AeThex-Engine-Core/docs/LAUNCHER_INTEGRATION_PLAN.md

AeThex Studio Integration Plan

Overview

This document outlines the strategy to merge the AeThex Launcher (Tauri/React app) with the AeThex Engine (Godot 4.7 fork) into a unified AeThex Studio experience.

---

Current State Analysis

AeThex Launcher Features (60+ components)

Category	Features
Core	Game Library, Store, Download Manager, Auto-Update
Social	Friends, Activity Feed, AeThex Connect (messaging), Streaming, Replays
Developer	Gameforge, My Projects, AeThex Lang, Bot Dev IDE, Warden Security
Community	Forum, News Hub, Socials, Roadmap
Economy	Dev Exchange, Rewards Center, Gift System
Account	Auth (OAuth), Profile Hub, Cloud Saves, Achievements
Settings	Theme Engine, Sound System, Keyboard Shortcuts, Controller Mode
Family	Family Sharing, Parental Controls
Testing	Beta Testing Hub, Version Channels, Labs, Preview
Modes	Player, Creator, Corp, Foundation (different home screens)

AeThex Engine (Current)

• Godot 4.7 fork with custom modules
• Project Manager with new tabs (Terminal, Community, Cloud, Launcher)
• Custom modules: aethex_cloud, aethex_telemetry, discord_rpc

---

Integration Options

Option A: Embedded WebView (Recommended - Phase 1)

Concept: Embed the React launcher UI inside the engine using a WebView/HTML component.

Pros:

• Fastest to implement (weeks, not months)
• Reuses 100% of existing launcher code
• Unified window experience
• Backend/API code unchanged

Cons:

• Requires bundling Chromium or using system WebView
• Adds ~50MB to engine size
• Two rendering systems (Godot + Web)

Implementation:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    AeThex Studio Window                      │
├──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              │                                               │
│   Sidebar    │     Tab: Launcher (WebView)                   │
│   (Native)   │     ├── React App renders here                │
│              │     └── Full launcher functionality           │
│  - Editor    │                                               │
│  - Projects  │     Tab: Editor (Native Godot)                │
│  - Launcher  │     ├── Scene editor                          │
│  - Settings  │     └── Script editor                         │
│              │                                               │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Option B: Full Native Port (Phase 2+)

Concept: Rewrite all launcher features as native C++ Godot editor plugins.

Pros:

• Fully native, consistent UI
• No web dependencies
• Better performance
• Offline-first

Cons:

• 6-12 months development time
• 60+ React components → C++ translation
• Ongoing maintenance burden

Priority Order for Native Port:

1. Auth System (critical)
2. Game Library
3. Cloud Saves
4. Download Manager
5. Store
6. Social/Friends
7. Everything else

Option C: Hybrid Progressive (Recommended Long-term)

Concept: Start with WebView, progressively replace critical features with native.

Phase 1 (1-2 weeks): WebView integration Phase 2 (1 month): Native auth + game library Phase 3 (2 months): Native store + downloads Phase 4 (ongoing): Port remaining features as needed

---

Recommended Architecture

AeThex Studio
├── engine/                    # Godot 4.7 fork (C++)
│   ├── editor/
│   │   ├── project_manager/   # Enhanced project manager
│   │   └── launcher/          # NEW: Native launcher module
│   │       ├── auth_ui.cpp         # Native auth screens
│   │       ├── game_library.cpp    # Native game browser
│   │       ├── webview_panel.cpp   # WebView for web features
│   │       └── launcher_api.cpp    # Communication layer
│   └── modules/
│       ├── aethex_cloud/      # Cloud saves, sync
│       ├── aethex_auth/       # NEW: Native auth (Supabase)
│       └── aethex_store/      # NEW: Store API client
│
├── launcher-web/              # Embedded React app
│   ├── dist/                  # Built React app
│   └── src/                   # Source (from current launcher)
│
└── platform/
    └── windows/
        └── webview/           # Platform-specific WebView

---

Phase 1 Implementation Plan (WebView)

Step 1: Add WebView Support to Engine

// modules/webview/webview_panel.h
class WebViewPanel : public Control {
    GDCLASS(WebViewPanel, Control);
    
    void navigate(const String &url);
    void load_html(const String &html);
    void execute_javascript(const String &script);
    void set_communication_callback(Callable callback);
};

Step 2: Create Launcher Tab in Project Manager

The launcher tab will host a WebView that loads the React app:

// In ProjectManager
void _create_launcher_tab() {
    WebViewPanel *webview = memnew(WebViewPanel);
    webview->navigate("file:///launcher/index.html");
    // or
    webview->navigate("https://launcher.aethex.dev");
}

Step 3: Bridge Communication

JavaScript ↔ C++ communication for:

• Launching games (JS calls C++ to spawn processes)
• File system access (downloads, installations)
• Native OS features (notifications, file dialogs)

// launcher_bridge.cpp
void LauncherBridge::handle_message(const String &message) {
    Dictionary data = JSON::parse_string(message);
    String action = data.get("action", "");
    
    if (action == "launch_game") {
        String exe_path = data.get("path", "");
        OS::get_singleton()->execute(exe_path, args);
    }
    else if (action == "open_editor") {
        EditorNode::get_singleton()->open_request(data.get("project_path", ""));
    }
}

