Improves ASCII rasterization speed and simplifies API

Signed-off-by: Hans Kokx <hans.d.kokx@gmail.com>

apps/wolf_3d_cli/bin/main.dart

@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@ void main() async {
 
   final AsciiRasterizer asciiRasterizer = AsciiRasterizer(isTerminal: true);
   final SixelRasterizer sixelRasterizer = SixelRasterizer();
-  Rasterizer rasterizer = sixelRasterizer;
+  CliRasterizer rasterizer = sixelRasterizer;
 
-  FrameBuffer buffer = FrameBuffer(
+  final FrameBuffer initialFrameBuffer = FrameBuffer(
     stdout.terminalColumns,
     stdout.terminalLines,
   );
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ void main() async {
     data: availableGames.values.first,
     difficulty: Difficulty.medium,
     startingEpisode: 0,
+    frameBuffer: initialFrameBuffer,
     audio: CliSilentAudio(),
     input: CliInput(),
     onGameWon: () {
@@ -83,24 +84,17 @@ void main() async {
     if (stdout.hasTerminal) {
       int cols = stdout.terminalColumns;
       int rows = stdout.terminalLines;
-      if (!rasterizer.isTerminalSizeSupported(cols, rows)) {
+      if (!rasterizer.prepareTerminalFrame(engine, columns: cols, rows: rows)) {
         // Clear the screen and print the warning at the top left
         stdout.write('\x1b[2J\x1b[H');
-        stdout.write('\x1b[31m[ ERROR ] TERMINAL TOO SMALL\x1b[0m\n\n');
-        stdout.write('${rasterizer.terminalSizeRequirement}\n');
         stdout.write(
-          'Current size: \x1b[33m${stdout.terminalColumns}x${stdout.terminalLines}\x1b[0m\n\n',
+          rasterizer.buildTerminalSizeWarning(columns: cols, rows: rows),
         );
-        stdout.write('Please resize your window to resume the game...');
 
         // Prevent the engine from simulating a massive time jump when resumed
         lastTick = stopwatch.elapsed;
         return;
       }
-
-      if (buffer.width != cols || buffer.height != rows) {
-        buffer = FrameBuffer(cols, rows);
-      }
     }
 
     // 2. Normal Game Loop
@@ -112,8 +106,6 @@ void main() async {
     stdout.write('\x1b[H');
 
     engine.tick(elapsed);
-    rasterizer.render(engine, buffer);
+    stdout.write(rasterizer.render(engine));
-
-    stdout.write(rasterizer.finalizeFrame());
   });
 }

apps/wolf_3d_gui/lib/screens/game_screen.dart

@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ class _GameScreenState extends State<GameScreen> {
       data: widget.data,
       difficulty: widget.difficulty,
       startingEpisode: widget.startingEpisode,
+      frameBuffer: FrameBuffer(320, 200),
       audio: widget.audio,
       input: widget.input,
       onGameWon: () => Navigator.of(context).pop(),

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/rasterizer/ascii_rasterizer.dart

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ class ColoredChar {
   int get argb => (0xFF000000) | (r << 16) | (g << 8) | b;
 }
 
-class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
+class AsciiRasterizer extends CliRasterizer<dynamic> {
   static const double _targetAspectRatio = 4 / 3;
   static const int _terminalBackdropArgb = 0xFF009688;
   static const int _minimumTerminalColumns = 80;
@@ -121,14 +121,16 @@ class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
 
   // Intercept the base render call to initialize our text grid
   @override
-  dynamic render(WolfEngine engine, FrameBuffer buffer) {
+  dynamic render(WolfEngine engine) {
     _engine = engine;
     _screen = List.generate(
-      buffer.height,
+      engine.frameBuffer.height,
-      (_) =>
+      (_) => List.filled(
-          List.filled(buffer.width, ColoredChar(' ', ColorPalette.vga32Bit[0])),
+        engine.frameBuffer.width,
+        ColoredChar(' ', ColorPalette.vga32Bit[0]),
+      ),
     );
-    return super.render(engine, buffer);
+    return super.render(engine);
   }
 
   @override
@@ -630,7 +632,7 @@ class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
   }
 
   @override
-  String finalizeFrame() {
+  dynamic finalizeFrame() {
     if (_engine.player.damageFlash > 0.0) {
       if (isTerminal) {
         _applyDamageFlashToScene();
@@ -640,8 +642,9 @@ class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
     }
     if (isTerminal) {
       _composeTerminalScene();
+      return toAnsiString();
     }
-    return toAnsiString();
+    return _screen;
   }
 
   // --- PRIVATE HUD DRAWING HELPERS ---
@@ -787,7 +790,7 @@ class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
   }
 
   /// Converts the current frame to a single printable ANSI string
-  String toAnsiString() {
+  StringBuffer toAnsiString() {
     StringBuffer buffer = StringBuffer();
 
     int? lastForeground;
@@ -828,6 +831,6 @@ class AsciiRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
     // Reset the terminal color at the very end
     buffer.write('\x1b[0m');
 
