The Godot Engine 4.4 has been released, bringing a host of improvements and new features to the popular open-source game development platform. This update includes significant enhancements to core performance and updates to key toolsets such as scripting, audio, and platform integration. One of the substantial changes in Godot 4.4 is the ability to edit games directly while running.
Artists and level designers can now view the running game within the editor, streamlining interactive in-game editing. This update also includes several quality-of-life improvements, making placing and adjusting assets directly in the inspector and visual shader editor easier. The lighting toolset has been upgraded, specifically the LightmapGI system.
It now allows static shadows at a distance and dynamic shadows up close, optimizing performance without affecting realism. Additionally, smoother-looking baked shadows and tinted shadows from transparent objects are now supported. For post-processing, Godot 4.4 introduces AgX tone mapping (mapping color values from HDR to LDR range), providing a movie-like look to rendered images.
This new feature handles very bright scenes more effectively than previous tone mapping modes and offers a look similar to that achieved by the AgX View Transform in Blender but optimized for real-time use. Animators will benefit from several new features, including a new look-at-constraints system that partially replaces deprecated nodes.
Interactive in-editor game adjustments
The engine now integrates jiggle physics for characters’ hair and clothing, which was previously available only as an add-on. Additionally, the new animation marker system allows the creation of subregions within an animation that can be looped or jumped to independently. Godot 4.4 now supports Jolt Physics, an open-source rigid body dynamics library.
Previously available as an extension, Jolt is now integrated directly into the engine. Though still experimental and not as feature-complete as the existing system, this integration sets the stage for future performance and feature enhancements. Several other performance improvements and platform support have been added.
These include tooltips in the GDScript editor, a new expression evaluator, and improved core performance, with large projects loading up to three times faster. Godot now natively supports Apple’s Metal graphics API, enhancing performance on Apple Silicon processors. Additionally, the Android Editor now offers initial support for XR devices and can generate and export binaries directly.
Godot 4.4 is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, as well as 64-bit Linux and macOS. The source code is available under an open-source license.
Image Credits: Photo by YongGuang Tian on Unsplash
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
