Godot engine developers have gifted users an early holiday present with the first development snapshot of the upcoming Godot 4.3 release. This build contains major improvements to the rendering system, laying groundwork for even more enhancements on the horizon. It also introduces an optional Direct3D 12 rendering driver for Microsoft platforms, expanding Godot’s cross-platform capabilities while retaining its open source spirit.
Multiple game controllers can now contribute input to the same actions simultaneously, building on fixes for multiple devices triggering input at once. The profiler sees upgrades for analyzing scripting and rendering performance. Node groups can now be configured project-wide, with scenes updating correctly when changes are made. Comparisons between freed and null objects are more consistent, assisting programmers in memory management.
Additionally, the snapshot resolves a notorious bug that caused signal connections to be lost when pausing/unpausing gameplay. Corrupted or missing scene dependencies no longer abort loading either, enabling users to open and repair problematic scenes externally.
As with all pre-releases, stability can’t be guaranteed across diverse hardware configurations and use cases. Users should back up projects frequently and utilize version control systems like Git in case of data loss. But overall, Godot 4.3 Dev 1 provides an exciting sneak peek at the engine’s future while delivering plenty of handy improvements today.
Godot Engine is a free, open source game development platform available for Windows, macOS, Linux, HTML5, and mobile platforms. Originally coded in the C language, Godot allows development of 2D and 3D games completely within its custom editor. The editor provides a visual interface for building scenes, scripting gameplay logic, animating characters, creating visual effects, and more without having to touch lower level code.
Built-in modules can handle common tasks like physics simulations, sound, art assets, UI, device inputs, multiplayer networking, and much more out of the box. Godot’s lightweight design and active community offer indie developers and hobbyists an accessible entry point into game creation, driving its rise in popularity over the past decade.
Support from Patreon patrons and donations help fund its ongoing progress as a professional-grade game engine accessible by all.