diff --git a/source/base/StarAssets.cpp b/source/base/StarAssets.cpp
index ae2d087..320f813 100644
--- a/source/base/StarAssets.cpp
+++ b/source/base/StarAssets.cpp
@@ -844,7 +844,7 @@ shared_ptr<Assets::AssetData> Assets::loadImage(AssetPath const& path) const {
       return {};
     StringMap<ImageConstPtr> references;
     StringList referencePaths;
-    path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry) {
+    path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) {
       addImageOperationReferences(entry.operation, referencePaths);
     }); // TODO: This can definitely be better, was changed quickly to support the new Directives.
 
@@ -861,7 +861,7 @@ shared_ptr<Assets::AssetData> Assets::loadImage(AssetPath const& path) const {
     return unlockDuring([&]() {
       auto newData = make_shared<ImageData>();
       Image newImage = *source->image;
-      path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry) {
+      path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) {
         if (auto error = entry.operation.ptr<ErrorImageOperation>())
           std::rethrow_exception(error->exception);
         else
diff --git a/source/core/CMakeLists.txt b/source/core/CMakeLists.txt
index 34d890f..5e4f090 100644
--- a/source/core/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/source/core/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@ SET (star_core_HEADERS
     StarStaticRandom.hpp
     StarStaticVector.hpp
     StarString.hpp
+    StarStringView.hpp
     StarStrongTypedef.hpp
     StarTcp.hpp
     StarThread.hpp
@@ -163,6 +164,7 @@ SET (star_core_SOURCES
     StarShellParser.cpp
     StarSocket.cpp
     StarString.cpp
+    StarStringView.cpp
     StarTcp.cpp
     StarThread.cpp
     StarTime.cpp
diff --git a/source/core/StarAssetPath.cpp b/source/core/StarAssetPath.cpp
index 82eca93..90116bb 100644
--- a/source/core/StarAssetPath.cpp
+++ b/source/core/StarAssetPath.cpp
@@ -175,9 +175,9 @@ std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, AssetPath const& rhs) {
     os << *rhs.subPath;
   }
 
-  rhs.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry) {
+  rhs.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) {
     os << "?";
-    os << entry.string;
+    os << entry.string(*directives.shared);
    });
 
   return os;
diff --git a/source/core/StarColor.cpp b/source/core/StarColor.cpp
index 02b359a..915620d 100644
--- a/source/core/StarColor.cpp
+++ b/source/core/StarColor.cpp
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@ uint32_t Color::toUint32() const {
   return val;
 }
 
-Color Color::fromHex(String const& s) {
+Color Color::fromHex(StringView s) {
   return Color::rgba(hexToVec4B(s));
 }
 
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ Vec4B Color::hueShiftVec4B(Vec4B color, float hue) {
   }
 }
 
-Vec4B Color::hexToVec4B(String const& s) {
+Vec4B Color::hexToVec4B(StringView s) {
   Array<uint8_t, 4> cbytes;
 
   if (s.utf8Size() == 3) {
diff --git a/source/core/StarColor.hpp b/source/core/StarColor.hpp
index 68bcc10..5af2ffa 100644
--- a/source/core/StarColor.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarColor.hpp
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef STAR_COLOR_HPP
 #define STAR_COLOR_HPP
 
-#include "StarString.hpp"
+#include "StarStringView.hpp"
 #include "StarVector.hpp"
 
 namespace Star {
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ public:
   static Color gray(uint8_t g);
 
   // Only supports 8 bit color
-  static Color fromHex(String const& s);
+  static Color fromHex(StringView s);
 
   // #AARRGGBB
   static Color fromUint32(uint32_t v);
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ public:
   static Color temperature(float temp);
 
   static Vec4B hueShiftVec4B(Vec4B color, float hue);
-  static Vec4B Color::hexToVec4B(String const& s);
+  static Vec4B Color::hexToVec4B(StringView s);
   // Black
   Color();
 
diff --git a/source/core/StarConfig.hpp b/source/core/StarConfig.hpp
index e7a5ff0..f070df4 100644
--- a/source/core/StarConfig.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarConfig.hpp
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-#include "StarPch.hpp"
-
 #ifndef STAR_CONFIG_HPP
 #define STAR_CONFIG_HPP
 
+#include "StarPch.hpp"
+
 namespace Star {
 
 // Some really common std namespace includes
diff --git a/source/core/StarDirectives.cpp b/source/core/StarDirectives.cpp
index c7c35fc..fd4ee46 100644
--- a/source/core/StarDirectives.cpp
+++ b/source/core/StarDirectives.cpp
@@ -1,92 +1,125 @@
+#include "StarDirectives.hpp"
 #include "StarImage.hpp"
 #include "StarImageProcessing.hpp"
-#include "StarDirectives.hpp"
 #include "StarXXHash.hpp"
 #include "StarLogging.hpp"
 
 namespace Star {
 
-Directives::Entry::Entry(ImageOperation&& newOperation, String&& newString) {
+Directives::Entry::Entry(ImageOperation&& newOperation, size_t strBegin, size_t strLength) {
   operation = move(newOperation);
-  string = move(newString);
+  begin = strBegin;
+  length = strLength;
 }
 
-Directives::Entry::Entry(ImageOperation const& newOperation, String const& newString) {
+Directives::Entry::Entry(ImageOperation const& newOperation, size_t strBegin, size_t strLength) {
   operation = newOperation;
-  string = newString;
+  begin = strBegin;
+  length = strLength;
 }
 
 Directives::Entry::Entry(Entry const& other) {
   operation = other.operation;
-  string = other.string;
+  begin = other.begin;
+  length = other.length;
 }
 
