4.5 release page #1138

adamscott · 2025-08-11T15:37:40Z

The latest preview "snapshot" is available here: https://adamscott.github.io/godot-website/releases/4.5/
(it doesn't work on first load, you need to refresh at least once)

Todo

JohnVeness · 2025-08-11T15:51:07Z

I've only skimmed it so far, but this looks great, well done :)

One initial problem, though: from an accessibility viewpoint, I don't like the video at the top which animates behind the "Making dreams accessible" and "Before you update" textboxes. Even with the blur, the sudden background colour changes, and the moving background behind the text, can be very distracting and make it hard to read.

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-screen-reader-support.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-script-backtracing.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-editor-language-can-switch-on-demand.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-export-variables-as-variant.md

paddy-exe

Small nitpick. Looks great otherwise

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-core-accesskit-integration.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-platforms-apple-export-to-visionos.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-platforms-windows-modify-metadata-without-rcedit.md

Alex2782 · 2025-08-11T17:03:00Z

Add most of Android missing features

I checked 4.5 Interactive Changelog: link
I think all important Android changes were listed in beta1-blog
https://godotengine.org/article/dev-snapshot-godot-4-5-beta-1/#android

I can't estimate what else is worth mentioning besides TouchActionsPanel.
Because of Camera Feed support, we have also stopped supporting Android 5 + 6.
godotengine/godot#106148
there were 3 x 😕 as a reaction

AThousandShips

Initial pass

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-2d-chunk-tilemap-physics.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-core-accesskit-integration.md

...ctions/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-allow-selecting-multiple-remote-nodes-at-runtime.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-drop-preload-resources-as-uid.md

...stems-rendering-mobile-renderer-now-using-half-precision-floating-point-format-explicitly.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-bent-normal-maps-support.md

clayjohn

Left some feedback on the rendering section!

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-bent-normal-maps-support.md

clayjohn · 2025-08-11T17:12:49Z

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-bent-normal-maps-support.md

@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+---
+type: entry


This needs to have a before/after photo attached. This is a case where a picture is worth 1000 words

This needs to have a before/after photo attached. This is a case where a picture is worth 1000 words

I absolutely agree.

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-smaa-1x-support.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-specular-occlusion-from-ambient-light.md

JohnVeness

Overall very good, just some suggested tweaks, and a couple of questions :)

collections/_article/godot-4-5-making-dreams-accessible.md

pages/releases/4.5.html

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-script-backtracing.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-smaa-1x-support.md

...stems-rendering-mobile-renderer-now-using-half-precision-floating-point-format-explicitly.md

pages/releases/4.5.html

bruvzg · 2025-08-11T20:44:51Z

...ctions/_release_4_5/entry-general-gui-dedicated-svgtexture-texture-resource-for-svg-files.md

+  SVGs are different from bitmap images as they are vector-based. It means that no matter how much you zoom, the shapes will never break down into discrete pixels.
+
+  Until this release, Godot was converting every SVG file into a bitmap-based image. It is now possible to load SVG file (even dynamically) properly with the new `SVGTexture` resource.
+


Worth mentioning that it is used for default theme elements, making UI controls smoothly scalable with enabled oversampling and canvas_item scale mode (and can be used in custom themes for the same purpose):

Same scene in 4.4.1 vs. 4.5 (look at slider drag handle and check button scaling).

Screen.Recording.2025-08-11.at.23.41.58.mov

The difference in this example is hard to spot on smaller screens. Would cropping the video work?

A bit more zoomed in versions

Screen.Recording.2025-08-12.at.21.36.35.mov

pages/releases/4.5.html

Calinou · 2025-08-12T13:52:59Z

@adamscott Do you have access to the project used to render the background video? I'd like to re-record and re-encode it for better quality if possible (less aliasing, less macroblocking in the first seconds).

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-screen-reader-support.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-platforms-apple-export-to-visionos.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-editor-language-can-switch-on-demand.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-rendering-specular-occlusion-from-ambient-light.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-drop-preload-resources-as-uid.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-paste-as-unique-option.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-internationalization-live-preview.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-platforms-apple-export-to-visionos.md

...stems-rendering-mobile-renderer-now-using-half-precision-floating-point-format-explicitly.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-screen-reader-support.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-script-backtracing.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-shader-baker.md

JohnVeness · 2025-08-13T16:36:38Z

Thanks for applying my suggestions, @adamscott :). There were a couple where you gave it a thumbs up and resolved the conversation, but it looks like you overlooked applying them...? I unresolved the conversations in those instances.

...ns/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-duplicate-projects-straight-from-the-project-manager.md

JohnVeness

A further pass...

collections/_release_4_5/entry-highlights-screen-reader-support.md

JohnVeness · 2025-08-13T18:16:11Z

...ctions/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-allow-selecting-multiple-remote-nodes-at-runtime.md

+title: Allow selecting multiple remote nodes at runtime
+blockquote: TODO
+text: |
+  The new embedded game window [introduced in 4.4](https://godotengine.org/releases/4.4/#embedded-game-window) highlighted an issue the editor had for many years now: the remote node list didn’t support selecting more than one item.


Why did the embedded game window highlight this issue?

Perhaps because users were more likely to be selecting objects in the game during runtime, thanks to the game window being more tightly integrated with the editor?

Regardless, for brevity's sake I think there could be merit in removing this, and just focusing on the problem and how it was solved.

Perhaps because users were more likely to be selecting objects in the game during runtime, thanks to the game window being more tightly integrated with the editor?

This ^

Regardless, for brevity's sake I think there could be merit in removing this, and just focusing on the problem and how it was solved.

I don't know. That feature is already quite terse.

