Baking Pipeline

This document explains the engine resource baking pipeline: where it is wired, which source files own baker behavior, and how to validate changes. For the broader engine tool map, see Tools.md.

Use this for reusable engine behavior. Game-specific content folder rules and product package policy belong in the embedding project’s docs.

Source paths inspected

• BuildTools/cmake/stages/ScriptsAndBaking.cmake
• BuildTools/cmake/helpers/WriteBuildHash.cmake
• Source/Applications/BakerApp.cpp
• Source/Applications/BakerLib.cpp
• Source/Tools/Baker.h
• Source/Tools/Baker.cpp
• Source/Tools/MetadataBaker.h
• Source/Tools/MetadataBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ConfigBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ConfigBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/RawCopyBaker.h
• Source/Tools/RawCopyBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ImageBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ImageBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/EffectBaker.h
• Source/Tools/EffectBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ProtoBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ProtoBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/MapBaker.h
• Source/Tools/MapBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/TextBaker.h
• Source/Tools/TextBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ProtoTextBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ProtoTextBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ModelMeshBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ModelMeshBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/ModelInfoBaker.h
• Source/Tools/ModelInfoBaker.cpp
• Source/Tools/AngelScriptBaker.h
• Source/Tools/AngelScriptBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_BakerSetup.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_MetadataBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_ConfigBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_RawCopyBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_ImageBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_EffectBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_ProtoBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_ProtoTextBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_MapBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_TextBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_ModelBaker.cpp
• Source/Tests/Test_AngelScriptBaker.cpp

What baking does

Baking turns project resources and configuration into runtime-ready output. The build pipeline creates BakeResources and ForceBakeResources command targets in BuildTools/cmake/stages/ScriptsAndBaking.cmake. Those targets run the project baker application with the embedding project’s main config applied.

At runtime/source level, baking is owned by:

• Source/Applications/BakerApp.cpp — executable app wrapper that constructs MasterBaker and calls BakeAll().
• Source/Applications/BakerLib.cpp — exported library entry point FO_BakeResources() for library-based baking flows.
• Source/Tools/Baker.h / Source/Tools/Baker.cpp — shared baking context, baker setup, data source, output writing, and MasterBaker.

CMake entry points

BuildTools/cmake/stages/ScriptsAndBaking.cmake creates baking commands after application targets are available.

Current target responsibilities:

• BakeResources runs the project baker with -ForceBaking False.
• ForceBakeResources runs the project baker with -ForceBaking True.
• Both apply the embedding project’s main config through -ApplyConfig <FO_MAIN_CONFIG> and -ApplySubConfig NONE.
• Both work from FO_OUTPUT_PATH.
• Resource build-hash state is written through BuildTools/cmake/helpers/WriteBuildHash.cmake using Baking/Resources.build-hash.

The actual final target names that depend on these commands are project/preset-dependent. Do not document one embedding project’s target names as universal engine behavior.

Runtime classes

BakingContext

Defined in Source/Tools/Baker.h. It carries shared bake state:

• Settings — BakingSettings for the current bake.
• PackName — current resource pack name.
• BakeChecker — callback used to decide whether existing baked data is still valid.
• WriteData — async output writer callback.
• BakedFiles — existing baked file data source.
• ForceSyncMode — optional override for synchronous execution.

BaseBaker

The abstract base for individual baker implementations. Each baker provides:

• GetName() — stable baker name used by setup/config selection.
• GetOrder() — ordering key for deterministic bake ordering.
• BakeFiles() — the actual file transformation step.

BaseBaker::SetupBakers() in Source/Tools/Baker.cpp creates requested bakers and then calls SetupBakersHook() so external/project code can extend the baker list.

MasterBaker

MasterBaker coordinates a full bake through BakeAll(). It is the app-facing type used by both BakerApp.cpp and BakerLib.cpp.

BakerDataSource

BakerDataSource adapts resource inputs/outputs to the engine DataSource interface. It tracks input resource packs, output resources, cache checks, and output path construction.

Built-in baker types

Source/Tools/Baker.cpp registers built-in bakers when requested and enabled:

• MetadataBaker — Source/Tools/MetadataBaker.*
• ConfigBaker — Source/Tools/ConfigBaker.*, name Config, order 2
• RawCopyBaker — Source/Tools/RawCopyBaker.*, name RawCopy, order 4
• ImageBaker — Source/Tools/ImageBaker.*
• EffectBaker — Source/Tools/EffectBaker.*
• ProtoBaker — Source/Tools/ProtoBaker.*, name Proto, order 6
• MapBaker — Source/Tools/MapBaker.*, name Map, order 7
• TextBaker — Source/Tools/TextBaker.*, name Text, order 4
• ProtoTextBaker — Source/Tools/ProtoTextBaker.*
• ModelMeshBaker — Source/Tools/ModelMeshBaker.*, enabled when FO_ENABLE_3D is active
• ModelInfoBaker — Source/Tools/ModelInfoBaker.*, enabled when FO_ENABLE_3D is active
• AngelScriptBaker — Source/Tools/AngelScriptBaker.*, enabled when FO_ANGELSCRIPT_SCRIPTING is active

When documenting a specific asset type, inspect the relevant baker class and its tests rather than inferring behavior from file extensions alone.

Script compilation relationship

ScriptsAndBaking.cmake also creates script compilation commands:

• CompileAngelScript runs the project AS compiler target when FO_ANGELSCRIPT_SCRIPTING is enabled.
• CompileMonoScripts runs BuildTools/compile-mono-scripts.py when FO_MONO_SCRIPTING is enabled.

These are separate command targets from resource baking, but they share the same stage because generated/baked runtime inputs are part of the same build preparation workflow.

Tests to inspect

Baker behavior is covered by focused tests in Source/Tests/:

• Test_BakerSetup.cpp
• Test_ConfigBaker.cpp
• Test_MetadataBaker.cpp
• Test_RawCopyBaker.cpp
• Test_ImageBaker.cpp
• Test_EffectBaker.cpp
• Test_ProtoBaker.cpp
• Test_ProtoTextBaker.cpp
• Test_MapBaker.cpp
• Test_TextBaker.cpp
• Test_ModelBaker.cpp
• Test_AngelScriptBaker.cpp

Use the smallest test that matches the baker you changed. If CMake target names are generated by the embedding project, discover them from that project’s presets/build files instead of hard-coding them here.

Change routing

• New baker type: add/modify Source/Tools/*Baker.*, register it in BaseBaker::SetupBakers() or through SetupBakersHook(), and add focused tests.
• Baking command arguments: update BuildTools/cmake/stages/ScriptsAndBaking.cmake.
• Resource build hash behavior: update BuildTools/cmake/helpers/WriteBuildHash.cmake and related tests/build validation.
• Metadata baking: update Source/Tools/MetadataBaker.* and GeneratedApiAndMetadata.md.
• Script-specific bake behavior: update Source/Tools/AngelScriptBaker.* and Scripting.md.

Validation checklist

1. Configure from an embedding project root.
2. Build the project baker application/library target if the changed path affects app/library code.
3. Run the relevant baker test(s) under Source/Tests/.
4. Run BakeResources for incremental behavior when cache/build-hash logic matters.
5. Run ForceBakeResources when forced rebuild behavior matters.
6. Inspect generated output only as output, not as hand-authored source.
7. Update this document and BuildToolsPipeline.md if stage responsibilities change.