Godot 3.5 Beta 1 Brings Async Shader Compilation & Caching

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Godot 3.5 Beta 1 Brings Async Shader Compilation & Caching

While we are very eager for Godot 4.0 with everything that this open-source game engine is going to deliver on, Godot 3.5 beta is out today and is a rather nice interim step forward...

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Godot-3.5-Beta-1

[Linuxxx]

This new implementation uses an "ubershader" that is compiled on start-up and cached for subsequent runs. For gamers this ubershader system should mean less stalling (or ideally none) during gameplay.

AFAIK, the Dolphin emulator was among the first to implement this concept of "übershaders" to eliminate stuttering, although simply compiling the few shaders on start-up that Gamecube/Wii games are shipping with achieves the same.

Nevertheless, an interesting read:

https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2017/07/30/ubershaders/

[Calinou]

AFAIK, the Dolphin emulator was among the first to implement this concept of "übershaders" to eliminate stuttering, although simply compiling the few shaders on start-up that Gamecube/Wii games are shipping with achieves the same.

Nevertheless, an interesting read:

https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2017/07/30/ubershaders/

Indeed – Godot's usecase is actually quite similar, despite not being an emulator. Since Godot is a very general-purpose game engine, it supports both built-in and user-provided shaders. However, it does not know in advance which shader versions will be needed at run-time. Therefore, it faces a problem very similar to Dolphin.

[Vistaus]

inb4 uid313's usual repetitive question regarding good Godot games

[qarium]

I demand phoronix.com benchmarks of godot engine games.

[all3f0r1]

I should be excited by this release, but 4.0 seems both right around the corner and so far away! And, in comparison, though incomplete, Bevy is such a brilliant open-source engine! It's getting my attention more and more, especially with the latest 0.6 and its new renderer.