-Directives::Directives() : hash(0) {}
-Directives::Directives(String const& directives) : hash(0) {
-  string = directives;
-  parse(string);
+StringView Directives::Entry::string(Shared const& parent) const {
+  StringView result(parent.string);
+  result = result.substr(begin, length);
+  return result;
 }
 
-Directives::Directives(String&& directives) : hash(0) {
-  string = move(directives);
-  parse(string);
+bool Directives::Shared::empty() const {
+  return entries.empty();
 }
 
-Directives::Directives(const char* directives) : hash(0), string(directives) {
-  parse(string);
-}
-
-Directives::Directives(List<Entry>&& newEntries) {
-  entries = std::make_shared<List<Entry> const>(move(newEntries));
-  String newString;
-  string = move(buildString(newString));
+Directives::Shared::Shared(List<Entry>&& givenEntries, String&& givenString) {
+  entries = move(givenEntries);
+  string = move(givenString);
   hash = XXH3_64bits(string.utf8Ptr(), string.utf8Size());
 }
 
-void Directives::parse(String const& directives) {
+Directives::Directives() {}
+Directives::Directives(String const& directives) {
+  parse(String(directives));
+}
+
+Directives::Directives(String&& directives) {
+  parse(move(directives));
+}
+
+Directives::Directives(const char* directives) {
+  parse(directives);
+}
+
+void Directives::parse(String&& directives) {
   if (directives.empty())
     return;
 
   List<Entry> newList;
-  StringList split = directives.split('?');
-  newList.reserve(split.size());
-  for (String& str : split) {
-    if (!str.empty()) {
+
+  StringView(directives).forEachSplitView("?", [&](StringView split, size_t beg, size_t end) {
+    if (!split.empty()) {
       try {
-        ImageOperation operation = imageOperationFromString(str);
-        newList.emplace_back(move(operation), move(str));
-      } catch (StarException const& e) {
-        newList.emplace_back(ErrorImageOperation{ std::current_exception() }, move(str));
+        ImageOperation operation = imageOperationFromString(split);
+        newList.emplace_back(move(operation), beg, end);
+      }
+      catch (StarException const& e) {
+        newList.emplace_back(ErrorImageOperation{ std::current_exception() }, beg, end);
       }
     }
-  }
+  });
 
   if (newList.empty())
     return;
 
-  entries = std::make_shared<List<Entry> const>(move(newList));
-  hash = XXH3_64bits(directives.utf8Ptr(), directives.utf8Size());
-  //if (directives.utf8Size() > 1000)
-  //  Logger::logf(LogLevel::Debug, "Directives: Parsed %u character long string", directives.utf8Size());
+  shared = std::make_shared<Shared const>(move(newList), move(directives));
 }
 
-String& Directives::buildString(String& out) const {
-  if (entries) {
-    for (auto& entry : *entries) {
-      out += "?";
-      out += entry.string;
+String Directives::string() const {
+  if (!shared)
+    return "";
+  else
+    return shared->string;
+}
+
+String const* Directives::stringPtr() const {
+  if (!shared)
+    return nullptr;
+  else
+    return &shared->string;
+}
+
+
+String Directives::buildString() const {
+  String built;
+  if (shared) {
+    for (auto& entry : shared->entries) {
+      built += "?";
+      built += entry.string(*shared);
     }
   }
 
+  return built;
+}
+
+String& Directives::addToString(String& out) const {
+  if (!empty())
+    out += shared->string;
   return out;
 }
 
-String Directives::toString() const {
-  return string;
+size_t Directives::hash() const {
+  return shared ? shared->hash : 0;
+}
+
+size_t Directives::size() const {
+  return shared ? shared->entries.size() : 0;
 }
 
 inline bool Directives::empty() const {
-  return !entries || entries->empty();
+  return !shared || shared->empty();
 }
 
 inline Directives::operator bool() const {
@@ -98,13 +131,16 @@ DataStream& operator>>(DataStream& ds, Directives& directives) {
   String string;
   ds.read(string);
 
-  directives.parse(string);
+  directives.parse(move(string));
 
   return ds;
 }
 
 DataStream& operator<<(DataStream& ds, Directives const& directives) {
-  ds.write(directives.toString());
+  if (directives)
+    ds.write(directives.shared->string);
+  else
+    ds.write(String());
 
   return ds;
 }
@@ -117,7 +153,7 @@ DirectivesGroup::DirectivesGroup(String const& directives) : m_count(0) {
   Directives parsed(directives);
   if (parsed) {
     m_directives.emplace_back(move(parsed));
-    m_count = m_directives.back().entries->size();
+    m_count = m_directives.back().size();
   }
 }
 DirectivesGroup::DirectivesGroup(String&& directives) : m_count(0) {
@@ -129,7 +165,7 @@ DirectivesGroup::DirectivesGroup(String&& directives) : m_count(0) {
   Directives parsed(move(directives));
   if (parsed) {
     m_directives.emplace_back(move(parsed));
-    m_count = m_directives.back().entries->size();
+    m_count = m_directives.back().size();
   }
 }
 
