How do i get started at making small github projects so that I eventually can understand godot’s open source code?
Im not trying to put pull request or contribute on the engine. I just think the skill of going from documentation and if that fails for me to understand the code. diving into the source code to see what its doing would be really useful
What experience do you have with programming ang github already?
Hi! i would like to learn those more. specially getting started at making something with programming. I have a ton of time and willing to learn for 3 years or more as I have done with art, 3d modelling etc.
Godot is written in C++ which, IMO, is a nasty beast of a language. Not great for first timers. So I wouldnt start there. (But believe you could do it with time and effort…it’d just be a rough start).
Fortunately, I see two good options for you.
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gdscript is a very easy to pick up and use language. You can make and share small projects and plugins written in it.
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gdscript has a similar feel to python, which blender uses for scripting. Given your art background, you can learn some programming making python based blender scripts and tools.
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Shaders: a two step approach
a) Godot has “visual shaders” which are built by physically laying out and connecting components. I believe you could easily pick this up. Check out @FencerDevLog material. Here is a good one https://youtu.be/Gp-mNWY2JJE
b) Shaders can also be coded (and Godot lets you convert a visual shader to a coded one - but not the other way around). So you could build them visually then convert to code and see what it would look like coded.
Being a shader expert is a well paying in demand job as far as I know.
- github. Github uses git. Git is version control. It lets you roll back changes. It.lets you make experimental branches without destroying your main branch. It lets you merge branches.
There are many different interfaces built for git. I would recommend starting with github desktop. Not the best, but easy for simple stuff. Use this to manage repos on github and on your computer.
Here is an example of a Godot gdscript and a Blender python script I made (one was a mod of someone elses work) to work with each other and uploaded to github using hithub desktop.
So, to sum up my strategy for you:
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Write blender scripts in python because python is an easy starter language and you have art background
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write gdscript based addons for godot because gdscript is an easy language and it will help you learn about godot
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create shaders using the visual editor to more easily learn about shaders in Godot. Eventually turn that into coding shaders, that coding is a step up from python and gdscript, but also leverages your background.
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share and manage this work with github. Start with github desktop, but know there are “better” tools out there for working with git.
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after getting comfortable with all these. Then start learning the c++ codebase of Godot building now on top of your now solid base knowledge of coding and godot. C++ can be harder, but I am sure you can do it especially with the help of the community.
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Also, there are a ton of great resources for learning Godot.
I would highly recommend learning how to use Godot (or any software) before learning how to change it.
Here are two tutorials (the only two from brackeys) that give a good quick intro into Godot and Gdscript
Also, I would recommend just reading the issues on the main godot repo and issues and discussions the godot improvement repo to get a feel of the kind of work that is getting talked about and/or accomplished.
The discussions can be less technical so may be a better place to start?
You can also learn and contribute by i.proving documentation as your yourself learn things.
It is managed using github as well
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Thank you so much for providing a direction!
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