Frequently asked questions
Is Balaur free?
Yes. The engine, the editor and the runtime are open source under the MIT licence: no fees, no revenue share, no registration. Games you make are yours. The licence →
Which platforms does it run on?
Windows, macOS, Linux and the browser: games and the editor both run on WebAssembly through WebGPU. iOS and Android builds compile in CI on every push. Shipping a game →
What language are the scripts?
Rune, an embeddable language with Rust syntax and async/await. A saved script is live in the running game in milliseconds. Scripting →
Do I need to know Rust?
Not to make a game: scenes are TOML and game code is Rune. Rust, or C, is for plugins and for the engine itself. Plugins →
Is there a release I can download?
Not yet. Balaur builds from source with a stable Rust toolchain, and the Download page will show the editor builds the moment a release is published. Getting started →
What does "deterministic" mean here?
The same inputs produce the same outputs on every platform: physics and animation step on a fixed 60 Hz tick, every tick has a checksum, input and network arrivals are recorded so a whole session replays exactly, and that is what lockstep or rollback multiplayer needs. Determinism →
Is the editor a separate download?
No. One binary is the editor, the command line and every game's runtime, and the editor is itself a Balaur project: editing an editor script hot reloads the editor. The editor →
Can I ship a game as a single file?
Yes. balaur export packs bytecode, scenes and assets into one .bpak, and a pack fused onto a runtime is one self-contained executable per platform. Shipping a game →
How is it different from Godot or Bevy?
Godot is the mature node-and-scene editor; Bevy is Rust and ECS, code only. Balaur is a scene tree with Rune scripts, an editor that is a Balaur project, and bit-exact determinism as a core feature. It is also far younger than either. The comparison →
Where do I report a bug or ask a question?
Bugs go to Issues on the engine repository on GitHub. For questions and chat, join the Discord or open a Discussion. The principles page says how the project is run and how to help. Join the Discord →