What do the new features of Godot 4.0 mean for you?
How will it compare to Unity?
A New Rendering API
Godot is switching from OpenGL renderer to Vulkan.
This means lighting in 3D scenes will look significantly better.
When comparing large amounts of draw calls, the Vulkan renderer better supports open-world games with many objects.
The OpenGL renderer, on the other hand, tended to stress and bottleneck resources.
There are many minor improvements such as GPU-based particles, shader scripting additions, and new optimization techniques.
But the most significant changes are worth exploring in more detail.
Meet the Godot Physics engine.
Some new features include new collision shapes and the re-implementation of soft bodies.
This allows for rapid prototyping and more realistic object manipulation.
The new CharacterBody node, replacing the KinematicBody, allows for enhanced flexibility and options.
Bug fixes for jittering and odd movement behaviors are a Godot-send.
More stable and consistent movement patternseven with weird collision shapes or extreme heightmaps.
A new navigation system completely replaces the node-based system with a server-based one, increasing usability without sacrificing performance.
To combat this, scripts now automatically generate helpful documentation.
Hovering over exported variables in the Docker can give helpful descriptions of the variable.
C# and Support for .NET 6
.NET 6 support is mostly completed with the beta.
When using .NET 6, C# 10 is the default.
This will save time, especially if there’s a bug late in the game.
you could now declare signals as C# events for more consistent signal code.
Active development is also being poured into writing GDExtension in C#.
One example is that C# classes will register no differently from built-in classes.
This will help to improve support for C# nodes.
Is Godot 4.0 Better Than Unity?
The beta is just a beta, meaning it is still unstable.
There are plenty of bugs for the developers to find and fix.
However, Godot is inching itself toward being a more established and grounded engine with the features of Unity.
In recent years, Unity has focused on VFX and hyper-realistic 3D scenes.
In contrast, developers use Godot for prototyping and making smaller, often 2D, games.
This doesn’t mean that using either engine locks you in.
Experience with both engines is useful, so you truly understand which is best for your needs.
While it’s tricky to quantify, the Godot community is one of its best features.
You’ll find supportive developers who are happy to share their knowledge.
If the new node system looks intimidating, just ask for help.
And if that isn’t compelling enough, there aremore reasons to consider using Godot for your next game.
Since Godot 4.0 can result in performance increases for games, it should gain traction in the future.
Various features and improvements can all be integrated into projects to optimize them or improve world detail.
Seeing these all-new features suggests the engine will continue to grow.
