And with that, the 2024 season comes to an end. What a year it has been, with the number of Godot submissions in game jams rising to new heights, more people working for the Godot Foundation than ever before, and most industry award shows featuring one if not more games made with Godot. more people working for the Godot Foundation than ever before A busy year inside the project as well. Too much to compile into a single article, unless you want to read pages of meeting notes and technical documentation. So instead, we chose to celebrate the past by looking back at one cherry-pick per month, something you might have missed during the scuffle but is worth learning about even now. This could be an event the team attended, a major project milestone being reached, or a fun moment online the Godot community gathered around. Likewise, we looked at the release dates of notable Godot games on Steam and decided to introduce you to some favorites alongside our own organizational news. The separate tech highlight section might even introduce you to a feature or two you missed out on so far. Godot games on Steam But before we get started, let us sneak in an announcement: this blog post is part of our newsletter project, premiering this January. Subscribe to “The Nodeletter” to get a regular digest of Godot Engine news directly in your email inbox! Subscribe to “The Nodeletter” Tech Highlights To be frank: there is no good way to summarize the work of hundreds of contributors across the span of an entire year without leaving out something important. The closest we can feasibly get are the Godot 4.3 release page, and the newly published Godot 4.4 beta 1 release notes. Godot 4.3 release page Godot 4.4 beta 1 release notes For the purpose of this retrospective, we approached the engine maintainers directly, asking them to point us at one particularly compelling change they witnessed in their area of expertise. How many of these have you not heard about yet? General 2D: 2D parallax
3D: 3D physics interpolation
Core: Typed dictionaries
Editor: Project Manager refresh and Android Editor: Binary export support
Documentation: Comment section added 2D: 2D parallax 2D: 2D parallax 3D: 3D physics interpolation 3D: 3D physics interpolation Core: Typed dictionaries Core: Typed dictionaries Editor: Project Manager refresh and Android Editor: Binary export support Editor: Project Manager refresh Android Editor: Binary export support Documentation: Comment section added Documentation: Comment section added Platforms Android: Native file picker support
Web: Single-threaded exports and audio samples
Linux: Wayland support
macOS/iOS: Metal renderer
Windows: Direct3D 12 Android: Native file picker support Android: Native file picker support Web: Single-threaded exports and audio samples Web: Single-threaded exports audio samples Linux: Wayland support Linux: Wayland support macOS/iOS: Metal renderer macOS/iOS: Metal renderer Windows: Direct3D 12 Windows: Direct3D 12 Systems Animation: Feature migration from Godot 4.0 to 4.3
Audio: Interactive music
Import: New ufbx importer
Navigation: Chunk & obstacle baking
Physics: Jolt merged
Rendering: Ubershaders
VFX: Visual Shader overhaul
XR: Godot Editor now available on the Meta Horizon Store Animation: Feature migration from Godot 4.0 to 4.3 Animation: Feature migration from Godot 4.0 to 4.3 Audio: Interactive music Audio: Interactive music Import: New ufbx importer Import New ufbx importer Navigation: Chunk & obstacle baking Navigation: Chunk & obstacle baking Physics: Jolt merged Physics: Jolt merged Rendering: Ubershaders Rendering: Ubershaders VFX: Visual Shader overhaul VFX: Visual Shader overhaul XR: Godot Editor now available on the Meta Horizon Store XR: Godot Editor now available on the Meta Horizon Store Godot Engine News January Nostalgia became the theme of January, as we compiled a small game showcase leading up to Godot’s 10-year-anniversary (counting from the moment the engine was first open sourced). For every year from 2014 to 2024 we shared two gems found on Steam and itch.io with the community, celebrating an ever growing list of Godot releases since the beginnings of the project. game showcase Have a look at that monumental commit all those years ago! monumental commit KinitoPET KinitoPET Desktop pets have risen to new popularity in 2024. KinitoPET combines this trend with the evergreen horror genre to bring you a unique experience about virtual assistants. KinitoPET February As part of our social media expansion, we also created an official Godot Engine account on the streaming platform Twitch. official Godot Engine account Using it to check on Godot game development streamers resulted in this funny compilation — both the content creators and their viewers expressed happiness that the communities they had built were being recognized by us. this