@@ -153,14 +189,7 @@ bool DirectivesGroup::compare(DirectivesGroup const& other) const {
 
 void DirectivesGroup::append(Directives const& directives) {
   m_directives.emplace_back(directives);
-  if (directives.entries)
-    m_count += m_directives.back().entries->size();
-}
-
-void DirectivesGroup::append(List<Directives::Entry>&& entries) {
-  size_t size = entries.size();
-  m_directives.emplace_back(move(entries));
-  m_count += size;
+  m_count += m_directives.back().size();
 }
 
 void DirectivesGroup::clear() {
@@ -181,23 +210,24 @@ inline String DirectivesGroup::toString() const {
 
 void DirectivesGroup::addToString(String& string) const {
   for (auto& directives : m_directives)
-    string += directives.string;
+    if (directives.shared)
+      string += directives.shared->string;
 }
 
 void DirectivesGroup::forEach(DirectivesCallback callback) const {
   for (auto& directives : m_directives) {
-    if (directives.entries) {
-      for (auto& entry : *directives.entries)
-        callback(entry);
+    if (directives.shared) {
+      for (auto& entry : directives.shared->entries)
+        callback(entry, directives);
     }
   }
 }
 
 bool DirectivesGroup::forEachAbortable(AbortableDirectivesCallback callback) const {
   for (auto& directives : m_directives) {
-    if (directives.entries) {
-      for (auto& entry : *directives.entries) {
-        if (!callback(entry))
+    if (directives.shared) {
+      for (auto& entry : directives.shared->entries) {
+        if (!callback(entry, directives))
           return false;
       }
     }
@@ -213,7 +243,7 @@ inline Image DirectivesGroup::applyNewImage(Image const& image) const {
 }
 
 void DirectivesGroup::applyExistingImage(Image& image) const {
-  forEach([&](auto const& entry) {
+  forEach([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) {
     if (auto error = entry.operation.ptr<ErrorImageOperation>())
       std::rethrow_exception(error->exception);
     else
@@ -223,8 +253,10 @@ void DirectivesGroup::applyExistingImage(Image& image) const {
 
 inline size_t DirectivesGroup::hash() const {
   XXHash3 hasher;
-  for (auto& directives : m_directives)
-    hasher.push((const char*)&directives.hash, sizeof(directives.hash));
+  for (auto& directives : m_directives) {
+    size_t hash = directives.hash();
+    hasher.push((const char*)&hash, sizeof(hash));
+  }
 
   return hasher.digest();
 }
@@ -245,7 +277,7 @@ DataStream& operator>>(DataStream& ds, DirectivesGroup& directivesGroup) {
   String string;
   ds.read(string);
 
-  directivesGroup = move(DirectivesGroup(move(string)));
+  directivesGroup = DirectivesGroup(move(string));
 
   return ds;
 }
diff --git a/source/core/StarDirectives.hpp b/source/core/StarDirectives.hpp
index 822d619..1455dd0 100644
--- a/source/core/StarDirectives.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarDirectives.hpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "StarImageProcessing.hpp"
 #include "StarHash.hpp"
 #include "StarDataStream.hpp"
+#include "StarStringView.hpp"
 
 namespace Star {
 
@@ -14,33 +15,46 @@ STAR_EXCEPTION(DirectivesException, StarException);
 // Kae: My attempt at reducing memory allocation and per-frame string parsing for extremely long directives
 class Directives {
 public:
+  struct Shared;
   struct Entry {
     ImageOperation operation;
-    String string; // One day, we can make this a string_view pointing to Entry::string.
+    size_t begin;
+    size_t length;
 
-    Entry(ImageOperation&& newOperation, String&& newString);
-    Entry(ImageOperation const& newOperation, String const& newString);
+    inline StringView string(Shared const& parent) const;
+    Entry(ImageOperation&& newOperation, size_t begin, size_t end);
+    Entry(ImageOperation const& newOperation, size_t begin, size_t end);
     Entry(Entry const& other);
   };
 
+  struct Shared {
+    List<Entry> entries;
+    String string;
+    size_t hash = 0;
+
+    bool empty() const;
+    Shared(List<Entry>&& givenEntries, String&& givenString);
+  };
+
   Directives();
   Directives(String const& directives);
   Directives(String&& directives);
   Directives(const char* directives);
-  Directives(List<Entry>&& entries);
 
-  void parse(String const& directives);
-  String& buildString(String& out) const;
-  String toString() const;
+  void parse(String&& directives);
+  String string() const;
+  String const* stringPtr() const;
+  String buildString() const;
+  String& addToString(String& out) const;
+  size_t hash() const;
+  size_t size() const;
   bool empty() const;
   operator bool() const;
 
   friend DataStream& operator>>(DataStream& ds, Directives& directives);
   friend DataStream& operator<<(DataStream& ds, Directives const& directives);
 
-  std::shared_ptr<List<Entry> const> entries;
-  size_t hash = 0;
-  String string;
+  std::shared_ptr<Shared const> shared;
 };
 
 class DirectivesGroup {
@@ -49,13 +63,10 @@ public:
   DirectivesGroup(String const& directives);
   DirectivesGroup(String&& directives);
 
-  void parseDirectivesIntoLeaf(String const& directives);
-
   bool empty() const;
   operator bool() const;
   bool compare(DirectivesGroup const& other) const;
   void append(Directives const& other);
-  void append(List<Directives::Entry>&& entries);
   void clear();
 
   DirectivesGroup& operator+=(Directives const& other);
@@ -63,8 +74,8 @@ public:
   String toString() const;
   void addToString(String& string) const;
 
