Unreal Engine-Inspired Material Layering System For Godot

Foyezes plans to release it for free.

Godot has been gaining more attention lately through new releases, sponsors like Battlefield Games, and its stance on AI as major game engines continue to embrace the technology. The community is hard at work improving the engine, and one example is Foyezes, who recently shared a preview of a free tool that lets developers blend materials in a workflow similar to Unreal Engine.

Right now, it's in alpha testing and should be released in a few weeks. The tool basically combines all the materials into one larger shader, so the performance really depends on the complexity of the materials being used.

As for why this method is better than using Blender with Ucupaint, Foyezes says it offers reduced VRAM usage, more customization options, higher-resolution texturing, and much more. They also pointed out that baked textures are not always practical for large surfaces like buildings and terrains.

"The layer count is arbitrary. This method is similar to UE's layering system, where you can blend any number of materials without many restrictions. The author has complete freedom in the material's complexity. The materials aren't limited to layering use either, they can be used as standalone materials too, as they are just ShaderMaterials."

The tool is expected to arrive on the Asset Store soon. While waiting for its release, those interested in learning Godot can check out The GameDev Tavern's newly launched tutorial series: