gig-line/Docs/toolchain.md

Toolchain

Pinned versions for this project. Record the exact build string a tool reports, not just the version family, and re-record it after every upgrade. The most common cause of scale, material, and import mismatches is silently mixing two versions of the same tool.

Audited 2026-11-06 on the development workstation.

Pins

Component	Pinned	Source	Status
Bazzite	44.20261026 (Kinoite, bazzite-dx-nvidia)	ujust update / rpm-ostree upgrade	Running. 45.20261105 staged, reboot pending.
NVIDIA driver	615.78.08, open kernel module	Bazzite image	Loaded as kernel module. Desktop-session nvidia-smi / Vulkan check still pending, see environment.md.
Unreal Engine	5.8.x — pin one exact build	Epic (license required)	Not installed.
Unreal Linux toolchain	engine-bundled clang	Engine source tree	Not installed. Do not substitute the system compiler.
Blender	5.2 LTS (upstream patch 5.2.3)	Flatpak org.blender.Blender	Installed.
MPFB	2.0.18 (extension mpfb, declares Blender >= 4.2)	Blender extensions platform	Installed. Load-and-export check on 5.2 still pending.
Blosm	latest release at install time	blosm.com / Gumroad	Not installed. Version must be recorded before first use.
QGIS	3.44.15 LTR	qgis.org	Not installed.
Git	2.56.0	Bazzite image	Installed.
Git LFS	3.x	rpm-ostree layer	Not installed. Required before committing any file matched by .gitattributes.
distrobox	1.8.2.5	Bazzite image	Installed.
Python (tooling)	3.14.8 system	Bazzite image	Installed. Use a venv for geo/tool scripts.
ffmpeg	8.1.3	Bazzite image	Installed.

Unreal Engine 5.9 is in preview and Unreal Engine 6 has been announced as of November 2026. Neither is a pin candidate for 0.x. One engine family per milestone; a family change is a breaking change and belongs in CHANGELOG.md.

Pin rules

• One engine build per release. Record the launcher or source build, the patch version, and the build date in this file and in the release entry.
• Blender stays on an LTS family (5.2). Every add-on version used for a shipped asset is recorded here.
• Upgrading a pinned tool mid-milestone requires re-running the scale test and the Blender→Unreal import check before further asset work.
• Never install a tool from an unverified source. Record the download origin next to the version.

Open compatibility risks

1. Blosm on Blender 5.2. Blosm versions historically lag Blender releases. Verify Blosm against the installed Blender 5.2 before the blockout step. If it fails, add a side-by-side Blender 4.5 LTS Flatpak and convert that step's output only; do not mix Blender versions within one asset.
2. MPFB 2.0.18 on Blender 5.2. The extension declares Blender >= 4.2 but predates 5.x. The acceptance test is the 0.1.0 requirement to export one MPFB character with baked materials and a deform skeleton and import it into Unreal.
3. QGIS LTR transition. QGIS 4.4.0 entered LTR on 2026-10-30 but LTR binaries were still 3.44.15 at audit time. Do not pin 4.4.0 until its installers exist; switching LTR later is a documented migration.
4. Driver and Vulkan validation on Bazzite. Not an officially supported Unreal distribution. Validate before asset production, as ROADMAP.md requires.