...ctions/_release_4_5/entry-general-gui-dedicated-svgtexture-texture-resource-for-svg-files.md

JohnVeness · 2025-08-13T18:22:15Z

...ctions/_release_4_5/entry-general-gui-dedicated-svgtexture-texture-resource-for-svg-files.md

+text: |
+  SVGs are different from bitmap images as they are vector-based. It means that no matter how much you zoom, the shapes will never break down into discrete pixels.
+
+  Until this release, Godot was converting every SVG files into a bitmap-based image. It is now possible to load SVG file (even dynamically) properly with the new `SVGTexture` resource.


I think "properly" is a little woolly here. Maybe "as scalable vector images"?

I need to reword this feature, especially since it doesn't do everything (for now) that users may expect of it.

collections/_release_4_5/entry-platforms-windows-modify-metadata-without-rcedit.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-scripting-dotnet-nativeaot-on-android.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-scripting-gdextension-main-loop-callbacks.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-navigation-process-navigation-regions-asynchronously.md

Meorge · 2025-08-14T04:12:04Z

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-script-color-picker.md

+text: |
+  Not everyone can read colors. So we added a little color preview besides every `Color` value.
+
+  We even pushed the idea further: if you click that preview icon, you can edit the value on the spot using a color picker.


Could a short video clip be added to demonstrate this?

Yes, it's in the plans.

Meorge · 2025-08-14T04:15:38Z

collections/_article/godot-4-5-making-dreams-accessible.md

+ - /releases/4.5/
+---
+
+Look forward to plenty of quality of life improvements hidden within this release. Faster load speeds, reduced stutter, streamlined processes — spotting all the optimizations that have been applied in the background will take some time.


For me at least, the sentence ending with "...will take some time" just leaves the idea of things "taking time" as the last thought in my head, which is probably the opposite of what we want here 😅 If others don't have the same instinct then this can be disregarded, but for now I think it might be worth considering if there's a different way it could be phrased, that puts more of an emphasis on speed itself.

That text is the same as the blog post for the last release. I should maybe reword it a little bit (even if 99% of the people will never read it).

Meorge · 2025-08-14T04:18:02Z

collections/_article/godot-4-5-making-dreams-accessible.md

+
+Look forward to plenty of quality of life improvements hidden within this release. Faster load speeds, reduced stutter, streamlined processes — spotting all the optimizations that have been applied in the background will take some time.
+
+On top of that, long-awaited comfort features like embedded game windows and interactive in-game editing will feel more in line with other software on the market, making transitioning between them an even smoother experience. The editor overhaul alone takes up a big chunk of this release, after all.


What is the "editor overhaul" being referred to here? The "Editor" section certainly has some nice improvements, but nothing sticks out to me as quite an "overhaul".

Again, this was the last release text I need to change. Sorry.

collections/_article/godot-4-5-making-dreams-accessible.md

...ions/_release_4_5/entry-systems-animation-bind-bones-to-other-bones-with-boneconstraint3d.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-input-sdl3-gamepad-input-driver.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-navigation-process-navigation-regions-asynchronously.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-xr-fragment-density-map-support.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-xr-support-for-d3d12-openxr-backend.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-import-reintroducing-batch-edition-of-assets.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-scripting-gdscript-gdscript-abstractions.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-scripting-dotnet-nativeaot-on-android.md

...ns/_release_4_5/entry-general-editor-duplicate-projects-straight-from-the-project-manager.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-documentation-added-required-qualifier.md

collections/_release_4_5/entry-general-core-resource-duplicate_deep-with-expected-results.md

...stems-rendering-mobile-renderer-now-using-half-precision-floating-point-format-explicitly.md

adamscott · 2025-08-14T13:15:21Z

One initial problem, though: from an accessibility viewpoint, I don't like the video at the top which animates behind the "Making dreams accessible" and "Before you update" textboxes. Even with the blur, the sudden background colour changes, and the moving background behind the text, can be very distracting and make it hard to read.

I'll see what I can do, @JohnVeness.

dsnopek · 2025-09-03T19:06:04Z

collections/_release_4_5/entry-systems-xr-fragment-density-map-support.md

+contributors:
+- name: Darío
+  github: DarioSamo
+read_more: https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/99551


PR godotengine/godot#99768 is also important here

Suggested change

read_more: https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pull/99551

read_more: https://github.com/godotengine/godot/pulls?q=is%253Apr+is%253Amerged+99551+99768

dsnopek · 2025-09-03T19:08:47Z

...4_5/entry-scripting-gdextension-allow-calling-object-set-script-instance-from-gdextension.md

+rank: 1
+importance: 4
+anchor: allow-calling-object-set-script-instance-from-gdextension
+title: Allow calling `Object::set_script_instance()` from GDExtension


This is such a small feature, I'm not totally sure we need to call it out in the release notes?

I can remove it!

adamscott · 2025-09-03T23:25:26Z

I added a way to manually highlight code without resorting to html tags. It inspires itself from the markdown links. (note: the two backticks are important for non-blocked code.)

Hello, ``@[World](enginetype)``

The new highlight_code filter will convert this to

Hello, <span class="code-highlight enginetype">World</span>

JohnVeness · 2025-09-04T08:44:27Z

I added a way to manually highlight code without resorting to html tags.

Love it :)

adamscott · 2025-09-04T22:24:52Z

I added the SCSS @mixin text-punch() for more... punch!

Notice how after, there's more oomph to letters, as there's a little small drop shadows applied.

	Before	After
Light
Dark

adamscott added topic:content Issues and PRs related to static content topic:blog New blogposts and corrections labels Aug 11, 2025

adamscott changed the title ~~4.5 release~~ 4.5 release page Aug 11, 2025