-  typedef function<void(Directives::Entry const&)> DirectivesCallback;
-  typedef function<bool(Directives::Entry const&)> AbortableDirectivesCallback;
+  typedef function<void(Directives::Entry const&, Directives const&)> DirectivesCallback;
+  typedef function<bool(Directives::Entry const&, Directives const&)> AbortableDirectivesCallback;
 
   void forEach(DirectivesCallback callback) const;
   bool forEachAbortable(AbortableDirectivesCallback callback) const;
diff --git a/source/core/StarImageProcessing.cpp b/source/core/StarImageProcessing.cpp
index 56ac130..0330a2d 100644
--- a/source/core/StarImageProcessing.cpp
+++ b/source/core/StarImageProcessing.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "StarLexicalCast.hpp"
 #include "StarColor.hpp"
 #include "StarImage.hpp"
+#include "StarStringView.hpp"
 
 namespace Star {
 
@@ -145,9 +146,13 @@ FadeToColorImageOperation::FadeToColorImageOperation(Vec3B color, float amount)
   }
 }
 
-ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(String const& string) {
+ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(StringView string) {
   try {
-    auto bits = string.splitAny("=;");
+    List<StringView> bits;
+    string.forEachSplitAnyView("=;", [&](StringView split, size_t, size_t) {
+      bits.emplace_back(split);
+    });
+
     String type = bits.at(0);
 
     if (type == "hueshift") {
@@ -184,7 +189,7 @@ ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(String const& string) {
       else
         operation.mode = AlphaMaskImageOperation::Subtractive;
 
-      operation.maskImages = bits.at(1).split('+');
+      operation.maskImages = String(bits.at(1)).split('+');
 
       if (bits.size() > 2)
         operation.offset[0] = lexicalCast<int>(bits.at(2));
@@ -202,7 +207,7 @@ ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(String const& string) {
       else
         operation.mode = BlendImageOperation::Screen;
 
-      operation.blendImages = bits.at(1).split('+');
+      operation.blendImages = String(bits.at(1)).split('+');
 
       if (bits.size() > 2)
         operation.offset[0] = lexicalCast<int>(bits.at(2));
@@ -328,22 +333,19 @@ String imageOperationToString(ImageOperation const& operation) {
   return "";
 }
 
-void parseImageOperations(String const& params, function<void(ImageOperation&&)> outputter) {
-  for (auto const& op : params.split('?')) {
+void parseImageOperations(StringView params, function<void(ImageOperation&&)> outputter) {
+  params.forEachSplitView("?", [&](StringView op, size_t, size_t) {
     if (!op.empty())
       outputter(imageOperationFromString(op));
-  }
+  });
 }
 
-List<ImageOperation> parseImageOperations(String const& params) {
-  auto split = params.split('?');
+List<ImageOperation> parseImageOperations(StringView params) {
   List<ImageOperation> operations;
-  operations.reserve(split.size());
-
-  for (auto const& op : split) {
+  params.forEachSplitView("?", [&](StringView op, size_t, size_t) {
     if (!op.empty())
       operations.append(imageOperationFromString(op));
-  }
+    });
 
   return operations;
 }
diff --git a/source/core/StarImageProcessing.hpp b/source/core/StarImageProcessing.hpp
index ed560af..0b78408 100644
--- a/source/core/StarImageProcessing.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarImageProcessing.hpp
@@ -137,14 +137,14 @@ typedef Variant<ErrorImageOperation, HueShiftImageOperation, SaturationShiftImag
   ScanLinesImageOperation, SetColorImageOperation, ColorReplaceImageOperation, AlphaMaskImageOperation, BlendImageOperation,
   MultiplyImageOperation, BorderImageOperation, ScaleImageOperation, CropImageOperation, FlipImageOperation> ImageOperation;
 
-ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(String const& string);
+ImageOperation imageOperationFromString(StringView string);
 String imageOperationToString(ImageOperation const& operation);
 
-void parseImageOperations(String const& params, function<void(ImageOperation&&)> outputter);
+void parseImageOperations(StringView params, function<void(ImageOperation&&)> outputter);
 
 // Each operation is assumed to be separated by '?', with parameters
 // separated by ';' or '='
-List<ImageOperation> parseImageOperations(String const& params);
+List<ImageOperation> parseImageOperations(StringView params);
 
 // Each operation separated by '?', returns string with leading '?'
 String printImageOperations(List<ImageOperation> const& operations);
diff --git a/source/core/StarJsonExtra.cpp b/source/core/StarJsonExtra.cpp
index aed4989..d683ca1 100644
--- a/source/core/StarJsonExtra.cpp
+++ b/source/core/StarJsonExtra.cpp
@@ -378,8 +378,10 @@ List<Directives> jsonToDirectivesList(Json const& v) {
 
 Json jsonFromDirectivesList(List<Directives> const& v) {
   JsonArray result;
-  for (auto& e : v)
-    result.push_back(e.toString());
+  for (auto& e : v) {
+    if (e)
+      result.push_back(*e.stringPtr());
+  }
   return result;
 }
 
diff --git a/source/core/StarLexicalCast.hpp b/source/core/StarLexicalCast.hpp
index 6e6c66e..2831f95 100644
--- a/source/core/StarLexicalCast.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarLexicalCast.hpp
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #define STAR_LEXICAL_CAST_HPP
 
 #include "StarString.hpp"
+#include "StarStringView.hpp"
 #include "StarMaybe.hpp"
 
 #include <sstream>
@@ -14,9 +15,9 @@ STAR_EXCEPTION(BadLexicalCast, StarException);
 // Very simple basic lexical cast using stream input.  Always operates in the
 // "C" locale.
 template <typename Type>
-Maybe<Type> maybeLexicalCast(std::string const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
+Maybe<Type> maybeLexicalCast(StringView s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
   Type result;
-  std::istringstream stream(s);
+  std::istringstream stream(std::string(s.utf8()));
   stream.flags(flags);
   stream.imbue(std::locale::classic());
 
