Babylon.js 5.0: Beyond The Stars – Part 1

[Zahara Kondo]

Our mission is to create one of the most powerful, simple, and aesthetically pleasing web rendering engines in the world. Fueled by our passion to make it completely open and free for everyone. Today is an important milestone for the Babylon.js platform and we are thrilled to announce the launch of the next version of the Babylon.js platform, Babylon.js 5.0. [embed]

]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zELYw2qEUjI[/embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zELYw2qEUjI[/embed
Babylon.js 5.0 is quite simply the biggest, boldest, and most ambitious update to the platform to date. From full support of WebGPU, to the ability to deploy experiences across platforms with Native Capabilities, to more tools, features, and improvements than you can count — Babylon.js 5.0 ushers in the next generation of web rendering technology for everyone. Before diving into more detail, we want to take a quick moment to humbly thank the incredible community of developers, the 400+ contributors, and the steadfast advocates that contribute their knowledge, expertise, help, and passion to this amazing platform. Babylon.js would not be here without you.

WebGPU​

WebGPU represents the next evolution in browser to GPU communication. The W3C's "GPU for the Web" Community Group built it from the ground up with performance in mind. WebGPU offers web developers access to some of the most advanced modern graphics capabilities such as compute shaders and lightning-fast texture loading. We have been actively participating in the WebGPU working group from its earliest days and are proud to announce that Babylon.js 5.0 offers FULL support for WebGPU. This means that with Babylon.js 5.0 you can develop mind-bending, rendering experiences on the web using both WebGL and WebGPU - you don’t have to learn a new graphics API, Babylon.js takes care of it for you! As WebGPU becomes more broadly available in your favorite browsers later this year, and Babylon.js 5.0 is set up and ready for you to take advantage of this new performance rocket ship! WebGPU Demos (Must use a WebGPU compatible browser):

• WebGPU Compute Shaders Demo
• WebGPU Performance Demo VS WebGL Performance Demo

Learn more: WebGPU Documentation

Cross-platform Native Deployment​

We know developers want to reach as many people as possible with as little effort as possible. We are proud to announce that Babylon.js 5.0 unlocks the ability to use the Babylon.js API to develop web AND native applications. Whether you’re targeting Web, Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android Phone, Babylon.js 5.0 allows you to write your rendering code once and deploy it across the platforms of your choice, using the browser OR as native applications! Learn More about Babylon.js’s Cross-Platform Capabilities: We know developers want to reach as many people as possible with as little effort as possible. We are proud to announce that Babylon.js 5.0 unlocks the ability to use the Babylon.js API to develop web AND native applications. Whether you’re targeting Web, Windows, Mac, iPhone, or Android Phone, Babylon.js 5.0 allows you to write your rendering code once and deploy it across the platforms of your choice, using the browser OR as native applications! Learn More about Babylon.js’s Cross-Platform Capabilities: Babylon Cross-Platform, Babylon Cross Platform Documentation

Space Pirates Demo​

What would the Babylon.js 5.0 release be without an appropriately themed demo to go with it? The Babylon Space Pirates Demo is designed to give game developers a tiny glimpse at the amazing possibilities of the Babylon.js Platform. Enough Talk! Let’s Fly! I want to see the code! These are just a few of the signature features but stay tuned, there is much more to come. The next installments of this blog series will dive into more about the exciting new tools that are now available with Babylon.js 5.0.

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