Merge pull request 'Refactor Meshing/Rendering communication' (#13) from multithread-refactor into main

Reviewed-on: #13

include/chunk.hpp

@@ -52,9 +52,6 @@ namespace Chunk
         ~Chunk();
 
     public:
-	void createBuffers();
-	void deleteBuffers();
-
         glm::vec3 getPosition() { return this->position; }
         void setState(chunk_state_t nstate, bool value);
         bool getState(chunk_state_t n) { return (this->state & n) == n; }
@@ -72,7 +69,6 @@ namespace Chunk
 	std::unique_ptr<Block[]> getBlocksArray(int* len) { return (this->blocks.toArray(len)); }
 
     public:
-        GLuint VAO{0}, VBO{0}, extentsBuffer{0}, texinfoBuffer{0}, numVertices{0};
 	std::atomic<float> unload_timer{0};
 	chunk_index_t getIndex(){ return this->index; }
 

include/chunkmeshdata.hpp

@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#ifndef CHUNK_MESH_DATA_H
+#define CHUNK_MESH_DATA_H
+
+#include <oneapi/tbb/concurrent_queue.h>
+#include "chunk.hpp"
+
+enum class ChunkMeshDataType{
+    MESH_UPDATE
+};
+
+typedef struct ChunkMeshData{
+    chunk_index_t index;
+    glm::vec3 position;
+    int num_vertices = 0;
+
+    std::vector<GLfloat> vertices;
+    std::vector<GLfloat> extents;
+    std::vector<GLfloat> texinfo;
+    
+    ChunkMeshDataType message_type;
+
+    void clear(){
+	vertices.clear();
+	texinfo.clear();
+	extents.clear();
+	index = 0;
+	position = glm::vec3(0);
+	num_vertices = 0;
+    }
+
+}ChunkMeshData;
+typedef oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<ChunkMeshData*> ChunkMeshDataQueue;
+
+
+#endif
+

include/chunkmesher.hpp

@@ -5,10 +5,12 @@
 #include <vector>
 
 #include <glad/glad.h>
+#include <glm/glm.hpp>
 #include <GLFW/glfw3.h>
 #include <oneapi/tbb/concurrent_queue.h>
 
 #include "chunk.hpp"
+#include "chunkmeshdata.hpp"
 #include "globals.hpp"
 #include "shader.hpp"
 
@@ -21,13 +23,12 @@ namespace chunkmesher{
 	std::vector<GLfloat> extents;
 	std::vector<GLfloat> texinfo;
     };
-    oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<MeshData*>& getMeshDataQueue();
 
+    ChunkMeshDataQueue& getMeshDataQueue();
+    void init();
     void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk);
-    void sendtogpu(MeshData* mesh_data);
-    void quad(MeshData* mesh_data, glm::vec3 bottomLeft, glm::vec3 topLeft, glm::vec3 topRight,
-	    glm::vec3 bottomRight, glm::vec3 normal, Block block, int dim, bool backFace);
 }
 
 
 #endif
+

include/renderer.hpp

@@ -6,12 +6,43 @@
 
 #include "chunk.hpp"
 #include "chunkmesher.hpp"
+#include "chunkmeshdata.hpp"
 #include "shader.hpp"
 
 namespace renderer{
-    typedef oneapi::tbb::concurrent_unordered_set<Chunk::Chunk*> RenderSet;
+    typedef struct RenderInfo {
+	chunk_index_t index;
+	int num_vertices;
+	glm::vec3 position;
+	bool buffers_allocated=false;
+
+	GLuint VAO, VBO, extentsBuffer, texinfoBuffer;
+
+	void allocateBuffers(){
+	    // Allocate buffers
+	    glGenVertexArrays(1, &VAO);
+	    glGenBuffers(1, &VBO);
+	    glGenBuffers(1, &extentsBuffer);
+	    glGenBuffers(1, &texinfoBuffer);
+
+	    buffers_allocated=true;
+	}
+
+	void deallocateBuffers(){
+	    // Allocate buffers
+	    glDeleteBuffers(1, &VBO);
+	    glDeleteBuffers(1, &extentsBuffer);
+	    glDeleteBuffers(1, &texinfoBuffer);
+	    glDeleteVertexArrays(1, &VAO);
+
+	    buffers_allocated=false;
+	}
+    } RenderInfo;
+
+    typedef oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<int32_t> IndexQueue;
 
     void init(GLFWwindow* window);
+    void send_chunk_to_gpu(ChunkMeshData* mesh_data, RenderInfo* render_info);
     void render();
     void resize_framebuffer(int width, int height);
     void framebuffer_size_callback(GLFWwindow *window, int width, int height);
@@ -20,9 +51,11 @@ namespace renderer{
     void saveScreenshot(bool forceFullHD=false);
 