Step 4: Bundle React App

Build the React launcher and include it in the engine distribution:

aethex-studio/
├── bin/
│   └── aethex.windows.editor.x86_64.exe
└── launcher/
    ├── index.html
    ├── assets/
    └── *.js

---

Phase 2 Implementation Plan (Native Critical Features)

Native Auth Module

// modules/aethex_auth/aethex_auth.h
class AeThexAuth : public Object {
    GDCLASS(AeThexAuth, Object);
    
    static AeThexAuth *singleton;
    
    String supabase_url;
    String supabase_anon_key;
    String current_token;
    Dictionary user_profile;
    
public:
    Error sign_in_with_email(const String &email, const String &password);
    Error sign_in_with_oauth(const String &provider); // google, discord, github
    Error sign_out();
    Error refresh_token();
    
    bool is_authenticated() const;
    Dictionary get_user() const;
    Dictionary get_launcher_profile() const;
    
    Signal user_signed_in;
    Signal user_signed_out;
    Signal profile_updated;
};

Native Game Library

// modules/aethex_launcher/game_library.h
class GameLibrary : public Control {
    GDCLASS(GameLibrary, Control);
    
    struct GameEntry {
        String id;
        String title;
        String cover_image;
        String install_path;
        String status; // installed, downloading, available
        float download_progress;
        String version;
    };
    
    Vector<GameEntry> games;
    
    void refresh_library();
    void launch_game(const String &game_id);
    void install_game(const String &game_id);
    void uninstall_game(const String &game_id);
    void update_game(const String &game_id);
};

---

Backend Integration

The launcher uses Supabase for:

Service	Purpose
Auth	User authentication, OAuth providers
Database	Profiles, games, achievements, friends
Storage	Avatars, cloud saves, game assets
Realtime	Friend status, notifications
Edge Functions	Store transactions, webhooks

The engine will need HTTP clients to call these APIs:

// Example: Fetch user profile
HTTPRequest *http = memnew(HTTPRequest);
http->connect("request_completed", callable_mp(this, &AeThexAuth::_on_profile_fetched));
http->request(
    supabase_url + "/rest/v1/launcher_profiles?user_id=eq." + user_id,
    PackedStringArray({"apikey: " + anon_key, "Authorization: Bearer " + token})
);

---

File Structure After Integration

AeThex-Engine-Core/
├── engine/
│   ├── editor/
│   │   ├── project_manager/
│   │   │   ├── project_manager.cpp     # Has launcher tab with WebView
│   │   │   └── project_manager.h
│   │   └── launcher/                   # NEW directory
│   │       ├── launcher_bridge.cpp     # JS ↔ C++ bridge
│   │       ├── launcher_bridge.h
│   │       ├── native_auth_panel.cpp   # Native auth UI
│   │       ├── native_auth_panel.h
│   │       └── SCsub
│   ├── modules/
│   │   ├── aethex_auth/                # NEW module
│   │   │   ├── aethex_auth.cpp
│   │   │   ├── aethex_auth.h
│   │   │   ├── config.py
│   │   │   ├── register_types.cpp
│   │   │   ├── register_types.h
│   │   │   └── SCsub
│   │   ├── aethex_cloud/               # Existing (enhanced)
│   │   ├── webview/                    # NEW module
│   │   │   ├── webview_panel.cpp
│   │   │   ├── webview_panel.h
│   │   │   └── platform/
│   │   │       ├── webview_windows.cpp # WebView2 on Windows
│   │   │       ├── webview_macos.mm    # WKWebView on macOS
│   │   │       └── webview_linux.cpp   # WebKitGTK on Linux
│   │   └── ...
│   └── platform/
└── launcher-web/                       # Bundled React app
    ├── build.sh
    ├── package.json
    └── dist/                           # Built output

---

Timeline Estimate

Phase	Duration	Deliverable
Phase 1a	1 week	WebView module for Windows (WebView2)
Phase 1b	1 week	Launcher tab integration + JS bridge
Phase 1c	3 days	Bundle React app + build pipeline
Phase 2a	2 weeks	Native auth module
Phase 2b	2 weeks	Native game library
Phase 2c	1 week	Native download manager
Phase 3+	Ongoing	Port remaining features as needed

---

Decision Points

Question 1: WebView Library

• Windows: WebView2 (Edge/Chromium) - recommended
• Alternative: CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) - more control, larger size

Question 2: Initial Distribution

• Option A: Ship with embedded web app (offline-capable)
• Option B: Load from https://launcher.aethex.dev (always latest)
• Recommended: Option A with update check

Question 3: Auth Flow

• Option A: WebView handles auth entirely
• Option B: Native OAuth browser popup → callback to engine
• Recommended: Option A for Phase 1, Option B for Phase 2

---

Next Steps

1. Decide on approach (WebView vs Native-first)
2. Set up WebView2 in engine (if WebView approach)
3. Build React launcher for embedding
4. Create JS↔C++ bridge for native features
5. Test end-to-end flow

---

Notes

• The current launcher at A:\AeThex Launcher\AeThex-Landing-Page has 40+ pages and 60+ components
• Full native port would be ~10,000+ lines of C++ code
• WebView approach allows immediate integration with gradual native migration
• Consider keeping WebView for "web-heavy" features (forum, store, socials) even after native port