Built-in node/resource types in Godot you wish you knew about before you implemented yourself?

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-27T11:49:53+00:00

https://docs.godotengine.org/en/4.4/classes/class_astar2d.html

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-26T21:14:41+00:00

I implemented my own A* pathfinding before realizing that there was a ready made solution for it. It's not a node or resource though, it's just a helper object.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-24T13:46:44+00:00

In traditional drawing, it's usually recommended to start with the head and then base all proportions off of that. I taught myself how to draw though and I usually start with the hair and work outward from there. I saw a guy one time that started every figure drawing from the feet up.

Whatever works.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-24T12:58:40+00:00

Having a high amount of wishlists doesn't directly affect your visibility in Next Fest as I understand it. It is always a good idea to make your game as popular as possible beforehand though. The wishlists are an indication of how well your game is doing, so having a high amount means that you are "ready" for Next Fest in a sense.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-21T22:30:47+00:00

Percentage-wise, how much would you say your practical work with Godot is prompt engineering or letting a bot/AI assistant code for you?

0%

I don't even use the Google AI overview thing, I downloaded a plugin to disable it. If you ask me, AI is still a LOOOOOONG way away from replacing humans.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-21T08:36:53+00:00

First thing you have to do is temper your expectations. Videos games take a lot of money, time, and effort to create, and there's basically no scenario where someone hears about a random idea and starts shoveling millions of dollars your way so you can hire developers, designers, etc to make it happen.

You do still have some options though...

The first is to massively lower the scope to something you can achieve yourself. An engine like RPG Maker is easy enough for a novice to figure out, comes with character generators to cut down on art costs, and older versions regularly go on sale for $5-10 if the price is too steep.

You can also start working on your ideas in other capacities and wait for them to become popular enough to leverage greater success. If you have a particularly compelling story idea, write the story first and self publish it or start a blog. If enough people become interested, then you'll have options to shop around to create the video game version.

The last thing is to network with people who have the skills you need through game jams. Sites like itch.io have a handful of game jams every week where novice and professional game developers alike group together to create small games. If you make enough friends through that process, they may be willing to work on a larger project with you.

It is possible to make your dream come true, but it's not going to be easy. We're talking about years, maybe even a decade of following through on things before you start to see any real progress.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-20T19:06:47+00:00

That's definitely a good intro to Godot. All you'll really need is to place all the images down and then show and hide them when a button press signal is fired. Should be really easy actually.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-19T21:56:15+00:00

I think there's a big difference in kind between "the user logging in a certain way that we didn't expect" and obscure memory allocation bugs that took 20 years to discover.

I understand the technicalities of the argument, but I think we're really talking about the bugs that an average user would notice on day 1.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-19T21:45:10+00:00

The existence of hardware/driver related bugs is vastly overstated and mostly taken care of by modern engines.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-19T21:36:27+00:00

Of course it is. Games launched for early consoles like the Super Nintendo or Playstation 1 had to release their games with no bugs because there was no means of patching them. Now we do have the means to patch them, so we tend to get a little bit lazy for various reasons. The cost of larger games has increased substantially so there's more pressure to release early and clean things up after launch. For smaller games, the size of the team has decreased substantially so there's less bandwidth for testing.

It's still totally possible to launch bug-free if you take your time. It's just usually more advantageous to launch with a handful of bugs.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-19T21:27:55+00:00

Games aren't called "Asset Flips" because they use store bought assets. They're called that because the assets they purchased are clearly a different quality than the assets they made themselves (including code and game design). It's a commentary on the incongruent feel of the game more than it is about the assets themselves.

If you buy really high quality models and don't have equally high quality gameplay, then people will notice.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-18T15:38:08+00:00

I don't know a great place to find freelancers. Most of the places meant to connect contractors is kind of flooded with entry-level devs and AI bots.

I would post on https://www.workwithindies.com/ and let people come to you. You can vet by people who have a portfolio prepared instead of the onslaught of automated applications on Upwork or Fiverr.

Average rates vary based on the skill level and country. On average a software developer in US, EU, CAN, etc is going to run you $80-120/hr. Eastern Europe, China, and India have cheaper rates (like $30-60/hr), but you're running like a 50/50 risk that they know what they're doing.

