PolyCSS
Languages and libraries
3d rendering engine
SHOW HN2026
How HN took it
5 positive, 6 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 6 critical, out of 18 comments about the project. Thread score +0.14.
Performance: 0 for, 4 againstIdea: 2 for, 2 againstExecution: 1 for, 0 againstDesign: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Per-face DOM events make click handling simple compared to WebGL raycasting
From 1 comment
The per-polygon DOM events are what make this more than a trick. Getting click handlers on individual faces in WebGL means raycasting. Here it's just onClick. For certain use…
1taimoorkhan0 on HN
Interesting experiment that is fun to see
From 3 comments
I give it 15 minutes before someone on here ports Doom
cush on HNwow thats cool
sgm1018 on HNOver a weekend about a decade ago, I toyed with making a Final Fantasy Tactics-like game in the browser using CSS for the renderer. I could not get it to work in the time I gave…
madrox on HN
Objections
Much slower than WebGL; each triangle is a DOM node and performance drops on complex models
From 2 comments
Same thought. Even that simple Apple on the front pages runs < 60fps on my M1 Mac. Rendering 3D objects with CSS is like rendering Doom in Excel Cells. Yes, you can do it. No you…
socalgal2 on HNI meant slower vs. WebGL rendering, which requires JS. Each triangle is rendered as a DOM node. There can be thousands of triangles in a single model. The gallery has been…
Rohansi on HN
WebGL is more efficient and higher quality, so the approach seems unnecessary
From 2 comments
But why not use WebGL? It's widely available, more efficient, and can render at a much higher quality. https://polycss.com/gallery/?model=2843066616…
Rohansi on HNIt's cool. The performance is good but why not use WebGL, any reason?
luckykiddie on HN
Requests
Pure CSS rotation mode that works without JavaScript
From 2 comments
Oh. Sure, that is pretty obvious. A triangle in webgl is so much more lightweight than building it out of DOM elements but this was more about "if one is going to use this CSS…
capitainenemo on HNYes, you can render on server and if you include CSS transitions/animations, you get an animated 3d render without the need for JS ! We haven't built it yet, but its on the roadmap
apresmoi on HN
Questions
Why not use WebGL instead?
From 2 comments
But why not use WebGL? It's widely available, more efficient, and can render at a much higher quality. https://polycss.com/gallery/?model=2843066616…
Rohansi on HNIt's cool. The performance is good but why not use WebGL, any reason?
luckykiddie on HN
Does it support per-pixel depth testing or only polygon sorting?
From 1 comment
Does it support per-pixel depth test? Or it just sorts polygons?
Panzerschrek on HN
Is it suitable for building an RTS or city builder game?
From 1 comment
Always thought it would be cool to make an RTS or simple city builder game in the browser. Would you recommend this for hacking around or not?
tomaytotomato on HN
Alternatives named
Three.js / WebGL
From 2 comments
But why not use WebGL? It's widely available, more efficient, and can render at a much higher quality. https://polycss.com/gallery/?model=2843066616…
Rohansi on HNI meant slower vs. WebGL rendering, which requires JS. Each triangle is rendered as a DOM node. There can be thousands of triangles in a single model. The gallery has been…
Rohansi on HN
cssDOOM
From 1 comment
https://github.com/NielsLeenheer/cssDOOM
bryanrasmussen on HN
CSS Minecraft
From 1 comment
Then there's "minecraft in CSS" which uses invisible form elements for camera rotation and works with no JS at all. https://benjaminaster.com/css-minecraft/ It's been on HN…
capitainenemo on HN
Atlas (atlas.layoutit.com)
From 1 comment
What about https://atlas.layoutit.com
apresmoi on HN