     Shader* getRenderShader();
-    RenderSet& getChunksToRender();
+    ChunkMeshDataQueue& getMeshDataQueue();
-    oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<chunkmesher::MeshData*>& getMeshDataQueue();
+    IndexQueue& getDeleteIndexQueue();
+
 
 };
 
 #endif
+

src/chunk.cpp

@@ -36,21 +36,6 @@ namespace Chunk
     {
     }
 
-    void Chunk::createBuffers(){
-	glGenVertexArrays(1, &(this->VAO));
-	glGenBuffers(1, &(this->VBO));
-	glGenBuffers(1, &(this->extentsBuffer));
-	glGenBuffers(1, &(this->texinfoBuffer));
-
-    }
-
-    void Chunk::deleteBuffers(){
-	glDeleteBuffers(1, &(this->VBO));
-	glDeleteBuffers(1, &(this->extentsBuffer));
-	glDeleteBuffers(1, &(this->texinfoBuffer));
-        glDeleteVertexArrays(1, &(this->VAO));
-    }
-
     Block Chunk::getBlock(int x, int y, int z)
     {
 	if(x < 0 || y < 0 || z < 0 || x > CHUNK_SIZE -1 || y > CHUNK_SIZE -1 || z > CHUNK_SIZE-1 ||

src/chunkmanager.cpp

@@ -53,10 +53,6 @@ namespace chunkmanager
 		    index++;
 		}
 
-	// Also init mesh data queue
-	for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
-	    chunkmesher::getMeshDataQueue().push(new chunkmesher::MeshData());
-
 	should_run = true;
 	update_thread = std::thread(update);
 	gen_thread = std::thread(generate);
@@ -85,7 +81,6 @@ namespace chunkmanager
 	    if(chunks_to_mesh_queue.try_pop(entry)){
 		Chunk::Chunk* chunk = entry.first;
 		chunkmesher::mesh(chunk);
-		renderer::getChunksToRender().insert(chunk);
 		chunk->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_IN_MESHING_QUEUE, false);
 	    }
 	}
@@ -117,6 +112,7 @@ namespace chunkmanager
 		    // Using the key doesn't work
 		    if(chunks.erase(a)){
 			nUnloaded++;
+			renderer::getDeleteIndexQueue().push(index);
 			delete c;
 		    } else {
 			c->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_IN_DELETING_QUEUE, false);

src/chunkmesher.cpp

@@ -11,15 +11,24 @@
 #include "spacefilling.hpp"
 #include "utils.hpp"
 
+#define CHUNK_MESH_DATA_QUANTITY 100
+#define CHUNK_MESH_WORLD_LIMIT_BORDERS 0
+
 namespace chunkmesher{
 
-oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<MeshData*> MeshDataQueue;
+ChunkMeshDataQueue MeshDataQueue;
 
-oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<MeshData*>& getMeshDataQueue(){ return MeshDataQueue; }
+ChunkMeshDataQueue& getMeshDataQueue(){ return MeshDataQueue; }
+
+void init()
+{
+    for(int i = 0; i < CHUNK_MESH_DATA_QUANTITY; i++)
+	MeshDataQueue.push(new ChunkMeshData{});
+}
     
 void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
 {
-    MeshData* mesh_data;
+    ChunkMeshData* mesh_data;
     if(!MeshDataQueue.try_pop(mesh_data)) return;
 
     /*
@@ -38,27 +47,14 @@ void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
      */
 
     // Cleanup previous data
-    mesh_data->numVertices = 0;
+    mesh_data->clear();
-    mesh_data->chunk = chunk;
+    mesh_data->message_type = ChunkMeshDataType::MESH_UPDATE;
-    mesh_data->vertices.clear();
+    mesh_data->index = chunk->getIndex();
-    mesh_data->extents.clear();
+    mesh_data->position = chunk->getPosition();
-    mesh_data->texinfo.clear();
-
-    // Abort if chunk is empty
-    if(chunk->getState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_EMPTY)){
-	chunk->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_MESHED, true);
-	renderer::getMeshDataQueue().push(mesh_data);
-	return;
-    }
 
     // convert tree to array since it is easier to work with it
     int length{0};
-    std::unique_ptr<Block[]> blocks = chunk->getBlocksArray(&length);
+    std::unique_ptr<Block[]> blocks;
-    if(length == 0) {
-	chunk->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_MESHED, true);
-	renderer::getMeshDataQueue().push(mesh_data);
-	return;
-    }
 
     int k, l, u, v, w, h, n, j, i;
     int x[]{0, 0, 0};
@@ -66,6 +62,12 @@ void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
     int du[]{0, 0, 0};
     int dv[]{0, 0, 0};
 
+    // Abort if chunk is empty
+    if(chunk->getState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_EMPTY)) goto end;
+
+    blocks = chunk->getBlocksArray(&length);
+    if(length == 0) goto end;
+
     std::array<Block, CHUNK_SIZE * CHUNK_SIZE> mask;
     for (bool backFace = true, b = false; b != backFace; backFace = backFace && b, b = !b)
     {
@@ -128,9 +130,15 @@ void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
 			// The else case provides face culling for adjacent solid faces
 			// Checking for NULLBLK avoids creating empty faces if nearby chunk was not
 			// yet generated
+#if CHUNK_MESH_WORLD_LIMIT_BORDERS == 1
 			mask[n++] = b1 == b2 ? Block::NULLBLK
                                     : backFace ? b1 == Block::NULLBLK || b1 == Block::AIR ? b2 : Block::NULLBLK
                                     : b2 == Block::NULLBLK || b2 == Block::AIR ? b1 : Block::NULLBLK;
+#else
+			mask[n++] = b1 == b2 ? Block::NULLBLK
+                                    : backFace ? b1 == Block::AIR ? b2 : Block::NULLBLK
+                                    : b2 == Block::AIR ? b1 : Block::NULLBLK;
+#endif
                     }
                 }
 
@@ -191,7 +199,7 @@ void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
 
 				mesh_data->texinfo.push_back(backFace ? 0.0 : 1.0);
 				mesh_data->texinfo.push_back((int)(mask[n]) - 2);
-				mesh_data->numVertices++;
+				mesh_data->num_vertices++;
                             }
 
                             for (l = 0; l < h; ++l)
@@ -220,49 +228,8 @@ void mesh(Chunk::Chunk* chunk)
         }
     }
 
+end:
     chunk->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_MESHED, true);
     renderer::getMeshDataQueue().push(mesh_data);
 }
-
-void sendtogpu(MeshData* mesh_data)
-{
-    if (mesh_data->numVertices > 0)
-    {
-	if(mesh_data->chunk->VAO == 0) mesh_data->chunk->createBuffers();
-
-	// bind the Vertex Array Object first, then bind and set vertex buffer(s), and then configure vertex attributes(s).
-	glBindVertexArray(mesh_data->chunk->VAO);
-
-	// position attribute
-	glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->chunk->VBO);
-	glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->vertices.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->vertices[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
-	glVertexAttribPointer(0, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 3 * sizeof(float), (void *)0);
-	glEnableVertexAttribArray(0);
-
-	// normal attribute
-	glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->chunk->extentsBuffer);
-	glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->extents.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->extents[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
-	glVertexAttribPointer(1, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 3 * sizeof(float), (void *)(0));
-	glEnableVertexAttribArray(1);
-
-	// texcoords attribute
-	glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->chunk->texinfoBuffer);
-	glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->texinfo.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->texinfo[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
-	glEnableVertexAttribArray(2);
-	glVertexAttribPointer(2, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 2 * sizeof(float), (void *)0);
-
-	glBindVertexArray(0);
-
-	// save the number of indices of the mesh, it is needed later for drawing
-	mesh_data->chunk->numVertices = (GLuint)(mesh_data->numVertices);
-
-	// once data has been sent to the GPU, it can be cleared from system RAM
-	mesh_data->vertices.clear();
-	mesh_data->extents.clear();
-	mesh_data->texinfo.clear();
-    }
-    
-    // mark the chunk mesh has loaded on GPU
-    mesh_data->chunk->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_MESH_LOADED, true);
-}
 };

