# Requirements

> What it takes to play Orbium's games, how the graphics adapt to your machine, and what does not work yet.

Orbium's games draw with **WebGPU**. Without it there is no game: there is no
WebGL version.

## Browsers

| Browser                 | Status                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ |
| Chrome, Edge (computer) | The best choice: the games are made and tested on them |
| Chrome (Android)        | Works; a phone runs warm and touch aiming is harder    |
| Safari 26               | Has WebGPU; the games are not tuned for it yet         |
| Firefox                 | Has WebGPU; the games are not tuned for it yet         |

When a Hold's page opens in a browser that can't run the game, it says why and
what to do for that browser (turning on the graphics card's acceleration, for
example) before anything of the game is downloaded.

## Graphics

There are four graphics presets: **High**, **Medium**, **Low** and **Very low**.
The game picks one for your machine the first time (Auto) and you can change it
in the menu (Esc, Graphics):

- **High** is made for a dedicated graphics card or Apple silicon.
- **Low** is where the game starts on integrated graphics (Intel's, not Arc), a
  phone or a tablet, a GPU without a desktop card's limits, or a machine with
  little memory or few cores.
- **Very low** is for a GPU drawn in software.
- **Medium** is the step down from High: if a World can't hold 30 frames a
  second, Auto steps down one preset for the next World.

Lower presets switch whole systems off (clouds, haze, caustics, the surf
simulation, grass, tracks, ambient occlusion), draw at a lower resolution and
use smaller shadow maps. The developers' page on
[the engine](https://orbium.games/docs/developers/engine) explains each system.

## Controls

Keyboard and mouse play best. A standard gamepad works, and so does a touch
screen: a joystick appears under the left thumb and the right half of the screen
looks. The full list is in [One Beam's controls](https://orbium.games/docs/games/one-beam#controls).

## Connection

A steady connection matters more than a fast one: under 150 ms to the game
server plays well. Turn on fps and ping in the menu to see yours.

## Download

Up to 3 MB the first time: the game, its sounds and its sky. The browser keeps
them after that.

## Limitations

- No WebGPU, no game.
- Phones and tablets run it, but a small screen, touch aiming and a warm phone
  make it harder.
- Your player lives in this browser. Another browser or device, or cleared site
  data, docks you as someone new.
- Sound starts with your first click or key: browsers hold it until then.
- Mouse look locks the pointer: click the game to take it, Esc to let go.
- A Hold takes up to 16 units, and a match needs 2.