@@ -28,21 +29,11 @@ Maybe<Type> maybeLexicalCast(std::string const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags
   if (stream >> ch)
     return {};
 
-  return result;
+  return move(result);
 }
 
 template <typename Type>
-Maybe<Type> maybeLexicalCast(char const* s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
-  return maybeLexicalCast<Type>(std::string(s), flags);
-}
-
-template <typename Type>
-Maybe<Type> maybeLexicalCast(String const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
-  return maybeLexicalCast<Type>(s.utf8(), flags);
-}
-
-template <typename Type>
-Type lexicalCast(std::string const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
+Type lexicalCast(StringView s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
   auto m = maybeLexicalCast<Type>(s, flags);
   if (m)
     return m.take();
@@ -50,16 +41,6 @@ Type lexicalCast(std::string const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_
     throw BadLexicalCast(strf("Lexical cast failed on '%s'", s));
 }
 
-template <typename Type>
-Type lexicalCast(char const* s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
-  return lexicalCast<Type>(std::string(s), flags);
-}
-
-template <typename Type>
-Type lexicalCast(String const& s, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
-  return lexicalCast<Type>(s.utf8(), flags);
-}
-
 template <class Type>
 std::string toString(Type const& t, std::ios_base::fmtflags flags = std::ios_base::boolalpha) {
   std::stringstream ss;
diff --git a/source/core/StarString.hpp b/source/core/StarString.hpp
index 0f30fd2..ddc7926 100644
--- a/source/core/StarString.hpp
+++ b/source/core/StarString.hpp
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ namespace Star {
 
 STAR_CLASS(StringList);
 STAR_CLASS(String);
+STAR_CLASS(StringView);
 
 STAR_EXCEPTION(StringException, StarException);
 
@@ -268,6 +269,13 @@ public:
   friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, String const& s);
   friend std::istream& operator>>(std::istream& is, String& s);
 
