Are you stuck with addon if you use it?

[lasse]

Godot Version

4.3+

Question

Let’s say you use one terrain editor and switch to another. Could that cause some issues? Or are there no differences as far compatibility goes? I assume there aren’t any issues but asking anyways to make sure.

EDIT:
Asking also since there might be some config files generated with info about project

[gertkeno]

Depends on the addon. It’s very unlikely different terrain tools (or any addon) will use the same data or data structure as each other, but you can delete addons. You may also have to refresh the project, delete the hidden .godot folder to regenerate any imported files.

[lasse]

Ye that’s what I’m afraid of. That those amazing addons create some metadata or something that leaves you stuck with it.

Unlikely as you said, but don’t wanna be stuck with some addon after 1000h into project.

[tayacan]

I mean… Metadata is not really the problem here. You mention terrain addons as an example - Godot does not have a built-in system for terrain, which is why we need an addon in the first place. If you make a terrain with one addon, it will not work with another, because the actual terrain data (not metadata) is specific to that addon, and another addon will want to store terrains in a different format.

But also, what does “stuck” mean? If you’ve chosen a good addon that can do what you need it to, then presumably you will still be using it 1000h into your project. If you’ve chosen a not so good addon, or one that doesn’t have the needed functionality… You typically find out pretty fast, unless you start coding your game without knowing what you need. And then you can delete the addon + assets that depend on it, and try a different one.

Of course you can become frustrated with the tools you’ve chosen for all kinds of reasons, and wish you’d picked a different one, but that kinda also goes for the game engine itself. At some point, you have to pick your tools, and of course you should put in a good amount of research, and do the work of testing them out… But addons will not sneakily corrupt your project in such a way that you can never delete them without breaking everything. You just might have to redo the addon-specific work.

[lasse]

Thanks for your elaborate answer. I just worry since my might be project will take 2+ years to complete I worry about having to restart a big piece of my project. “Yes I’m looking at all of you silly JavaScript-libraries that are the next thing every 6 months!”. Or worse…

But ye. I worry for nothing most likely. Thanks again.

[tayacan]

I mean, Godot addons also don’t update automatically or anything. If the version you download initially is working for you, you can keep using that (unless you upgrade to a newer Godot version where the addon is no longer compatible - but again, that is usually a bad idea anyway once you’re far enough into a project).