Every Variant in Godot 4
title: Every Variant in Godot 4
sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM_ExxV-0Qo
media_link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM_ExxV-0Qo
Authors:
- "[[SDG Games]]"
contentPublished:
noteCreated: 2024-11-19
description: In this video, we take a look at every Variant in the Godot game engine. Variants are the foundation for all types in Godot, so starting here will prepare us...
tags:
- clippings
- video
takeaways:
publish: true
Status: âś… ReadDescription
In this video, we take a look at every Variant in the Godot game engine. Variants are the foundation for all types in Godot, so starting here will prepare us...
My Notes
00:00 Intro
01:34 Static Typing Vs Variants
02:54 Floats vs Ints
06:48 Boolean
07:14 Strings
07:36 What is a variant
A variant is a type that can dynamically change (e.g. from String to int).
10:11 Colors
10:39 Vectors
13:18 Arrays
15:08 Dictionary
16:32 Packed Arrays
There are various array types in Godot that only work with one specific type:
PackedByeArrayPackedColorArrayPackedStringArray- etc.
18:57 Arrays vs PackedArrays
packed arrays are less flexible but are more optimized. They take up less space, and are more performant.
Recommendation: Start with a "regular" Array and don't switch to a packed array unless you have a performance problem, or you know in advance that you will deal with very large datasets.
23:37 Long winded explanation of strings and pointers
25:00 StringName
- See docs on StringName
26:14: A StringName is like a String that acts like a singleton
StringName literal syntax
@export var string_name: StringName = &"Hello"
28:03 NodePath
NodePath literal syntax
@export var node_path: NodePath = ^"Hello"
30:41 Objects
31:20 RID
32:17 Signals and Callables
36:27 Transformations - Rect2
-
Rect2simple type representing a rectangle- uses
floatto represent values - has two
Vector2s representing:- origin: x and y of the top left corner
- size: the width and height of the rect
- uses
-
There is also a
Rect2iwhich usesintinstead -
Use case: rects are often used for collision detection.
38:02 Transform2D
40:37 Rect2i and Transform2D demo
41:20 AABB
42:19 Basis
43:35 Transform3D
46:50 Plane
47:26 Projections
48:05 Recap
48:37 Outro
Corrections From the Author
Corrections:
33:30 - I was using the old approach to signals, it's now possible to use signals without strings at all:
signal signal_name
signal_name.connect(function_name)
signal_name.emit()
If you want to send arguments along, you can bind them to the function when connecting or emit them as comma separated list:
signal_name.connect(function_name.bind(23423,"AAAAA"))
signal_name.emit(23423,"AAAAA")
At 09:48, I said "strong typing," but should have said "static typing." Godot is dynamic, with the ability to be static.
Comments
16:33 The best way to make a strongly typed Dictionary is to make and export your own class in another Godot script that can then be imported anywhere.