src/debugwindow.cpp

@@ -95,18 +95,15 @@ namespace debug{
 		}
 
 		if(ImGui::CollapsingHeader("Mesh")){
-		    ImGui::Text("Total chunks updated: %d",
+		    ImGui::Text("Total chunk meshed: %d",
 			    std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_total")));
+		    ImGui::Text("Of which renderable (not empty): %d",
+			    std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_renderable")));
 		    ImGui::Text("Chunks rendered: %d",
 			std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_rendered")));
 		    ImGui::Text("Frustum culled: %d",
 			std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_culled")));
-		    ImGui::Text("Chunks out of view: %d",
+		    ImGui::Text("Total vertices in the scene: %d",
-			std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_oof")));
-		    if(parameters.find("render_chunks_deleted") != parameters.end())
-			ImGui::Text("Chunks deleted: %d",
-			    std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_deleted")));
-		    ImGui::Text("Vertices in the scene: %d",
 			std::any_cast<int>(parameters.at("render_chunks_vertices")));
 		    ImGui::Checkbox("Wireframe",
 			    std::any_cast<bool*>(parameters.at("wireframe_return")));

src/main.cpp

@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ int main()
     SpaceFilling::initLUT();
     controls::init();
     chunkmanager::init();
+    chunkmesher::init();
     debug::window::init(window);
     renderer::init(window);
 

src/renderer.cpp

@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 #include "renderer.hpp"
 
-#include <oneapi/tbb/concurrent_vector.h>
+#include <glm/ext.hpp>
-#include <oneapi/tbb/concurrent_queue.h>
+#include <glm/gtx/string_cast.hpp>
+#include <oneapi/tbb/concurrent_hash_map.h>
 
 #include "chunkmanager.hpp"
 #include "chunkmesher.hpp"
@@ -12,16 +13,18 @@
 #include "stb_image_write.h"
 
 namespace renderer{
-    RenderSet chunks_torender;
+    typedef oneapi::tbb::concurrent_hash_map<chunk_index_t, RenderInfo*> RenderTable;
-    oneapi::tbb::concurrent_vector<Chunk::Chunk*> render_todelete;
+
-    oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<chunkmesher::MeshData*> MeshDataQueue;
+    RenderTable ChunksToRender;
+    ChunkMeshDataQueue MeshDataQueue;
+    IndexQueue MeshDataToDelete;
 
     Shader* theShader, *quadShader;
     GLuint chunkTexture;
 
     Shader* getRenderShader() { return theShader; }
-    RenderSet& getChunksToRender(){ return chunks_torender; }
+    ChunkMeshDataQueue& getMeshDataQueue(){ return MeshDataQueue; }
-    oneapi::tbb::concurrent_queue<chunkmesher::MeshData*>& getMeshDataQueue(){ return MeshDataQueue; }
+    IndexQueue& getDeleteIndexQueue(){ return MeshDataToDelete; }
 
     GLuint renderTexFrameBuffer, renderTex, renderTexDepthBuffer, quadVAO, quadVBO;
     int screenWidth, screenHeight;
@@ -138,98 +141,95 @@ namespace renderer{
 	theShader->use();
 	theShader->setVec3("viewPos", cameraPos);
 
-	chunkmesher::MeshData* m;
+	/* Process incoming mesh data */
+	ChunkMeshData* m;
 	while(MeshDataQueue.try_pop(m)){
-	    //chunkmesher::sendtogpu(m);
+	    RenderTable::accessor a;
+	    RenderInfo* render_info;
+
+	    if(ChunksToRender.find(a, m->index)){
+		render_info = a->second;
+		render_info->position = m->position;
+		render_info->num_vertices = m->num_vertices;
+	    }else{
+		render_info = new RenderInfo();
+		render_info->index = m->index;
+		render_info->position = m->position;
+		render_info->num_vertices = m->num_vertices;
+
+		ChunksToRender.emplace(a, std::make_pair(render_info->index, render_info));
+	    }
+
+	    send_chunk_to_gpu(m, render_info);
 	    chunkmesher::getMeshDataQueue().push(m);
 	}
 
