Godot 4.8 Dev5 Released

The release of Godot 4.8 just got one step closer with the release of Godot 4.8 Dev5. This release adds a few new features such as the cleanup of the 2D toolbar, but the biggest new feature of Godot 4.8 Dev5 is the introduction of Texture Streaming:

Rendering: Mip-level texture streaming

In the context of an engine such as Godot, “texture streaming” refers to the ability to dynamically load and unload images based on a camera’s relative position. Such a system would allow games to handle significantly more visible textures at any given point in time, which is why such a feature was one of the community’s most desired. Unfortunately, like most highly-desired features, it’s much easier said than done, and the “best” implementation direction isn’t exactly set in stone.

In order to leverage this new functionality, streaming must first be enabled in the project settings, necessitating an editor restart. You can make runtime changes via the TextureStreaming singleton.

Once enabled, textures can be imported as streamed textures, utilizing the new texture import type: “Texture2D Streamed”. This new texture type comes equipped with overrides for minimum and maximum resolution for a given texture, so you can safely preserve crucial details on a case-by-case basis. The per-texture properties override the system settings; the default is to use the system settings.

Key Links

Godot 4.8 Dev5 Blog

Godot 4.8 Dev4 Coverage

Godot 4.8 Dev2 & 3 Coverage

Godot 4.8 Dev1 Coverage

You can learn more about the Godot 4.8 Dev5 release, including a quick tutorial/overview of the new Texture Streaming functionality, in the video below.