Godot Engine 4.0 Documentation - Getting Started - Learning New Features

This article is the result of Google Translate's English translation, and DrGraph added some corrections on this basis. English original page:

Learning new features — Godot Engine (stable) documentation in English

Learning new features¶

Godot is a feature-rich game engine. There is a lot to know about it. This page describes how to learn new features and techniques using the online manual, built-in code reference, and join the online community.

Getting the most out of this manual¶

What you are reading now is the user manual. It documents every concept and available function of the engine. When learning a new topic, you can start by browsing the corresponding section of this website. The menu on the left allows you to explore broad topics, while the search bar will help you find more specific pages. If a page exists for a given topic, it will usually link to more related content.

The manual has a companion class reference that explains the functions and properties available to each Godot class when programming. While the manual covers general functionality, concepts, and how to use the editor, this reference is all about using Godot's scripting API (Application Programming Interface). You can access it both online and offline. We recommend browsing references offline in the Godot editor. To do this, go to Help -> Search Help or press F1.

To browse it online, head to the class reference  section of the manual.

The class reference page tells you:

1. The position of the class in the inheritance hierarchy. You can click the top link to jump to the parent class and view the properties and methods the type inherits.

   

2. A summary of the roles and use cases of the classes.

3. Explanation of the class's properties, methods, signals, enumerations, and constants.

4. Link to the man page that further details the class.

Note: If the manual or class reference is missing or insufficient information, please report it by opening an Issue in the official godot-docs  GitHub repository.

You can Ctrl-click any underlined text, such as a class name, property, method, signal, or constant, to jump to that text.

Learn to Think Like a Programmer¶

Teaching programming fundamentals and how to think like a game developer is beyond the scope of the Godot documentation. If you're new to programming, we recommend two excellent free resources to get you started:

1. Harvard offers a free courseware to learn programming, CS50 . It will teach you the fundamentals of programming, how code works, and how to think like a programmer. These skills are essential to becoming a game developer and effectively learning any game engine. You can think of this course as an investment that will save you time and hassle as you learn to create games.

2. If books are more your thing, check out Al Sweigart's free ebook, Automating the Boring Stuff with Python .

Learn with the community¶

Godot has a growing user community. If you run into a problem or need help to better understand how to achieve something, you can ask other users for help on one of the many active communities .

The best place to ask questions and find answered questions is the official Q&A site. These replies appear in search engine results and are saved, allowing other users to benefit from discussions on the platform. After asking a question there, you can share a link to it on other social platforms. Before asking a question, please be sure to look for existing answers that may address your question on this site or using your preferred search engine.

Asking questions well and providing details will help others answer you faster and better. When asking questions, we recommend including the following information:

1. Describe your goals . You want to explain what you want to achieve in terms of design. If you're having trouble figuring out how to make your solution work, there may be a different, simpler solution that achieves the same goal.

2. If a bug is involved, please share the exact error message . You can copy the exact error message in the editor's debugger bottom panel by clicking the copy error icon. Knowing what it says can help community members better identify how you are triggering the bug.

3. If code is involved, share a code sample . Other users won't be able to help you out without seeing your code. Share code directly as text. You can do this by copying and pasting a small piece of code in the chat box, or using a site like Pastebin to share a long file.

4. Share a screenshot of the scene dock along with your written code . Most of the code you write affects nodes in your scene. Therefore, you should consider these scenarios as part of the source code.

   

   Also, please don't take pictures with your phone, the low quality and reflective screen can make it difficult to see the image. Your operating system should have a built-in facility to take screenshots using the PrtSc (Print Screen) key.

   Alternatively, you can use programs such as ShareX on Windows or FlameShot on Linux .

5. Sharing a video of the game you're running can also be great for troubleshooting your gaming issues . You can use programs like OBS Studio and Screen to GIF to capture your screen.

   You can then upload and share your video for free using a service like Streamable or a cloud provider.

6. If you are not using a stable version of Godot, please state which version you are using. With the rapid evolution of available features and interfaces, the answer may vary.

Following these guidelines will maximize your chances of getting the answers you need. They will save time for you and those who help you.

Community Tutorials¶

This manual is intended to provide a comprehensive reference to Godot's functionality. It does not contain tutorials for implementing specific game types, other than the 2D and 3D Getting Started series. If you're looking for tutorials on creating an RPG, platformer, or other game, see  Tutorials and Resources , which lists content made by the Godot community.