In relation to desktop gaming, Home windows dominates the market. In line with the Steam {hardware} survey, almost 97% of customers are on Home windows. Linux takes second place with round 2% of customers, with the bulk utilizing a Steam Deck. This market distribution highlights the significance of making exports for each Home windows and Linux to succeed in the widest attainable viewers.
In case you’re focused on focusing on the Steam Deck particularly, take a look at the tutorial on focusing on the Steam Deck with Godot.
Getting Began
For this tutorial, you possibly can both use your individual venture or obtain the pattern venture to comply with alongside.
If you wish to use the pattern venture, obtain the starter supplies zip from the hyperlink on the prime or backside of this tutorial and extract it. Subsequent, open Godot and import the starter venture. The venture is a small 2D shoot-em-up sport referred to as Aerixa.
Go forward and run the venture if you wish to take a look at it.
What’s Exporting?
In Godot, exporting a venture is the method of packaging your venture together with a binary that accommodates the Godot engine code. The binary is compiled in another way for every goal platform, permitting your venture to run on techniques that don’t have Godot put in.
Each supported platform has its personal export template, which is a group of information Godot makes use of to package deal and debug your exported venture. They’re important as a result of they include the Godot engine code compiled for every goal platform, permitting your venture to run on techniques that don’t have Godot put in.
With the binaries in hand, you possibly can then distribute your venture on platforms like Steam, itch.io, the App Retailer and Google Play.
Getting the Export Templates
If that is the primary time you’re exporting for the model of Godot you’re utilizing, you’ll have to obtain and set up the export templates.
You’ll be able to verify when you have the templates put in by deciding on Editor ▸ Handle Export Templates within the prime menu.
This may open the Export Template Supervisor, a small software to handle your export templates.
On the prime left, you possibly can see the model of Godot you’re utilizing; 4.3.secure in my case.
In case you don’t have the export templates put in but, you’ll see a pink textual content seem subsequent the model as is the case within the screenshot above. To put in the lacking templates, click on the Obtain and Set up button on the prime proper.
Doing so will obtain the templates for the model of Godot you’re utilizing and set up them regionally.
As soon as the obtain finishes, you possibly can see the place Godot put in your new export templates.
Observe: When you’ve got export templates put in within the Different Put in Variations part for a model of Godot you’re not planning on utilizing anymore, click on the garbage can icon subsequent to the model identify to delete them and get well some disk area.
With the templates put in, now you can export your venture!
I like to recommend going by means of the all sections under even if you happen to’re solely focused on exporting for Home windows as they include normal details about the export course of that I’ll reference to later.
Including an Export Preset
Exporting initiatives is simple, however understanding the main points of the method helps you make knowledgeable choices about your export settings.
To begin off, open the Export window by deciding on Mission ▸ Export within the prime menu.
The Export window might be virtually empty at this level.
So as to add a Linux export, click on the Add… button on the prime and select Linux.
This may add a brand new Linux entry within the Presets record and allows the choices on the suitable aspect of the window.
Export Settings
Time to take a better have a look at the varied settings Godot presents you with for exports.
Shared Choices
First up are the shared choices on the prime, this consists of the Identify and Export Path fields. These are the identical for all platforms.
From prime to backside, the choices are as follows:
- Identify: A reputation to your export preset. That is helpful as you possibly can configure completely different presets for a similar platform, so the completely different names make it simpler to differentiate between them.
- Superior Choices: For some platforms like Android and iOS, further choices can be found. Toggling this on will present choices meant for energy customers.
- Runnable: If checked, this can allow one-click deploy for the export preset, enabling you to shortly deploy the preset by way of a single button click on. The precise perform of one-click deploy will depend on the platform. For desktop platforms like Linux, macOS and Home windows, it lets you deploy exports over SSH as soon as configured. For cellular platforms like Android and iOS, it lets you set up the export in your gadget or emulator. Lastly, for net exports, it is going to begin an area net server and host the exported venture. For extra data on one-click deploy, see Godot’s One-click deploy documentation.
- Export Path: The file path the place the venture might be exported to.
Choices Tab
Subsequent, check out the Choices tab.
Once more, from prime to backside, the choices are as follows:
- Customized Template: Right here you possibly can set a path to customized export templates for each the Debug and Launch exports. In case you compiled your individual export templates from the engine supply code, you possibly can set them right here. This can be utilized to optimize your exports for measurement or velocity by stripping out the 3D engine for instance.
- Export Console Wrapper: When enabled, an additional executable might be included subsequent to the exported venture that may run your venture within the console. That is helpful for debugging and testing your venture.
- Embed PCK: A PCK file is an archive file just like a ZIP. It bundles the venture’s property like scripts, scenes and textures collectively in a single file. If allow this setting, the PCK file might be embedded within the exported venture as a substitute of being a separate file.
- Structure: This units the CPU structure of the exported venture. On desktop platforms, the most typical CPU structure is x86_64, which is the 64-bit model of x86. I like to recommend leaving this on the default worth. The export templates that Godot offers solely help the x86_32 and x86_64 architectures. If that you must export for a special structure, you’ll have to construct your individual export template. You will discover extra information on that on the Constructing from supply web page.
- Texture Format: With these, you possibly can select how textures are saved. Each choices right here mix two texture codecs into one. The S3TC and BPTC codecs are primarily used for desktop platforms and consoles, whereas ETC2 and ASTC are used for cellular platforms, embedded gadgets and the online.
- SSH Distant Deploy: This selection lets you deploy your exported venture over SSH. This may be helpful to check your venture on a distant machine.
For many initiatives, you possibly can go away these at their default values, however I hope you’ll agree it’s helpful to know what you need to use these choices for.
Time to check out the Assets tab.