+  // String view functions
+  String(StringView s);
+  String(std::string_view s);
+
+  String& operator+=(StringView s);
+  String& operator+=(std::string_view s);
+
 private:
   int compare(size_t selfOffset,
       size_t selfLen,
diff --git a/source/core/StarStringView.cpp b/source/core/StarStringView.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bea5e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/core/StarStringView.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,429 @@
+#include "StarStringView.hpp"
+
+namespace Star {
+// To string
+String::String(StringView s) : m_string(s.utf8()) {}
+String::String(std::string_view s) : m_string(s) {}
+
+String& String::operator+=(StringView s) {
+  m_string += s.utf8();
+  return *this;
+}
+
+String& String::operator+=(std::string_view s) {
+  m_string += s;
+  return *this;
+}
+
+StringView::StringView() {}
+StringView::StringView(StringView const& s) : m_view(s.m_view) {}
+StringView::StringView(StringView&& s) noexcept : m_view(move(s.m_view)) {};
+StringView::StringView(String const& s) : m_view(s.utf8()) {};
+StringView::StringView(char const* s) : m_view(s) {};
+StringView::StringView(char const* s, size_t n) : m_view(s, n) {};
+
+StringView::StringView(std::string_view const& s) : m_view(s) {};
+StringView::StringView(std::string_view&& s) noexcept : m_view(move(s)) {};
+StringView::StringView(std::string const& s) : m_view(s) {}
+
+StringView::StringView(Char const* s) : m_view((char const*)s, sizeof(*s)) {}
+StringView::StringView(Char const* s, size_t n) : m_view((char const*)s, n * sizeof(*s)) {};
+
+std::string_view const& StringView::utf8() const {
+  return m_view;
+}
+
+std::string_view StringView::takeUtf8() {
+  return take(m_view);
+}
+
+ByteArray StringView::utf8Bytes() const {
+  return ByteArray(m_view.data(), m_view.size());
+}
+
+char const* StringView::utf8Ptr() const {
+  return m_view.data();
+}
+
+size_t StringView::utf8Size() const {
+  return m_view.size();
+}
+
+StringView::const_iterator StringView::begin() const {
+  return const_iterator(m_view.begin());
+}
+
+StringView::const_iterator StringView::end() const {
+  return const_iterator(m_view.end());
+}
+
+size_t StringView::size() const {
+  return utf8Length(m_view.data(), m_view.size());
+}
+
+size_t StringView::length() const {
+  return size();
+}
+
+bool StringView::empty() const {
+  return m_view.empty();
+}
+
+StringView::Char StringView::operator[](size_t index) const {
+  auto it = begin();
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < index; ++i)
+    ++it;
+  return *it;
+}
+
+StringView::Char StringView::at(size_t i) const {
+  if (i > size())
+    throw OutOfRangeException(strf("Out of range in StringView::at(%s)", i));
+  return operator[](i);
+}
+
+bool StringView::endsWith(StringView end, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  auto endsize = end.size();
+  if (endsize == 0)
+    return true;
+
+  auto mysize = size();
+  if (endsize > mysize)
+    return false;
+
+  return compare(mysize - endsize, NPos, end, 0, NPos, cs) == 0;
+}
+bool StringView::endsWith(Char end, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  if (size() == 0)
+    return false;
+
+  return String::charEqual(end, operator[](size() - 1), cs);
+}
+
+bool StringView::beginsWith(StringView beg, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  auto begSize = beg.size();
+  if (begSize == 0)
+    return true;
+
+  auto mysize = size();
+  if (begSize > mysize)
+    return false;
+
+  return compare(0, begSize, beg, 0, NPos, cs) == 0;
+}
+
+bool StringView::beginsWith(Char beg, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  if (size() == 0)
+    return false;
+
+  return String::charEqual(beg, operator[](0), cs);
+}
+
+void StringView::forEachSplitAnyView(StringView chars, SplitCallback callback) const {
+  if (chars.empty())
+    return;
+
+  size_t beg = 0;
+  while (true) {
+    size_t end = m_view.find_first_of(chars.m_view, beg);
+    if (end == NPos) {
+      callback(m_view.substr(beg), beg, end);
+      break;
+    }
+    callback(m_view.substr(beg, end - beg), beg, end - beg);
+    beg = end + 1;
+  }
+}
+
+void StringView::forEachSplitView(StringView pattern, SplitCallback callback) const {
+  if (pattern.empty())
+    return;
+
+  size_t beg = 0;
+  while (true) {
+    size_t end = m_view.find(pattern.m_view, beg);
+    if (end == NPos) {
+      callback(m_view.substr(beg), beg, end);
+      break;
+    }
+    callback(m_view.substr(beg, end - beg), beg, end - beg);
+    beg = end + pattern.m_view.size();
+  }
+}
+
+bool StringView::hasChar(Char c) const {
+  for (Char ch : *this)
+    if (ch == c)
+      return true;
+  return false;
+}
+
+bool StringView::hasCharOrWhitespace(Char c) const {
+  return empty() ? String::isSpace(c) : hasChar(c);
+}
+
+size_t StringView::find(Char c, size_t pos, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  auto it = begin();
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < pos; ++i) {
+    if (it == end())
+      break;
+    ++it;
+  }
+
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (String::charEqual(c, *it, cs))
+      return pos;
+    ++pos;
+    ++it;
+  }
+
+  return NPos;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::find(StringView str, size_t pos, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  if (str.empty())
+    return 0;
+
+  auto it = begin();
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < pos; ++i) {
+    if (it == end())
+      break;
+    ++it;
+  }
+
+  const_iterator sit = str.begin();
+  const_iterator mit = it;
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (String::charEqual(*sit, *mit, cs)) {
+      do {
+        ++mit;
+        ++sit;
+        if (sit == str.end())
+          return pos;
+        else if (mit == end())
+          break;
+      } while (String::charEqual(*sit, *mit, cs));
+      sit = str.begin();
+    }
+    ++pos;
+    mit = ++it;
+  }
+
+  return NPos;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::findLast(Char c, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  auto it = begin();
+
+  size_t found = NPos;
+  size_t pos = 0;
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (String::charEqual(c, *it, cs))
+      found = pos;
+    ++pos;
+    ++it;
+  }
+
+  return found;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::findLast(StringView str, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  if (str.empty())
+    return 0;
+
+  size_t pos = 0;
+  auto it = begin();
+  size_t result = NPos;
+  const_iterator sit = str.begin();
+  const_iterator mit = it;
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (String::charEqual(*sit, *mit, cs)) {
+      do {
+        ++mit;
+        ++sit;
+        if (sit == str.end()) {
+          result = pos;
+          break;
+        }
+        if (mit == end())
+          break;
+      } while (String::charEqual(*sit, *mit, cs));
+      sit = str.begin();
+    }
+    ++pos;
+    mit = ++it;
+  }
+
+  return result;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::findFirstOf(StringView pattern, size_t beg) const {
+  auto it = begin();
+  size_t i;
+  for (i = 0; i < beg; ++i)
+    ++it;
+
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (pattern.hasCharOrWhitespace(*it))
+      return i;
+    ++it;
+    ++i;
+  }
+  return NPos;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::findFirstNotOf(StringView pattern, size_t beg) const {
+  auto it = begin();
+  size_t i;
+  for (i = 0; i < beg; ++i)
+    ++it;
+
+  while (it != end()) {
+    if (!pattern.hasCharOrWhitespace(*it))
+      return i;
+    ++it;
+    ++i;
+  }
+  return NPos;
+}
+
+size_t StringView::findNextBoundary(size_t index, bool backwards) const {
+  starAssert(index <= size());
+  if (!backwards && (index == size()))
+    return index;
+  if (backwards) {
+    if (index == 0)
+      return 0;
+    index--;
+  }
+  Char c = this->at(index);
+  while (!String::isSpace(c)) {
+    if (backwards && (index == 0))
+      return 0;
+    index += backwards ? -1 : 1;
+    if (index == size())
+      return size();
+    c = this->at(index);
+  }
+  while (String::isSpace(c)) {
+    if (backwards && (index == 0))
+      return 0;
+    index += backwards ? -1 : 1;
+    if (index == size())
+      return size();
+    c = this->at(index);
+  }
+  if (backwards && !(index == size()))
+    return index + 1;
+  return index;
+}
+
+bool StringView::contains(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  return find(s, 0, cs) != NPos;
+}
+
+int StringView::compare(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  if (cs == CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive)
+    return m_view.compare(s.m_view);
+  else
+    return compare(0, NPos, s, 0, NPos, cs);
+}
+
+bool StringView::equals(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  return compare(s, cs) == 0;
+}
+
+bool StringView::equalsIgnoreCase(StringView s) const {
+  return compare(s, CaseSensitivity::CaseInsensitive) == 0;
+}
+
+StringView StringView::substr(size_t position, size_t n) const {
+  auto len = size();
+  if (position > len)
+    throw OutOfRangeException(strf("out of range in StringView::substr(%s, %s)", position, n));
+
+  if (position == 0 && n >= len)
+    return *this;
+
+  String ret;
+  ret.reserve(std::min(n, len - position));
+
+  auto it = begin();
+  std::advance(it, position);
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
+    if (it == end())
+      break;
+    ret.append(*it);
+    ++it;
+  }
+
+  return ret;
+}
+
+int StringView::compare(size_t selfOffset, size_t selfLen, StringView other,
+    size_t otherOffset, size_t otherLen, CaseSensitivity cs) const {
+  auto selfIt = begin();
+  auto otherIt = other.begin();
+
+  while (selfOffset > 0 && selfIt != end()) {
+    ++selfIt;
+    --selfOffset;
+  }
+
+  while (otherOffset > 0 && otherIt != other.end()) {
+    ++otherIt;
+    --otherLen;
+  }
+
+  while (true) {
+    if ((selfIt == end() || selfLen == 0) && (otherIt == other.end() || otherLen == 0))
+      return 0;
+    else if (selfIt == end() || selfLen == 0)
+      return -1;
+    else if (otherIt == other.end() || otherLen == 0)
+      return 1;
+
+    auto c1 = *selfIt;
+    auto c2 = *otherIt;
+
+    if (cs == CaseSensitivity::CaseInsensitive) {
+      c1 = String::toLower(c1);
+      c2 = String::toLower(c2);
+    }
+
+    if (c1 < c2)
+      return -1;
+    else if (c2 < c1)
+      return 1;
+
+    ++selfIt;
+    ++otherIt;
+    --selfLen;
+    --otherLen;
+  }
+}
+
+StringView& StringView::operator=(StringView s) {
+  m_view = s.m_view;
+  return *this;
+}
+
+bool operator==(StringView s1, StringView s2) {
+  return s1.m_view == s2.m_view;
+}
+
+bool operator!=(StringView s1, StringView s2) {
+  return s1.m_view != s2.m_view;
+}
+
+bool operator<(StringView s1, StringView s2) {
+  return s1.m_view < s2.m_view;
+}
+
+std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, StringView& s) {
+  os << s.utf8();
+  return os;
+}
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/source/core/StarStringView.hpp b/source/core/StarStringView.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..928c37a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/source/core/StarStringView.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+#ifndef STAR_STRING_VIEW_HPP
+#define STAR_STRING_VIEW_HPP
+
+#include "StarString.hpp"
+
+namespace Star {
+
+STAR_CLASS(StringView);
+STAR_CLASS(String);
+
+// This is a StringView version of Star::String
+// I literally just copy-pasted it all from there
+class StringView {
+public:
+  typedef String::Char Char;
+
+  typedef U8ToU32Iterator<std::string_view::const_iterator> const_iterator;
+  typedef Char value_type;
+  typedef value_type const& const_reference;
+
+  using CaseSensitivity = String::CaseSensitivity;
+
+  StringView();
+  StringView(StringView const& s);
+  StringView(StringView&& s) noexcept;
+  StringView(String const& s);
+
+  // These assume utf8 input
+  StringView(char const* s);
+  StringView(char const* s, size_t n);
+  StringView(std::string_view const& s);
+  StringView(std::string_view&& s) noexcept;
+  StringView(std::string const& s);
+
+  StringView(Char const* s);
+  StringView(Char const* s, size_t n);
+
+  // const& to internal utf8 data
+  std::string_view const& utf8() const;
+  std::string_view takeUtf8();
+  ByteArray utf8Bytes() const;
+  // Pointer to internal utf8 data, null-terminated.
+  char const* utf8Ptr() const;
+  size_t utf8Size() const;
+
+  const_iterator begin() const;
+  const_iterator end() const;
+
+  size_t size() const;
+  size_t length() const;
+
+  bool empty() const;
+
+  Char operator[](size_t index) const;
+  // Throws StringException if i out of range.
+  Char at(size_t i) const;
+
+  bool endsWith(StringView end, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  bool endsWith(Char end, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  bool beginsWith(StringView beg, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  bool beginsWith(Char beg, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+
+  typedef function<void(StringView, size_t, size_t)> SplitCallback;
+  void forEachSplitAnyView(StringView pattern, SplitCallback) const;
+  void forEachSplitView(StringView pattern, SplitCallback) const;
+
+  bool hasChar(Char c) const;
+  // Identical to hasChar, except, if string is empty, tests if c is
+  // whitespace.
+  bool hasCharOrWhitespace(Char c) const;
+
+  size_t find(Char c, size_t beg = 0, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  size_t find(StringView s, size_t beg = 0, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  size_t findLast(Char c, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  size_t findLast(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+
+  // If pattern is empty, finds first whitespace
+  size_t findFirstOf(StringView chars = "", size_t beg = 0) const;
+
+  // If pattern is empty, finds first non-whitespace
+  size_t findFirstNotOf(StringView chars = "", size_t beg = 0) const;
+
+  // finds the the start of the next 'boundary' in a string.  used for quickly
+  // scanning a string
+  size_t findNextBoundary(size_t index, bool backwards = false) const;
+
+  bool contains(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+
+  int compare(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  bool equals(StringView s, CaseSensitivity cs = CaseSensitivity::CaseSensitive) const;
+  // Synonym for equals(s, String::CaseInsensitive)
+  bool equalsIgnoreCase(StringView s) const;
+
+  StringView substr(size_t position, size_t n = NPos) const;
+
+  StringView& operator=(StringView s);
+
+  friend bool operator==(StringView s1, StringView s2);
+  friend bool operator!=(StringView s1, StringView s2);
+  friend bool operator<(StringView s1, StringView s2);
+
+  friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, StringView& s);
+
+private:
+  int compare(size_t selfOffset,
+      size_t selfLen,
+      StringView other,
+      size_t otherOffset,
+      size_t otherLen,
+      CaseSensitivity cs) const;
+
+  std::string_view m_view;
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/source/game/CMakeLists.txt b/source/game/CMakeLists.txt
index 1ff95ff..7328601 100644
--- a/source/game/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/source/game/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -500,3 +500,4 @@ SET (star_game_SOURCES
   )
 
 ADD_LIBRARY (star_game OBJECT ${star_game_SOURCES} ${star_game_HEADERS})
+TARGET_PRECOMPILE_HEADERS (star_game REUSE_FROM star_core)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/source/game/StarHumanoid.cpp b/source/game/StarHumanoid.cpp
index b33df4b..8e571e5 100644
--- a/source/game/StarHumanoid.cpp
+++ b/source/game/StarHumanoid.cpp
@@ -71,15 +71,15 @@ Json HumanoidIdentity::toJson() const {
     {"gender", GenderNames.getRight(gender)},
     {"hairGroup", hairGroup},
     {"hairType", hairType},
-    {"hairDirectives", hairDirectives.toString()},
-    {"bodyDirectives", bodyDirectives.toString()},
-    {"emoteDirectives", emoteDirectives.toString()},
+    {"hairDirectives", hairDirectives.string()},
+    {"bodyDirectives", bodyDirectives.string()},
+    {"emoteDirectives", emoteDirectives.string()},
     {"facialHairGroup", facialHairGroup},
     {"facialHairType", facialHairType},
-    {"facialHairDirectives", facialHairDirectives.toString()},
+    {"facialHairDirectives", facialHairDirectives.string()},
     {"facialMaskGroup", facialMaskGroup},
     {"facialMaskType", facialMaskType},
-    {"facialMaskDirectives", facialMaskDirectives.toString()},
+    {"facialMaskDirectives", facialMaskDirectives.string()},
     {"personalityIdle", personality.idle},
     {"personalityArmIdle", personality.armIdle},
     {"personalityHeadOffset", jsonFromVec2F(personality.headOffset)},
diff --git a/source/game/StarImageMetadataDatabase.cpp b/source/game/StarImageMetadataDatabase.cpp
index d15d802..e47c841 100644
--- a/source/game/StarImageMetadataDatabase.cpp
+++ b/source/game/StarImageMetadataDatabase.cpp
@@ -120,20 +120,21 @@ RectU ImageMetadataDatabase::nonEmptyRegion(AssetPath const& path) const {
 AssetPath ImageMetadataDatabase::filterProcessing(AssetPath const& path) {
   AssetPath newPath = { path.basePath, path.subPath, {} };
 