-    return buffer.toString();
+    return buffer;
   }
 }

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/rasterizer/cli_rasterizer.dart

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_engine.dart';
+
+/// Shared terminal orchestration for CLI rasterizers.
+abstract class CliRasterizer<T> extends Rasterizer<T> {
+  /// Resolves the framebuffer dimensions required by this renderer.
+  ///
+  /// The default uses the full terminal size.
+  ({int width, int height}) terminalFrameBufferSize(int columns, int rows) {
+    return (width: columns, height: rows);
+  }
+
+  /// Applies terminal-size policy and updates the engine framebuffer.
+  ///
+  /// Returns `false` when the terminal is too small for this renderer.
+  bool prepareTerminalFrame(
+    WolfEngine engine, {
+    required int columns,
+    required int rows,
+  }) {
+    if (!isTerminalSizeSupported(columns, rows)) {
+      return false;
+    }
+
+    final size = terminalFrameBufferSize(columns, rows);
+    engine.setFrameBuffer(size.width, size.height);
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  /// Builds the standard terminal size warning shown by the CLI host.
+  String buildTerminalSizeWarning({required int columns, required int rows}) {
+    return '\x1b[31m[ ERROR ] TERMINAL TOO SMALL\x1b[0m\n\n'
+        '$terminalSizeRequirement\n'
+        'Current size: \x1b[33m${columns}x$rows\x1b[0m\n\n'
+        'Please resize your window to resume the game...';
+  }
+}

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/rasterizer/rasterizer.dart

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_data_types.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_engine.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_entities.dart';
 
-abstract class Rasterizer {
+abstract class Rasterizer<T> {
   late List<double> zBuffer;
   late int width;
   late int height;
@@ -40,9 +40,9 @@ abstract class Rasterizer {
 
   /// The main entry point called by the game loop.
   /// Orchestrates the mathematical rendering pipeline.
-  dynamic render(WolfEngine engine, FrameBuffer buffer) {
+  T render(WolfEngine engine) {
-    width = buffer.width;
+    width = engine.frameBuffer.width;
-    height = buffer.height;
+    height = engine.frameBuffer.height;
     // The 3D view typically takes up the top 80% of the screen
     viewHeight = (height * 0.8).toInt();
     zBuffer = List.filled(projectionWidth, 0.0);
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ abstract class Rasterizer {
   void drawHud(WolfEngine engine);
 
   /// Return the finished frame (e.g., the FrameBuffer itself, or an ASCII list).
-  dynamic finalizeFrame();
+  T finalizeFrame();
 
   // ===========================================================================
   // SHARED LIGHTING MATH

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/rasterizer/sixel_rasterizer.dart

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import 'dart:typed_data';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_data_types.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_engine.dart';
 
-class SixelRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
+class SixelRasterizer extends CliRasterizer<String> {
   static const double _targetAspectRatio = 4 / 3;
   static const int _defaultLineHeightPx = 18;
   static const double _defaultCellWidthToHeight = 0.55;
@@ -85,12 +85,18 @@ class SixelRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
   }
 
   @override
-  dynamic render(WolfEngine engine, FrameBuffer buffer) {
+  String render(WolfEngine engine) {
     _engine = engine;
-    final FrameBuffer scaledBuffer = _createScaledBuffer(buffer);
+    final FrameBuffer originalBuffer = engine.frameBuffer;
+    final FrameBuffer scaledBuffer = _createScaledBuffer(originalBuffer);
     // We only need 8-bit indices for the 256 VGA colors
     _screen = Uint8List(scaledBuffer.width * scaledBuffer.height);
-    return super.render(engine, scaledBuffer);
+    engine.frameBuffer = scaledBuffer;
+    try {
+      return super.render(engine);
+    } finally {
+      engine.frameBuffer = originalBuffer;
+    }
   }
 
   @override

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/rasterizer/software_rasterizer.dart

@@ -3,16 +3,16 @@ import 'dart:math' as math;
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_data_types.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_engine.dart';
 
-class SoftwareRasterizer extends Rasterizer {
+class SoftwareRasterizer extends Rasterizer<FrameBuffer> {
   late FrameBuffer _buffer;
   late WolfEngine _engine;
 
   // Intercept the base render call to store our references
   @override
-  dynamic render(WolfEngine engine, FrameBuffer buffer) {
+  FrameBuffer render(WolfEngine engine) {
     _engine = engine;
-    _buffer = buffer;
+    _buffer = engine.frameBuffer;
-    return super.render(engine, buffer);
+    return super.render(engine);
   }
 
   @override

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/src/engine/wolf_3d_engine_base.dart