funny compilation Logically, the next step was to hand over the reins of the channel to some of these talented developers directly. You can find the takeover recordings on our YouTube. takeover recordings our YouTube Windowkill Windowkill Another twist on “gaming directly on a desktop” came in the form of the action roguelike Windowkill. The twin-stick shooter requires you to keep track of and fight the ever-closing game windows while evading enemies. Windowkill March In March, the Godot Foundation team assembled in San Francisco to meet community members at our biggest event booth yet, in the expo hall of the annual Game Developer Conference (GDC). We shared the space with our sponsor W4 Games and an amazing lineup of Godot-powered games that we had the pleasure of inviting. W4 Games Godot-powered games We had a great time, both on the event grounds and at our own gatherings, and made sure to recount our full experience in a retrospective blog post — see you this year? retrospective blog post Backpack Battles Backpack Battles Backpack Battles decided to make inventory management the main game mechanic. The PvP auto-battler with a medieval fantasy theme has quickly gained popularity with content creators! Backpack Battles April Towards the end of 2023 we announced a collaboration with Google and The Forge to improve the performance of our Vulkan mobile backend. The work concluded in April, with the matching PR being split into the 4.3 and 4.4 releases. announced a collaboration with Google and The Forge matching PR A few highlights: Usage of Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) buffers when available
Add Android Thermal API support
Replace large push constants with dynamic uniform buffers
Optimize descriptor sets and descriptor set batching
Optimize swapchain operations
Integrate Swappy frame pacing from the Google AGDK Usage of Unified Memory Architecture (UMA) buffers when available Add Android Thermal API support Thermal API Replace large push constants with dynamic uniform buffers Optimize descriptor sets and descriptor set batching Optimize swapchain operations Integrate Swappy frame pacing from the Google AGDK Swappy frame pacing Read more about the changes in our collaboration update. collaboration update Of Life and Land Of Life and Land Build your own settlements in Of Life and Land and experience different maps, scenarios, and rich simulations. Strategize with animals and nature in mind! Of Life and Land May Did you know that we still update Godot 3? Not everyone upgraded their projects when the big codebase refresh happened last year, so by offering two versions alongside each other we aim to accommodate these existing games as well as the lower-end systems used by some developers. The feature freeze for 3.6 happened in May, leading up to the most recent release in September. release in September Look at these shiny highlights: 2D physics interpolation
2D hierarchical culling
Mesh merging
Discrete level of detail (LOD)
ORM materials
Text to speech 2D physics interpolation 2D physics interpolation 2D hierarchical culling 2D hierarchical culling Mesh merging Mesh merging Discrete level of detail (LOD) Discrete level of detail (LOD) ORM materials ORM materials Text to speech Text to speech Arctic Eggs Arctic Eggs This game about cooking eggs in a cold climate found great reception on the internet. There is just something about the frustratingly fun mechanics of Arctic Eggs that captured quite an audience — who are we to judge your taste? Arctic Eggs June Our annual community poll rolled around in June. We want to know who our users are, so we can learn about common needs and offer the best support possible. This year’s poll had more responses than ever before, once again proving the incredible growth the Godot community is experiencing. This year’s poll Until Then Until Then Nominated for a plethora of awards, the visual novel Until Then tells the emotional story of the highschooler Mark in polished pixel art. Build relationships, play minigames, use social media, and most importantly: solve the mystery at hand. Until Then July The Godot robot plushies took the internet by storm. In a collaboration with Makeship, we finally proved our infamous logo’s worth. Toothy grin and googly eyes translated adorably into the 3D medium. By the end of the campaign, almost 4,000 cuddly coding companions were headed towards new homes. Godot robot plushies Aside from the profits being funneled into the Godot Development Fund and thereby opening an additional path to supporting the project financially, the plush also became a beloved community icon. Fanart was made, models of the robot were shared, and the character was granted countless cameos in games made with the engine. Godot Development Fund CC0 model by FR3NKD CC0 model by FR3NKD While the plush is currently sold out, we are working on bringing it back soon! Forgotten Mines Forgotten Mines This tactical roguelite invites you to go on runs in the Forgotten Mines. Turn-based mechanics and an RPG flavor round off the experience. Forgotten Mines August Instead of our usual release blogposts, we tried something new for Godot 4.3: a fully fledged release page detailing all the juicy features awaiting you. release page Highlights of the biggest release yet: Interactive music