-  List<Directives::Entry> filtered;
-  path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry) {
+  String filtered;
+  path.directives.forEach([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) {
     ImageOperation const& operation = entry.operation;
-    if (!(operation.is<HueShiftImageOperation>()       ||
-      operation.is<SaturationShiftImageOperation>()    ||
-      operation.is<BrightnessMultiplyImageOperation>() ||
-      operation.is<FadeToColorImageOperation>()        ||
-      operation.is<ScanLinesImageOperation>()          ||
-      operation.is<SetColorImageOperation>())) {
-      filtered.emplace_back(entry);
+    if (!(operation.is<HueShiftImageOperation>()           ||
+          operation.is<SaturationShiftImageOperation>()    ||
+          operation.is<BrightnessMultiplyImageOperation>() ||
+          operation.is<FadeToColorImageOperation>()        ||
+          operation.is<ScanLinesImageOperation>()          ||
+          operation.is<SetColorImageOperation>())) {
+      filtered += "?";
+      filtered += entry.string(*directives.shared);
     }
-  });
+    });
 
-  newPath.directives.append(move(filtered));
+  newPath.directives = move(filtered);
   return newPath;
 }
 
@@ -230,7 +231,7 @@ Vec2U ImageMetadataDatabase::calculateImageSize(AssetPath const& path) const {
 
   OperationSizeAdjust osa(imageSize);
 
-  bool complete = path.directives.forEachAbortable([&](auto const& entry) -> bool {
+  bool complete = path.directives.forEachAbortable([&](auto const& entry, Directives const& directives) -> bool {
     entry.operation.call(osa);
     return !osa.hasError;
   });
diff --git a/source/game/StarParallax.cpp b/source/game/StarParallax.cpp
index a950086..f895d83 100644
--- a/source/game/StarParallax.cpp
+++ b/source/game/StarParallax.cpp
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ ParallaxLayer::ParallaxLayer(Json const& store) : ParallaxLayer() {
 Json ParallaxLayer::store() const {
   return JsonObject{
       {"textures", jsonFromStringList(textures)},
-      {"directives", directives.toString()},
+      {"directives", directives.string()},
       {"parallaxValue", jsonFromVec2F(parallaxValue)},
       {"repeat", jsonFromVec2B(repeat)},
       {"tileLimitTop", jsonFromMaybe(tileLimitTop)},
@@ -59,11 +59,14 @@ Json ParallaxLayer::store() const {
 void ParallaxLayer::addImageDirectives(Directives const& newDirectives) {
   if (newDirectives) { // TODO: Move to Directives +=
     if (directives) {
-      List<Directives::Entry> newEntries = *directives.entries;
-      for (auto const& entry : *newDirectives.entries)
-        newEntries.push_back(entry);
+      String newString;
 
-      directives = move(newEntries);
+      for (auto const& entry : newDirectives.shared->entries) {
+        newString += "+";
+        newString += entry.string(*newDirectives.shared);
+      }
+
+      directives = move(newString);
     }
     else
       directives = newDirectives;