Generate the tile once.

Serialize the result to disk.

Next time, load it instead of regenerating it.

Some technical details:

• I compute a BLAKE3 hash of the map file to detect changes. If the map changes, the cache automatically invalidates.

  [/*]

• Each tile uses a filename based on its coordinates, e.g. 5_7.bin.

  [/*]

• Tile requests return a std::shared_future, so only the first thread generates the tile others wait for the same result.

  [/*]

• The system is fully thread-safe and works perfectly with my streaming worker threads.

  [/*]

Where the Cache Lives

The game ships on Steam for Windows and Linux, including AppImage builds. AppImages are mounted as read-only, so the cache must go into the players writable directories, not beside the game files. Heres where tile cache files are stored:

• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%/Infinicity/TileCache

  [/*]

• Linux / Steam Deck: $XDG_CACHE_HOME/Infinicity/TileCache or ~/.cache/Infinicity/TileCache

  [/*]

This keeps everything clean, safe, and consistent with OS conventions.\n

What I (re)Learned

• Caching procedural data is a massive win for performance.

  [/*]

• Hashing the map file is a clean solution to cache invalidation.

  [/*]

• Don\'t write to the game\'s install directory especially with AppImages.

  [/*]

• std::shared_future is perfect for eliminating redundant work across threads.

  [/*]

• strace is an excellent debugging tool when you want to see where your game is trying to write files.

  [/*]

Tile caching has completely transformed streaming performance in the world and its exciting to see how much smoother everything feels now. More updates soon!