Runtime Packages

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EvoEngine separates build-time Services from runtime packages.

Extension type	Folder	Build/runtime model	Use for
Service	EvoEngine_Services/<Name>	Static library selected by CMake options such as EVOENGINE_ENABLE_CudaModule_SERVICE	Build-time modules that apps or packages link against directly.
Runtime package	EvoEngine_Packages/<Name>	DLL/shared library selected by CMake options such as EVOENGINE_ENABLE_<Name>_PACKAGE and loaded from a Packages runtime folder	Domain features that can be rebuilt, loaded, unloaded, or reloaded independently from the app.

Package documentation is indexed in EvoEngine_Packages/README.md. Service documentation is indexed in EvoEngine_Services/README.md.

Build Model

Runtime packages live under EvoEngine_Packages. The package CMake entry scans package folders automatically, reads optional metadata from PackageInfo.cmake, creates an EVOENGINE_ENABLE_<Name>_PACKAGE option, and builds a shared library target named <Name>Package by default.

Disable individual package targets with:

-DEVOENGINE_ENABLE_<Name>_PACKAGE=OFF

When EVOENGINE_ENABLE_RUNTIME_PACKAGES is ON, the SDK builds as a shared library so apps, services, Python bindings, and runtime packages share the same runtime registries.

Package dependencies are declared with EVOENGINE_PACKAGE_DEPENDS in PackageInfo.cmake. CMake builds dependencies first and emits a sidecar .evepackage manifest beside each package binary so the runtime can discover and load dependencies before opening a package library.

Loading Packages

Apps do not load runtime packages by default. Load packages by:

• setting ApplicationInitializationSettings::enable_runtime_packages = true
• adding names to ApplicationInitializationSettings::startup_runtime_packages
• declaring startup_runtime_packages in a project .eveproj
• calling PackageManager::Load or PackageManager::LoadAll
• using editor runtime package tooling

Runtime packages export:

EvoEnginePackageGetDescriptor
EvoEnginePackageLoad
EvoEnginePackageUnload

Packages that own RTTI/reflection types should also export:

EvoEnginePackageRegisterTypes

Use EvoEnginePackageRegisterTypes and PackageRegistrar to register package-owned types:

registrar.RegisterPrivateComponent<MyComponent>("MyComponent");
registrar.RegisterAsset<MyAsset>("MyAsset", {".myasset"});
registrar.RegisterDataComponent<MyData>("MyData");
registrar.RegisterSystem<MySystem>("MySystem");
registrar.RegisterLayer<MyLayer>("My Layer");

Reloading And Unloading

Package unloading is guarded. Load, reload, and unload operations are refused while the app is playing, paused, or stepping. Reload and unload are also refused while package-owned private component instances, package-created objects, or dependent runtime packages still exist.

On Windows, packages are loaded from a shadow copy, so the original DLL can usually be rebuilt while the app process remains open. For build-tree iteration, click Build for the package in the editor Runtime Package Manager, stop play mode, then click Reload for the loaded package.