DEV Community: Murad

NIB 1.1.0: refining the edit, save, reopen and export loop

Murad — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 09:17:27 +0000

I have released NIB 1.1.0, the next stable version of my visual 2D/3D game editor and engine. Since 1.0.1, I have been working on how the parts of the editor behave together: scene changes, scripts and resources, Play/Stop, persistence and the exported game.

NIB combines a visual workspace with JavaScript gameplay. You can edit directly or connect a separately configured compatible MCP client. The public download is a compiled browser-editor ZIP; it needs Node.js 22.12+ and desktop Chromium, but no engine build or npm installation.

Download and release notes · Official website and playable demos

NIB now has its own official website

I have also launched thenibengine.com as NIB's official home. You can play game demos in the browser, explore the engine tools and find the documentation and current stable download in one place.

The workflow I want people to try

Open a starter project and change one scene or script.
Enter Play, inspect the result, then return to editing.
Save, close and reopen the project.
Export Single HTML or Web Project ZIP and run the exported game independently.

That small sequence crosses several boundaries: authored state versus runtime state, in-memory resources versus saved project data, and editor behavior versus an independent build. It is also a useful way to give focused feedback on 1.1.0.

What changed after 1.0.1

The editor updates cover scene authoring, selection/history, Play/Stop, panel layouts and asset refresh. Project transfers, external script-conflict handling, backups and recovery have also been refined.

The authoring workflows for terrain and foliage, materials, rigs, animation graphs, explicit retargeting, Timeline, game UI and localization received improvements and more detailed reference guides. These are developments of the existing tools; they should not be read as a list of features that all appeared for the first time in 1.1.0.

Runtime work covers entity/component contracts, level transitions, cameras, input, physics, grid navigation, animation, audio and resource ownership. Rendering work includes WebGL2/WebGPU behavior, HDRI refresh, visibility, batching and effect/resource lifetimes.

Motion blur with a defined scope

1.1.0 includes camera-only motion blur for perspective views of depth-writing surfaces. It does not calculate independent object velocities. That distinction matters when evaluating a moving character against a static camera: camera motion and per-object motion are different inputs.

The capabilities guide keeps the supported scope and remaining limitations together. WebGPU availability also depends on browser, device and content; selecting it is not a guarantee of identical output or greater speed on every GPU.

Imports and exports should be inspectable

Model/asset import, standalone HTML and Web Project export, optional Windows game packaging and local MCP authoring have been improved. Validation and failure reports are part of the workflow. A rejected operation should give the author something to investigate, rather than be presented as a successful result.

Players of a hosted web export need neither NIB nor Node.js. The optional Windows packager wraps a Single HTML game as a portable unsigned x64 Electron application; it is separate from the desktop editor installer, which remains in development.

The optional MCP path

The release server still exposes 62 tools for project inspection, scene/script/resource authoring, screenshots, Play tests and export. For example, an assistant can inspect the current project, make a bounded change, capture the result and test it while the user retains the visual editor.

The client and any AI provider are configured separately. The engine does not bundle an AI subscription or guarantee that a prompt becomes a finished game. The versioned MCP guide documents the current interface and operation boundaries.

Upgrading an existing project

Back up your projects and extract 1.1.0 into a separate folder. Browser-storage projects need their own export or transfer; copying a folder does not copy browser storage. Check save/reopen and an independent game export before retiring the older installation. Corrected behavior and stricter validation may affect projects that relied on invalid data or defects.

The upgrade guide and compatibility guide cover the details. The release candidate passed 364 headless test files, P0 integration checks, clean startup and isolated WebGL2/WebGPU authoring/save/reopen/export checks. That scoped validation does not imply coverage of every device, OS or project.

Try a small project

The editor includes ten playable starter games, six rendering/animation showcases and empty 2D/3D scenes. The new reference material includes a first 2D game tutorial and preset learning paths.

NIB is proprietary and free for personal, educational and commercial games, with no mandatory subscription or royalties. Your original game code and assets remain yours; preserve the required runtime and third-party notices when distributing games.

If you test the update, I would appreciate a small reproducible example for any failure, along with browser/backend details where relevant. I am particularly interested in where the edit/save/reopen/export loop breaks down for a first-time user.

Full changelog · Getting started · Bug reports · Questions and feedback

Earlier trailer and short-demo footage remains footage of NIB 1.0.0. Two Thrones is a separate showcase, not a promised part of this archive.

Show DEV: NIB 1.0.0 — my free visual 2D & 3D game engine with JavaScript and web export

Murad — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:58:39 +0000

Current release update / 21 October 2026

Current stable release: NIB 1.1.0 (released 17 October 2026).
Download and release notes: https://github.com/MooradXO/NIB-Editor/releases/tag/v1.1.0
Official website and demos: https://thenibengine.com/
This post, its original screenshots and video document an earlier release. They have been kept as development history. Back up projects and follow the upgrade guide before moving to 1.1.0: https://github.com/MooradXO/NIB-Editor/blob/v1.1.0/docs/PUBLISHING.md#upgrade-the-editor

Read the NIB 1.1.0 article

Update — 7 October 2026: NIB 1.0.1 is the current stable release.

The maintenance update fixes 40 confirmed issues in project safety, Undo/Redo and partial MCP edits, animation, physics, WebGL2/WebGPU rendering and web exports. Project and asset formats are unchanged.

For JavaScript/web projects, the export fixes preserve script/text strings in Single HTML, support RGB/RGBA hex colors, and allow exported scripts to load HDR assets. Back up your projects and extract the new version separately before checking save/reopen and an independent export.

