Scene Runtime Media, Weather, And Camera Phases
Scene runtime presentation turns authored scene data into time-aware audio, weather, and camera behavior. These systems are presentation-facing, but they must still follow deterministic phase ordering so preview, standalone, and runtime clients show the same scene.
Purpose
Use this page when adding scene audio cues, weather profiles, camera behavior, cutscene overrides, or schedule-simulation features.
SceneRuntimePhase Ordering
Scene runtime systems should be ordered by phase: collect authored scene state, resolve schedule/time context, update media and weather drivers, then apply camera and presentation output. If a system consumes weather or audio state before schedule simulation runs, preview and runtime can diverge.
Do not introduce a new presentation system without deciding which phase owns it.
Audio Cue Resolution
Audio runtime resolves authored cues through the audio cue catalog. Placed sounds, loops, one-shots, footsteps, and scene-driven triggers should resolve to catalog entries before playback. Diagnostics should name the missing cue or invalid placement rather than failing silently.
If a cue works in the editor but not runtime, compare the authored scene reference, cue catalog id, and packaged asset path.
Weather Profiles And Masks
Weather rendering is profile-driven. Weather math resolves intensities, masks, transitions, and visual effects before render code consumes them. Player preview uses the same profile concepts so artists can inspect weather without loading the full game server path.
Avoid baking weather values directly into shaders or preview-only code. Put reusable behavior in the weather profile and math layers.
Camera Follow And Overrides
Runtime camera behavior follows player or scene targets by default, but cutscenes and authored presentation can temporarily override that. Override systems must return control cleanly so normal follow behavior resumes after the event.
When camera jitter appears, inspect whether two systems are writing the active camera in the same phase.
Schedule Simulation
time_schedule_simulator allows previews to test day/night or scheduled scene behavior without waiting for real time. The simulated time source should feed the same scheduling code used by runtime, otherwise editor results will be misleading.
Debugging
For missing audio, inspect cue id, catalog load, and scene placement. For wrong weather, inspect active profile, masks, and simulated time. For camera problems, inspect phase ordering and active overrides. For standalone drift, compare shell developer options with editor viewport simulation state.