Introducing Babylon Lite

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183

Seems that mesh should have a material to allow other meshes adding after scene registration

Babylon Lite must prepare render paths before registerScene().

So before registration, add at least one mesh with material:

const bootstrap = createBox(engine, 1);
bootstrap.material = createStandardMaterial();
addToScene(scene, bootstrap);
removeFromScene(scene, bootstrap);
await registerScene(scene);

Important: this is per material family.

If you later add StandardMaterial meshes dynamically, prewarm one StandardMaterial mesh before registerScene().

Rule:

Before registerScene(), add one hidden mesh per material family.

This is probably a Babylon Lite limitation.

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184

Hi @Deltakosh ,

I just saw in the topic that Babylon Lite does not support sub-meshes. From my perspective, this raises some concerns regarding its suitability for my use case. My editor relies heavily on models with sub-meshing, so I will most likely stick with BabylonJS.

I’m still trying to understand the direction of this Babylon Lite version. Personally, I would have found it more interesting to have a clearer separation between WebGL and WebGPU within BabylonJS itself.

For example, a dedicated WebGPU build that removes WebGL1 and WebGL2 and the obsolete code, alongside a standard WebGL version.

That approach would have allowed optimization and reduced library size without introducing major breaking changes for existing projects.

For my current project, the changes feel a bit too extensive, so I may not be able to adopt it at this stage.

Another point is that BabylonJS still includes some legacy systems that have gone through multiple iterations, such as the different audio APIs (tv1 et v2) or earlier versions of the SceneLoader and others.

Even though these parts are often marked as deprecated, they are still present in the distribution for compatibility reasons.

From a project perspective, I understand the importance of backward compatibility, but it also contributes to the overall size and complexity of the library.

This is another reason why a more modular or build-specific approach (for example WebGL-only or WebGPU-only builds) could be interesting for projects that do not rely on legacy systems.

I just wanted to give my point of view without criticism.

185

What you describes of Babylon.js is already the case. It is modular and when you pick webgpu, everything webgl related is stripped away.
But even with that the cost of using classes does not allow us to reduce the size as we want

And to be able to strip webgl or webgpu we need to have an adaptation layer that contribute to perf and size issue.

That being said it is perfectly fine to stay on Babylon.js. It is going nowhere and still actively supported

For submeshes: they only have one advantage: they are easy to use. And that was one of the pillars of Babylon.js. But perf wise they bring nothing and they bloat the engine.

Submeshes are just meshes sharing the same material. The fact their vertex buffers are tied together bring nothing but easy of use again.

Lite does not favor ease of use. It is a secondary priority.

And I know we will have that discussion a lot:) and that’s also why I wanted to make sure Babylon.js and Babylon lite can live side by side. You can pick what you need:)

4 Likes
186

Got it, I understand better now. Thanks for the clear explanation.

187

Good to know. Thanks @labris

188

Changelog will be available on each github release:

I have decided against a commit back to the repository for many different reasons. We will have a Changelog on each github release and npm package.

1 Like
189

As this is the main thread of babylon lite - i am introducing here the babylon lite playground:

It’s a modern playground, typescript-first, ESM-first. Only Babylon lite.

It’s a way to play with the code, write your scenes and share them. let’s start sharing examples and issues using the playground, it will be simpler for everyone :slight_smile:

Oh, and - as always, if there is something missing or something is not working, please feel free to let me/us know. we will fix it ASAP!

3 Likes
190

For Havok example I have error:

wasm streaming compile failed: TypeError: WebAssembly compilation aborted: Network error: Response body loading was aborted

falling back to ArrayBuffer instantiation

failed to asynchronously prepare wasm: both async and sync fetching of the wasm failed

Aborted(both async and sync fetching of the wasm failed)

RuntimeError: Aborted(both async and sync fetching of the wasm failed). Build with -sASSERTIONS for more info.
at Ge (https://esm.sh/@babylonjs/havok@1.3.13/es2022/havok.mjs:2:1802)
at https://esm.sh/@babylonjs/havok@1.3.13/es2022/havok.mjs:2:2416

191

Oh, this is odd. I can’t reproduce that. but i’ll check for sure!

image
image1825×1197 373 KB

192

Is this reproducible after a hard reset? Could it be that esm.sh is blocked on your system? Some browser extension? just wondering if it is a CDN issue. I am really trying to reproduce this, but couldn’t - on any device i have

193

In Incognito mode and also in other browser (Edge) there is no error, but no scene (black screen).

194

After 1 minute the Edge game the same error.
Testing with VPN from other IP - works OK.

195

Hi,
i am using firefox mozilla-flatpak ( 152.0.3 (64-bit) ) on ubuntu 24.04.
When opening a few examples at some point the browser completly crashes, asking me to report the crash to mozilla. Unfortunately I cannot see any output in the developer console.
Anything i can do to provide more helpful information? Or maybe you are already able to reproduce with the provided information?

196

So you are saying esm.sh is blocking specific IPs? This is terrible. Let me see if I can find some information. we will use a different CDN if this is the case.

197

After saving, the URL is not:

https://liteplayground.babylonjs.com/#88DQOI

Instead, it becomes:

https://liteplayground.babylonjs.com/snippet/88DQOI/v/0

When using the snippet URL, the linked content cannot be found, and the following error is displayed.

Is this the expected behavior?

The requested content does not exist.
HttpStatusCode: 404
ErrorCode: WebContentNotFound
RequestId: 6ab19b09-101e-0029-3bc9-07bb62000000
TimeStamp: 2026-06-29T13:17:32.5186510Z

1 Like
198

Yes, seems they block all Russian IPs.

199

let me see if I can find a fallback.

1 Like
200

checking this now! CDN configuration needs to be updated. thanks!

EDIT - rule updated, will take a little time until the CDN catches it and applies it. but it will work :slight_smile:

2 Likes
201

I’d like to ask again if you guys have some roadmap on what you are working currently for lite, or what features you are prioritizing atm? Just the rendering? It would be super helpful to get some information on what to expect!

For example the null engine is really important for me, and if it is not in a priority list I assume it comes out later this year. And that means I cannot start porting my game to lite until the end of year or so!

I’ve been trying to sniff out some priorities in github issues, but I think you guys have some secret scrum board hidden somewhere else :grin:

1 Like
202

I would recommend you write an issue, that is a good signal for us of what people need from lite.

Issues · BabylonJS/Babylon-Lite

1 Like