Download 1.0.1 on itch.io · Full release notes and compatibility limits · Update devlog

The original introduction below, trailer and screenshots document 1.0.0. Two Thrones is a separate example and is not bundled in the 1.0.1 archive.

Hi DEV! I'm Murad Mammadov (MooradXO). Over the past several months, I've been building NIB, a visual game editor and engine for making 2D and 3D games with JavaScript. NIB 1.0.0, the first stable release, is now available.

The idea is to keep scene building, gameplay, character animation, effects, testing and browser export in one visible workspace. You can start with an empty scene or open a playable starter game and change it.

Download NIB on itch.io · Stable 1.0.0 release on GitHub

The trailer above contains actual gameplay and editor footage captured from the distributed 1.0.0 release.

From a scene to a playable game

My intended workflow is:

Build the scene: place models, sprites, lights and reusable prefabs; organize entities and components in the Hierarchy and Inspector.
Give it rules: use the built-in controllers and write JavaScript gameplay, with script parameters exposed in the Inspector.
Add motion and atmosphere: work with rigs, animation clips and state graphs, layered effects, spatial audio and game UI.
Test: switch into Play, check the Console and Profiler, then return to editing.
Share: export a Single HTML game or a Web Project ZIP for hosting.

Players of a hosted exported game do not need to install NIB or Node.js.

Relay Foundry: first-person movement, animated enemies, interactions and a mission objective.

What can you build with it?

The release includes ten playable starter games and six rendering/animation showcases. These demonstrate working combinations of the tools:

2D platformers: sprites, frame animation, platformer movement, double jump, camera following, collisions, parallax and UI.
FPS and exploration games: first-person controls, pointer lock, raycasts, scripted interactions, animated models, lighting, fog and spatial sound.
Arcade racing: vehicle control, chase cameras, checkpoints and lap timing.
Physics puzzles: Rapier 3D rigid bodies, colliders, joints, sensors and raycasts, alongside built-in 2D physics.
Action and RPG prototypes: baked grid navigation, animation states, combat scripts, effects, loot and menus.
Card, board and casual games: sprites, text, interactive UI, input and JavaScript rules.

For world building, NIB has terrain sculpting, surface painting, foliage scattering, PBR materials and post-processing. Rendering supports WebGL2 and WebGPU; availability depends on the browser and GPU.

Larger systems such as quests, inventory and progression are authored in your game's scripts. The presets give you examples to inspect and modify.

Signal Harbor: an illustrated five-level campaign with relays, menus and local save/continue.

Character animation and effects

The character tools let you adopt an imported skeleton or author a rig, edit bones and weights, preview deformation, create animation clips and connect them through state graphs. Retargeting uses explicit bone mapping; two-bone IK is available for manually configured targets.

The character editor, with a visible skeleton and editable rest transforms.

The Effect editor combines particle, geometry, trail, light and audio layers into reusable effects. You can preview them, adjust lifetime and curves, then trigger them from scripts or animation events.

An effect being edited inside the same workspace as the game scene.

Optional local MCP workflow

NIB ships with a local MCP server exposing 62 tools. A compatible client can inspect scenes, edit entities and scripts, work with assets, rigs and effects, author terrain or timeline keys, run Play tests, capture screenshots and export games.

My preferred loop is simple: inspect the scene, make a bounded change, look at the result and test it. The visual editor remains available throughout.

MCP is optional. You can use the editor directly, and any AI client or provider is configured separately.

Try the stable release

Install Node.js 22.12 or newer.
Download NIB-1.0.0.zip, rather than GitHub's automatic “Source code” archive, and extract the entire ZIP into a writable folder.
On Windows, run start.bat. On macOS/Linux, run sh start.sh.
Keep the local server running and open http://localhost:8670/editor/ in desktop Chrome or Edge.
Open File → New Scene (Genres), choose a preset, confirm Create and press Play.

The supplied editor is compiled: no Git checkout, build step or npm installation is required. Save your project and back up the projects folder before upgrading.

Current scope: the editor initially targets desktop Chromium. Test exported games on their intended devices. NIB does not supply a built-in multiplayer/cloud backend or mobile/console deployment pipeline. An optional Windows x64 packager can wrap a Single HTML game in Electron.

Free to make games; proprietary engine

NIB is free for personal, educational and commercial games, with no mandatory subscription or royalties. Your original game code and assets remain yours.

The engine/editor is proprietary. The NIB license permits distributing the runtime as part of your games, with the required notices; redistributing or rebranding the standalone engine/editor requires permission.

A newer game example: Two Thrones

I've also shared a development log for Two Thrones, a turn-based strategy game made with NIB, combining a 3D overworld with hex battles. It is a separate, newer example and is not included in the NIB 1.0.0 ZIP.

I'd like your feedback

If you try NIB, I'd love to hear how your first session goes. Open a preset, make a small change and export a game if you have time.

Was the first-run setup clear?
Which part of the editor felt confusing or slowed you down?
Did your exported game behave as expected?

Leave a comment here, use GitHub Issues for reproducible bugs, or visit GitHub Discussions for questions, ideas and creations. The release documentation covers the tools in more detail.

Thanks for taking a look!

Media credits: gameplay and editor captures are from NIB 1.0.0. Katana models shown in the trailer were generated with Meshy AI under CC BY 4.0; source exports were supplied by MooradXO, and geometry and textures were modified for NIB. The instrumental score was created specifically for the trailer. See the full third-party asset notices.