Question: Does Godot have good performance?

Answer

Godot Engine is known for its versatility and ease of use, but when it comes to performance, the answer can vary depending on what you are comparing it to and the context of the project.

Performance in game engines is typically dependent on several factors:

1. Rendering: Godot has a highly optimized 2D engine which performs excellently across a range of devices, including low-end hardware. For 3D, while not as performant as some industry-leading engines like Unreal or Unity, especially for high-end graphics, Godot's 3D renderer is still capable and continuously improving. With Godot 4.0, significant improvements to the 3D rendering system are expected.

2. Scripting: Godot uses GDScript, a Python-like language designed for the engine. It's easy to learn and fast enough for most game development tasks. If greater performance is needed, Godot also supports C# and C++. Using C++ with Godot's native scripting (GDNative) can lead to performance comparable to other high-performance engines.

3. Physics: Godot's built-in physics engines for both 2D and 3D are quite efficient, but they may not scale as well as some other engines for very complex simulations or huge numbers of objects.

4. Optimization Tools: Godot provides several tools for optimizing performance, including profilers and debuggers. These tools help developers identify bottlenecks and optimize scripts and scenes.

5. Mobile Performance: On mobile platforms, Godot games perform well, particularly for 2D. Since Godot games are smaller in size compared to those made with some other engines, they can be more suitable for mobile devices where storage may be limited.

A basic example of optimization in Godot could be the use of preload to load a script or resource before it’s actually used, which helps prevent hiccups at runtime:

var scene = preload("res://path_to_scene.tscn")

func _on_Button_pressed():
    var instance = scene.instance()
    add_child(instance)

In conclusion, Godot does offer good performance, particularly for 2D games and simpler 3D games. It’s a solid choice for indie developers and those looking to target multiple platforms. As with any engine, developers need to understand the tools and techniques for optimization specific to Godot to get the best performance out of their games.