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ class WolfEngine {
     required this.onGameWon,
     required this.audio,
     required this.input,
+    required this.frameBuffer,
   }) : doorManager = DoorManager(
          onPlaySound: (sfxId) => audio.playSoundEffect(sfxId),
        );
@@ -48,6 +49,9 @@ class WolfEngine {
   /// Polls and processes raw user input into actionable engine commands.
   final Wolf3dInput input;
 
+  /// The shared render target used by all renderer frontends.
+  FrameBuffer frameBuffer;
+
   /// Handles the detection and movement of secret "Pushwalls".
   final PushwallManager pushwallManager = PushwallManager();
 
@@ -86,6 +90,17 @@ class WolfEngine {
     isInitialized = true;
   }
 
+  /// Replaces the shared framebuffer when dimensions change.
+  void setFrameBuffer(int width, int height) {
+    if (width <= 0 || height <= 0) {
+      throw ArgumentError('FrameBuffer dimensions must be greater than zero.');
+    }
+    if (frameBuffer.width == width && frameBuffer.height == height) {
+      return;
+    }
+    frameBuffer = FrameBuffer(width, height);
+  }
+
   /// The primary heartbeat of the engine.
   ///
   /// Updates all world subsystems based on the [elapsed] time.

packages/wolf_3d_dart/lib/wolf_3d_engine.dart

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ export 'src/engine/managers/pushwall_manager.dart';
 export 'src/engine/player/player.dart';
 export 'src/engine/rasterizer/ascii_rasterizer.dart'
     show AsciiRasterizer, ColoredChar;
+export 'src/engine/rasterizer/cli_rasterizer.dart';
 export 'src/engine/rasterizer/rasterizer.dart';
 export 'src/engine/rasterizer/sixel_rasterizer.dart';
 export 'src/engine/rasterizer/software_rasterizer.dart';

packages/wolf_3d_renderer/lib/wolf_3d_ascii_renderer.dart

@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
-import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_data_types.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_dart/wolf_3d_engine.dart';
 import 'package:wolf_3d_renderer/base_renderer.dart';
 
@@ -14,19 +13,28 @@ class WolfAsciiRenderer extends BaseWolfRenderer {
 }
 
 class _WolfAsciiRendererState extends BaseWolfRendererState<WolfAsciiRenderer> {
+  static const int _renderWidth = 160;
+  static const int _renderHeight = 100;
+
   List<List<ColoredChar>> _asciiFrame = [];
   final AsciiRasterizer _asciiRasterizer = AsciiRasterizer();
 
+  @override
+  void initState() {
+    super.initState();
+    if (widget.engine.frameBuffer.width != _renderWidth ||
+        widget.engine.frameBuffer.height != _renderHeight) {
+      widget.engine.setFrameBuffer(_renderWidth, _renderHeight);
+    }
+  }
+
   @override
   Color get scaffoldColor => const Color.fromARGB(255, 4, 64, 64);
 
   @override
   void performRender() {
     setState(() {
-      _asciiFrame = _asciiRasterizer.render(
+      _asciiFrame = _asciiRasterizer.render(widget.engine);
-        widget.engine,
-        FrameBuffer(160, 100),
-      );
     });
   }
 

packages/wolf_3d_renderer/lib/wolf_3d_flutter_renderer.dart

@@ -18,12 +18,22 @@ class WolfFlutterRenderer extends BaseWolfRenderer {
 
 class _WolfFlutterRendererState
     extends BaseWolfRendererState<WolfFlutterRenderer> {
-  final FrameBuffer _frameBuffer = FrameBuffer(320, 200);
+  static const int _renderWidth = 320;
+  static const int _renderHeight = 200;
   final SoftwareRasterizer _rasterizer = SoftwareRasterizer();
 
   ui.Image? _renderedFrame;
   bool _isRendering = false;
 
+  @override
+  void initState() {
+    super.initState();
+    if (widget.engine.frameBuffer.width != _renderWidth ||
+        widget.engine.frameBuffer.height != _renderHeight) {
+      widget.engine.setFrameBuffer(_renderWidth, _renderHeight);
+    }
+  }
+
   @override
   Color get scaffoldColor => const Color.fromARGB(255, 4, 64, 64);
 
@@ -32,12 +42,13 @@ class _WolfFlutterRendererState
     if (_isRendering) return;
     _isRendering = true;
 
-    _rasterizer.render(widget.engine, _frameBuffer);
+    final FrameBuffer frameBuffer = widget.engine.frameBuffer;
+    _rasterizer.render(widget.engine);
 
     ui.decodeImageFromPixels(
-      _frameBuffer.pixels.buffer.asUint8List(),
+      frameBuffer.pixels.buffer.asUint8List(),
-      _frameBuffer.width,
+      frameBuffer.width,
-      _frameBuffer.height,
+      frameBuffer.height,
       ui.PixelFormat.rgba8888,
       (ui.Image image) {
         if (mounted) {