• nyoooom@lemmy.world
    1011·
    2 years ago

    I feel like that’s not how you measure a game engine usage, the large majority probably don’t install Godot via Steam, just looking at the numbers it’s a very small sample which might not represent game devs in general

      • MJBrune@lemmy.world
        111·
        2 years ago

        Eh, I feel like the sampling is clearly biased toward those who would install a game engine through a service that auto-updates it. (Novices and hobbyists.)

        • derpgon@programming.dev
          9·
          2 years ago

          And - thats exactly what that means…? An uptake in GODOT usage would mean novices and newbies are trying it out. Every new user is a newbie.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
        4·
        2 years ago

        For sure an uptick, but who knows by how much? I agree this is useful for showing something, but it’s hard to know what really from this alone.

        • Knusper@feddit.de
          3·
          2 years ago

          I imagine, Godot doesn’t collect usage data on its own. So, this is likely the best data there is…

      • alternative_factor@kbin.social
        18·
        2 years ago

        It might mean something though, FFXIV is a classic example of a game that almost nobody plays on Steam, but its Steam charts line up somewhat well with the game’s increasing popularity especially with Shadowbringers and Endwalker. Of course you have to look at actual data to back that up, but soemtimes it can show trends.

      • MJBrune@beehaw.orgEnglish
        91·
        2 years ago

        Professional game developers do not want their game engines to automatically update because when you upgrade engine versions things usually break. This happens in Unity, Godot, Unreal, and every other engine or framework I’ve seen in games. For big changes, this is inevitable. So professional game developers download the engine directly from the provider and not a service that will automatically update the engine version from under your project.

        I don’t even know why Godot is on steam. Probably to gain more discoverability and popularity.

        • Piers@beehaw.orgEnglish
          7·
          2 years ago

          Because if you want professional game developers to exist then you have to be welcoming to them when they are just aspiring game developers. Kids who play lots of games and want to have a fiddle around with tools for making games are much more likely to do so if there is a way to access them that they are familiar with and already associate with gaming.

          • MJBrune@beehaw.orgEnglish
            0·
            2 years ago

            While this is true, I feel a loss for the familiarity of going to a website, downloading an executable, and running it without worry. I still do that with most of my software. In fact, that’s how I got steam.

            • Piers@beehaw.orgEnglish
              1·
              2 years ago

              I don’t think anyone is arguing that because there is an option to install via Steam that people should stop downloading directly from Godot’s website though. Both of those things can exist beside one another.

        • Walnut356@programming.dev
          3·
          2 years ago

          Iirc godot uses beta branches and semver, so the only updates you get are the ones that dont break anything.

        • voxel@sopuli.xyz
          2·
          2 years ago

          godot doesn’t break stuff in minor releases, and steam version of Godot has separate release tracks for each version (you can switch between godot 3 and 4)

    • rndll@lemm.ee
      17·
      2 years ago

      I’m assuming for automatic updates. Just like some people do with Blender.

      • sveske_juice@lemmy.world
        232·
        2 years ago

        Oh yeah for Windows and mac os that makes sense. The problem doesn’t exist om linux with package managers :3

        • JDubbleu@programming.dev
          2·
          2 years ago

          I’m all for Linux, I use it literally every day between my Steam Deck and remote dev machine at work, but updating software on Windows and MacOS isn’t hard, and I have no clue why the Linux crowd pretends it is. You could complain about forced updates on Windows, or MacOS having two different applications folders for Lord knows why, or literally anything else that is wrong with either of them, but ease of program updates isn’t a problem for Windows or MacOS.

    • flux@lemmy.ml
      13·
      2 years ago

      I suppose it’s the easiest way to try it out.

      I wouldn’t use it long-term, because you don’t want Godot to update without you knowing, if there’s something that needs to be changed due to an update. I bet a few people noticed the update from 3.x to 4.x…

      I’ve read it also doesn’t come with the C# support, so that’s one reason not to use Steam for it if you’re interested in testing that side.

    • muhyb@programming.dev
      3·
      2 years ago

      If you’re on Windows, it’s an easy way to auto-update. If you’re on Linux, there is no need for that.

  • dylanTheDeveloper@lemmy.world
    27·
    2 years ago

    Does godot support 3D? If so does it support PBR materials? Does it support installing 3rd party plugins like HAVOK? Literately the only things i need.

    • scarilog@lemmy.world
      2·
      2 years ago

      the scripting language is mostly hassle free.

      Is there a reason Godot has it’s own language for scripting and doesn’t use a common language like unity (C#) and unreal (C++)?

      • randy@lemmy.ca
        4·
        2 years ago

        Here is their reasoning, basically summarized as “it’s easier to get everything for games into a new language than bolting it onto an existing language”. I also recall seeing a blog post where they said their initial implementation of GDScrip took fewer lines of code than embedding Lua did.

        Note Godot does officially support C# and C++, and there is unofficial support for other languages too. But they commonly recommend GDScript for beginners.

    • learningduck@programming.dev
      22·
      2 years ago

      It’s an open source game engine. People tend to consider it as a replacement for Unity when it come to 2D game development.

      • voxel@sopuli.xyz
        15·
        2 years ago

        hey it’s 3d is pretty decent too!
        you won’t be making aaa games with it anytime soon but it’s really good for 99% of tasks

            • voxel@sopuli.xyz
              1·
              2 years ago

              godot runs everywhere, webgl, webgpu, android, ios, linux, macos, windows, gaem consoles

              • Trantarius@programming.dev
                1·
                2 years ago

                My understanding is that running on game consoles can’t be officially supported, because they can’t integrate the necessary proprietary code into the engine while keeping it open source.

          • Afiefh@lemmy.world
            2·
            2 years ago

            Before Godot 4 the 3D engine was pretty far behind, think early 2010 teach. With Godot 4 it got an insane upgrade which puts it in par with Unity as far as I understand (not a unity expert), but still behind Unreal (then again, everything is behind Unreal.)

            Unfortunately it takes multiple years for a 3D game to be developed, so it’ll be a while before we see actual released 3D games with Godot 4.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
    12·
    2 years ago

    While the numbers themselves are just a small fraction of actual usage (as I guess most people using it don’t do it thru steam), it doubled in about a week.

    What would be an “educated” guess of steam/non-steam users ratio? 1:50? 1:100?

  • dumdum666@kbin.social
    61·
    2 years ago

    Awesome- hopefully more money will get put into the development fund as well. It is rather small yet.

  • WindowsEnjoyer@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    2 years ago

    Just like Linux is default standard for servers, I wish Godot would become a future’s stardard of game engine.

    Just like hudreds of corpos and many independent individuals commit patches to Linux kernel, I wish the same happens with Godot.

    • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
      1·
      2 years ago

      GPL forces modifications to be best put upstream. Godot is MIT, which usually doesn’t get the same effect