025 · bble.io

  • Twenty991

    The #1 open-source CRM

    Dev tools · 2025 · twenty.com

  • All your connections, across all your socials.

    AI · 2025 · pally.com

  • WC

    I was the main contributor to workout.lol, an open-source fitness app to easily build a workout routine. The project had traction (1.4k GitHub stars, 95 forks, ~20K visits/month), but was eventually sold due to video licensing hurdles. The new owner stopped maintaining it, and the repo went abandoned. Over the next 9 months, I sent 15 emails to try to save it : no replies. Feature requests & issues were ignored. The community was left with a "broken" tool let's say. I couldn't just let it die So I built the new version from scratch with the same open-source spirit, but a better…

    Dev tools · 2025 · github.com