--- title: Explanation description: Understand how Needle Engine works and why it's designed this way --- # Explanation Background knowledge and deeper understanding of how Needle Engine works. These articles explain the architecture, design decisions, and technical concepts behind the engine — useful when you want to understand *why* things work the way they do. --- ## Core Concepts - [Vision & Philosophy](./core-concepts/vision) - Why Needle Engine exists and our design principles - [Project Structure](./core-concepts/project-structure) - Editor projects vs web projects - [Component Compiler](./core-concepts/component-compiler) - TypeScript to C# generation - [Exporting to glTF](./exporting-to-gltf) - How the export system works and what gets exported --- ## Features - [Features Overview](./core-concepts/features-overview) - Complete feature set and capabilities - [FastHDR Environment Lighting](./fasthdr) - Ultra-fast HDR lighting with zero CPU processing and minimal VRAM - [Progressive Loading (gltf-progressive)](/docs/gltf-progressive/) - How progressive texture and mesh loading works under the hood - [Texture Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-textures) - KTX2, ETC1S, UASTC & WebP formats compared - [Mesh Compression](/docs/how-to-guides/optimization/compress-meshes) - Draco & Meshopt compression formats --- ## Architecture - [Technical Overview](./architecture/technical-overview) - System architecture, glTF pipeline, and three.js integration - [Networking Architecture](./networking/architecture) - How multiplayer and networking works --- ::: tip Looking for something else? - [**Tutorials**](/docs/tutorials/) — Step-by-step lessons to learn Needle Engine by building projects - [**How-To Guides**](/docs/how-to-guides/) — Practical solutions for specific tasks like networking, XR, and deployment - [**Reference**](/docs/reference/) — API docs, component catalog, configuration, changelogs :::