2D physics interpolation
TileMapLayer nodes
Overhauled visual shader editor
Multi-threading improvements
Single-threaded web exports Interactive music Interactive music 2D physics interpolation 2D physics interpolation TileMapLayer nodes TileMapLayer nodes Overhauled visual shader editor Overhauled visual shader editor Multi-threading improvements Multi-threading improvements Single-threaded web exports Single-threaded web exports All in all, 3,520 commits from 521 contributors came together in this shared effort! 3,520 commits from 521 contributors Megaloot Megaloot More inventory management mechanics come to you in the form of Megaloot, a roguelite allowing for diverse and powerful builds each run. Looting strategically is key. Megaloot September As an open-source community, the Godot project thrives in matters of community maintained extensions. To ensure that valuable knowledge does not get lost once a creator decides to step down, we opened a new GitHub organization called Godot SDK Integrations to host such projects. Godot SDK Integrations Read more in our detailed blogpost on the topic. blogpost on the topic Halls of Torment Halls of Torment Survive monster hordes in this bullet hell roguelite set in the underworld. Halls of Torment is also available on Steam Deck and Android for gaming on the go! Halls of Torment October We listened to the feedback of last year’s GodotCon attendees and did the unthinkable: doubling the ticket amount once more, allowing 600 people onto the premises. GodotCon On top of that, we introduced a game showcase and activities to the event schedule. Increasing our scope like so, we hoped to invite a wider variety of visitors to enjoy mingling with other community members and facilitate networking. Read the full GodotCon 2024 review to reminisce together with us or (re-)watch the talks on YouTube. GodotCon 2024 review talks on YouTube Psychopomp GOLD Psychopomp GOLD Atmospheric psychological horror awaits you in the catacombs of Psychopomp. Solve the secrets of these new levels or mod your own. Psychopomp November Watch this year’s Godot Engine showreel and join us in awe of the variety of projects being created by this community. Every year our expectations are exceeded all over again! Godot Engine showreel Submissions are handled via our own showreel page and always announced on our blog, so keep a close eye on those if you are interested in pitching your own game for the next one. showreel page announced on our blog Unrailed 2: Back on Track Unrailed 2: Back on Track The second installment of this railroad construction game is made in Godot. Enjoy co-op gaming and procedurally generated worlds in Unrailed 2. Unrailed 2 December The Godot Engine GitHub repository is not only the most popular one in the game development category and has been starred 92,300 times at the time of writing, but we also reached yet another milestone this December: crossing the threshold of 100,000 issues. Godot Engine GitHub repository crossing the threshold of 100,000 issues To celebrate the occasion (and snatch the coveted number) our Release Manager wrote a heartwarming blogpost that cannot be done justice by summarizing — so go read it for yourself! heartwarming blogpost Ballionaire Ballionaire The “autobonker” Ballionaire shows how fun physics can be. Assemble your pachinko boards strategically and watch the effects go wild. Ballionaire Concluding our walk through memory lane, the only thing left to say is thank you. To those of you who contribute to the engine by code, donations, or growing the community through content creation. To our users, who help promote the project with their own success and battletest new features in real time. We also want to once again thank our corporate sponsors for believing in what we do. Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to my wonderful colleagues, for if they weren’t so incredibly dedicated to organizing and maintaining a collaboration this big, none of this would be possible either. thank you corporate sponsors Don’t forget to sign up for “The Nodeletter”, to receive more summaries and highlights like these, but up to twice a month! “The Nodeletter” By Nat By Nat Also published here Also published here here Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash BoliviaInteligente Unsplash

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