-	/*
+	/* Process chunks to be removed */
-	for(auto& c : chunks_torender){
+	chunk_index_t queue_index;
-	    float dist = glm::distance(c->getPosition(), cameraChunkPos);
+	while(MeshDataToDelete.try_pop(queue_index)){
-	    if(dist <= static_cast<float>(RENDER_DISTANCE)){
+	    RenderTable::accessor a;
-		if(!c->getState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_MESH_LOADED)) continue;
-
-		if(c->numVertices > 0){
-		    // Increase total vertex count
-		    vertices += c->numVertices;
-
-		    // reset out-of-vision and unload flags
-		    c->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_OUTOFVISION, false);
-		    c->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_UNLOADED, false);
-
-		    // Perform frustum culling and eventually render
-		    glm::vec3 chunk = c->getPosition();
-		    glm::vec4 chunkW = glm::vec4(chunk.x*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE), chunk.y*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE), chunk.z*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE),1.0);
-		    glm::mat4 model = glm::translate(glm::mat4(1.0), ((float)CHUNK_SIZE) * chunk);
-
-		    // Check if all the corners of the chunk are outside any of the planes
-		    // TODO (?) implement frustum culling as per (Inigo Quilez)[https://iquilezles.org/articles/frustumcorrect/], and check each
-		    // plane against each corner of the chunk 
-		    bool out=false;
-		    int a{0};
-		    for(int p = 0; p < 6; p++){
-			a = 0;
-			for(int i = 0; i < 8; i++)  a += glm::dot(frustumPlanes[p], glm::vec4(chunkW.x + ((float)(i & 1))*CHUNK_SIZE, chunkW.y
-					+ ((float)((i & 2) >> 1))*CHUNK_SIZE, chunkW.z + ((float)((i & 4) >> 2))*CHUNK_SIZE, 1.0)) < 0.0;
-
-			if(a==8){
-			    out=true;
-			    break;
-			}
-		    }
-
-		    if (!out)
-		    {
-			theShader->setMat4("model", model);
-			theShader->setMat4("view", theCamera.getView());
-			theShader->setMat4("projection", theCamera.getProjection());
-
-			glBindVertexArray(c->VAO);
-			glDrawArrays(GL_POINTS, 0, c->numVertices);
-			glBindVertexArray(0);
-
-			toGpu++;
-		    }
-		}
-	    }else{
-		// When the chunk is outside render distance
-
-		if(c->getState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_OUTOFVISION)){
-		    oof++;
-		    if(glfwGetTime() - c->unload_timer > UNLOAD_TIMEOUT){
-			// If chunk was already out and enough time has passed
-			// Mark the chunk to be unloaded
-			// And mark is to be removed from the render set
-			render_todelete.push_back(c);
-		    }
-		} else{
-		    // Mark has out of vision and annotate when it started
-		    c->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_OUTOFVISION, true);
-		    c->setState(Chunk::CHUNK_STATE_UNLOADED, false);
-		    c->unload_timer = glfwGetTime();
-		}
 
+	    if(ChunksToRender.find(a, queue_index)){
+		RenderInfo* render_info = a->second;
+		render_info->deallocateBuffers();
+		delete render_info;
+		ChunksToRender.erase(a);
 	    }
 	}
-	*/
 
-	total = chunks_torender.size();
+	/* Render the chunks */
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_total", total);
+	// parallel_for cannot be used since all the rendering needs to happen in a single thread
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_rendered", toGpu);
+	for(RenderTable::iterator i = ChunksToRender.begin(); i != ChunksToRender.end(); i++){
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_culled", total-toGpu);
+	    RenderInfo* render_info = i->second;
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_oof", oof);
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_deleted", (int) (render_todelete.size()));
-	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_vertices", vertices);
 
-	/*for(auto& c : render_todelete){
+	    if(render_info->num_vertices > 0)
-	    // we can get away with unsafe erase as access to the container is only done by this
+	    {
-	    // thread
+		total++;
-	    c->deleteBuffers();
+
-	    chunks_torender.unsafe_erase(c);
+		// Increase total vertex count
-	    chunkmanager::getDeleteVector().push(c);
+		vertices += render_info->num_vertices;
+
+		// Perform frustum culling and eventually render
+		glm::vec3 chunk = render_info->position;
+		glm::vec4 chunkW = glm::vec4(chunk.x*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE), chunk.y*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE), chunk.z*static_cast<float>(CHUNK_SIZE),1.0);
+		glm::mat4 model = glm::translate(glm::mat4(1.0), ((float)CHUNK_SIZE) * chunk);
+
+		// Check if all the corners of the chunk are outside any of the planes
+		// TODO (?) implement frustum culling as per (Inigo Quilez)[https://iquilezles.org/articles/frustumcorrect/], and check each
+		// plane against each corner of the chunk
+		bool out=false;
+		int a{0};
+		for(int p = 0; p < 6; p++){
+		    a = 0;
+		    for(int i = 0; i < 8; i++)  a += glm::dot(frustumPlanes[p], glm::vec4(chunkW.x + ((float)(i & 1))*CHUNK_SIZE, chunkW.y
+				    + ((float)((i & 2) >> 1))*CHUNK_SIZE, chunkW.z + ((float)((i & 4) >> 2))*CHUNK_SIZE, 1.0)) < 0.0;
+
+		    if(a==8){
+			out=true;
+			break;
+		    }
+		}
+
+		if (!out)
+		{
+		    theShader->setMat4("model", model);
+		    theShader->setMat4("view", theCamera.getView());
+		    theShader->setMat4("projection", theCamera.getProjection());
+
+		    glBindVertexArray(render_info->VAO);
+		    glDrawArrays(GL_POINTS, 0, render_info->num_vertices);
+		    glBindVertexArray(0);
+
+		    toGpu++;
+		}
+	    }
 	}
-	render_todelete.clear();*/
+
+	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_total", (int)(ChunksToRender.size()));
+	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_rendered", toGpu);
+	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_renderable", total);
+	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_culled", total-toGpu);
+	debug::window::set_parameter("render_chunks_vertices", vertices);
 
 	/* DISPLAY TEXTURE ON A QUAD THAT FILLS THE SCREEN */
 	// Now to render the quad, with the texture on top
@@ -252,6 +252,40 @@ namespace renderer{
 	debug::window::render();
     }
 
+    void send_chunk_to_gpu(ChunkMeshData* mesh_data, RenderInfo* render_info)
+    {
+	if (render_info->num_vertices > 0)
+	{
+	    if(!render_info->buffers_allocated) render_info->allocateBuffers();
+
+	    // bind the Vertex Array Object first, then bind and set vertex buffer(s), and then configure vertex attributes(s).
+	    glBindVertexArray(render_info->VAO);
+
+	    // TODO: change GL_STATIC_DRAW to the one that means "few redraws and further in between"
+
+	    // position attribute
+	    glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, render_info->VBO);
+	    glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->vertices.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->vertices[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
+	    glVertexAttribPointer(0, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 3 * sizeof(float), (void *)0);
+	    glEnableVertexAttribArray(0);
+
+	    // normal attribute
+	    glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, render_info->extentsBuffer);
+	    glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->extents.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->extents[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
+	    glVertexAttribPointer(1, 3, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 3 * sizeof(float), (void *)(0));
+	    glEnableVertexAttribArray(1);
+
+	    // texcoords attribute
+	    glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, render_info->texinfoBuffer);
+	    glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, mesh_data->texinfo.size() * sizeof(GLfloat), &(mesh_data->texinfo[0]), GL_STATIC_DRAW);
+	    glEnableVertexAttribArray(2);
+	    glVertexAttribPointer(2, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 2 * sizeof(float), (void *)0);
+
+	    glBindVertexArray(0);
+	}
+    }
+
+
     void framebuffer_size_callback(GLFWwindow *window, int width, int height){
 	resize_framebuffer(width, height);
     }