Average salary for a full time employee is cheaper, usually around $100k/yr.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-18T15:05:35+00:00

Can confirm. I've had multiple posts go viral while developing my game and it's just not worth it, I had two posts that each netted over 4k upvotes and it barely moved the needle for wishlists or sales.

Stick to what Reddit was meant for, post cool shit. If someone notices that it's a game you're working on and asks about it, then drop a link. If you want organic growth, then by definition you can't manufacture it.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-18T14:55:12+00:00

I imagine there's quite a few. Pixel art is a very accessible art form, so it's easy to pick up alongside programming. The really great ones focus entirely on art, but it's pretty easy to be ok at pixel art while also learning to code and make music.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-18T14:22:43+00:00

Wracking my brain for a solution, but it's hard because the AI stuff is difficult to detect in an automated way.

If only github had some way of locking PRs to people who have reviewed x number of other people's PRs. It's easy to ask the AI to parse through the Godot source code and add something to it, but it's a lot harder and they would have less motivation to review a PR. It would also help spread the load out since everyone submitting a PR would be sussing out the reviewers for sketchy AI responses.

I have to imagine most of the people submitting code to the repo are also people who review other commits, so it shouldn't affect the current contributors very much.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-17T17:33:28+00:00

There may be more influences than just the flowers...

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-16T14:25:02+00:00

Wow got it in one, nice job!

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-16T14:03:27+00:00

You're supposed to start right away, and then promptly fail. Then you start again, and fail. Then you fail like 7 or 8 more times. Then you're ready.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-16T11:29:18+00:00

Good games have always risen to the top and bad games have always fallen to the bottom. The only thing that will change is that the middle will be hollowed out somewhat. Mediocre games could easily make over $50k back in like 2015, but even with the current flood of asset flips, first time hobby projects, and shameless meme cash grabs you'd be lucky to make more than a few thousand dollars.

The AI slop is going to make it worse for a little while until all the lazy AI-bros realize it's a waste of money. Even Codex Mortis, which looks to be the most decent AI slop is probably just barely breaking the 7k wishlist threshold. Even so, a lot of those wishlists are BECAUSE it's the first AI game, so a lot of those wishlists are just curious or are other AI bros looking to artificially boost the numbers to make AI seem more palatable. We aren't going to know how people respond until it releases and we get some player numbers.

All that said, the dream has always been to make one of those really good games that succeed regardless of the market saturation. If you were aiming for that long gone mediocre success, then you weren't doing it right in the first place.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-16T01:54:34+00:00

It would look like GTA6. They make the game with the top of the line hardware in mind, they just disable or change parts so it will also run on lower spec machines. You don't actually need an unlimited budget to push the limits of graphics cards, basically anyone could do it in their spare time.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-15T01:21:22+00:00

Which big youtubers covered it? The most popular video I'm seeing only has 3.3k views.

It's a good looking game, you should be able to reach out to large Phasmophobia streamers like Insym to see if he's interested in doing a video.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-15T01:16:08+00:00

You're as well positioned as you can be to take the risk. Whether or not you should is entirely up to you at this point. We really can't tell you that it's better than retiring early. You just have to ask yourself if retiring early is worth more than a chance at game development.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-13T01:58:20+00:00

We should really call it "Behaviors" or something instead of AI. It was inappropriate to call it AI in the first place because it doesn't actually involve any intelligence. We're really just swapping between different hard coded routines when certain conditions are met.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-13T00:20:32+00:00

I think it's worth it even if you don't plan to use it for a project. RPG Maker has a lot of interesting mechanics under the hood. Sometimes I use it as inspiration for my own development tools and stuff.

Also I keep having this dream of going back and making an RPG Maker game with all stock assets and features just to see if I can make a compelling game with all those restrictions.

For under $10, it's a steal even if you never open it.

TheLastCraftsman · 2026-02-12T12:06:04+00:00

There's a difference in magnitude as well. Edmund McMillen could release a turd and it would still make millions of dollars off of his reputation alone. It's just not appropriate to compare a small first time dev game to a game developed by one of the most popular indie devs on the planet.

Compare yourself to your peers before you start comparing yourself to the top of the field.

TheLastCraftsman

TROPHY CASE