This release, the first major one since last summer, brings numerous quality-of-life improvements, including faster load times, reduced stuttering, and streamlined processes. In addition, much-anticipated comfort features such as embedded game windows and interactive in-game editing will align more closely with other software on the market, making transitions between them even smoother.
Since late 2022, the Jolt extension has been used as the de facto physics engine by many users, so it only made sense to integrate it directly into the engine in Godot 4.4. While this feature is said to be one of the most rigorously tested, the developers are eager to hear your feedback to eventually remove the “experimental” label. In the meantime, you’ll need to enable this alternative to Godot Physics in the project settings. Before doing so, make sure to check the documentation to ensure your interests and use cases are properly supported.
Godot runs the game as a separate process from the editor to minimize resource sharing and prevent data loss in case of a crash. This design previously made embedding the game window into the editor impossible, which was an issue for users with limited screen space. However, with new window management techniques, it’s now possible to embed the game seamlessly while keeping the processes separate. Currently, this feature works on Linux, Windows, and Android, with macOS support requiring a different approach.
Modifying your game while it’s running or paused has never been easier with Godot 4.4, which lets you click on elements within the scene and move the camera. Also, in this release, the first steps have been taken to integrate OpenXR, allowing the Android editor to be used with XR headsets. Currently, it supports Meta Quest 3, Quest 3S, and Quest Pro.
Ubershaders are pre-compiled versions of each shader with all its features generated at load time. These shaders act as fallbacks whenever a new object is drawn, eliminating the need to wait for specialized shader pipelines to compile in the background and thus completely avoiding shader stutter. This improvement will be noticeable in most games without requiring content changes.
Godot 4.3 introduced physics interpolation for 2D projects, and this release adds the long-awaited 3D counterpart: make sure to enable it in your project settings. Decoupling physics ticks from display frame rates reduces jitter and creates smoother visuals, especially on high-refresh-rate displays. Mobile games benefit most, allowing you to lower the tick rate without losing smoothness.
AgX is a popular tone mapping algorithm, recently adopted by Blender to replace its “filmic” tone mapper. The new Godot implementation closely follows Blender’s but is simplified for real-time use. AgX provides a cinematic look to renders and excels at handling very bright scenes better than other available options.
The release notes here provide a comprehensive list of updates in Godot’s core, editor, animation, audio, physics, navigation, VFX, and more. Before moving your existing projects to Godot 4.4, be sure to read through the migration guide to understand any breaking changes.
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