Godot vs Lumberyard game engine comparison

If you’re into the gaming culture, you have probably heard the term ‘game engine’ being thrown around somewhere. A game engine is a software that provides game developers with the required set of tools to build and develop games fast and efficiently. A game engine can be thought of as a framework for game development that includes all the major areas in game development.Godot and lumberyard are fairly new in the game engine race and lumberyard being a total newbie is outmatched in many ways. In this post we are going to compare Godot vs Lumberyard and tell you which one to choose.

The most crucial requirement for a new developer is the support community and learning curve.If a game engine has a good support community then it makes the learning more fun and interesting. Choosing an engine with steep learning curve might lead you to lose interest in game development. There are many online courses to help you learn both the game engines. So, no matter which game engine you choose learning them shouldn’t be difficult. You can check out the best game engines for beginners.

Godot vs Lumberyard Key points

Features	Lumberyard	Godot
Cost	Totally free. No royalty and no subscription. Anything you make is yours to keep and distribute.	Totally free. No royalty and no subscription. Anything you make is yours to keep and distribute.
Usability	Windows with 8GB RAM and Compatible graphics card. Does not support MAC	Available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Also has an online server version
Platform Supported	Can deploy build to all major platforms	Can deploy build to all major platforms
Games supported	Quality is good in 3D , but in all game formats	Most suitable for pixel art games. Support to 3D games not as good as other major engines.
Source Code	Available for free	Available for free. You can make your own custom game engine.
For Beginners	No good support community. Documentation is good	Easy to learn and good support community
Asset store	No Asset store available	Very small asset store.
Best course	Learn Lumberyard	Learn Godot with GDscript
Languages supported	C++,Lua and visual scripting with script canvas	C#,C++,GDscript and visual scripting

Godot vs Lumberyard detailed comparison

GODOT

The underdog in game engines is none other that Godot. This is because it is powerful yet open source, meaning that the developer does not have to pay anything to use the tool. It is also older, and is geared mainly toward 2D game development. However, it supports 3D but is not the best at 3D game development and rendering. Because of how long ago it was started, Godot, unlike newer game engines is suited for people with programming knowledge. Every feature is accessible through code meaning that someone without coding knowledge cannot use it. However, among the coders, it is highly praised because of its well-arranged documentation and ease of coding.

Godot is an open source C++ based game engine with a superior editor loved by many coders. And like all other open source software, Godot is constantly updated and fixing bugs by their online community. This means if you have a question, there is a community to help you out when you’re stuck. Godot is a great choice for 2D game development but also works with 3D games. What makes Godot great for beginners however is the large set of documents it provides which allow the beginner to easily learn and develop a simple game.

Godot supports all major platforms including: Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and iOS, Android, PS3, HTML5, PS Vita and even the less popular Windows Phone. With Godot, it is easy for beginners to learn and make simple games without reinventing the wheel.

Godot has a dedicated scripting language

Godot game engine comes with a uniquely written programming language called GDScript. GDScript was developed by the Godot team as a result of testing other languages and failing. GDScript came about as a result of mixing and iterating multiple programming languages such as Python and Lua. Since none of these languages worked for them how they wanted, they decided to merge the two. This is why GDScript is as readable as Python since it retains some of the features of Python language such as strict typing and more straightforward short codes. Through this, they were also able to create a better editor which is what Godot is mainly praised for. The language is quick to learn and this is why many developers love Godot.

GDScript also includes visual scripting. Visual scripting is important when it comes to developers who are into artsy stuff. It makes coding much more intuitive and allows easy making of prototypes. However, it is important to note that a game should not be created only through visual scripting.

Supports multiple programming languages

As we know by now, to use a game engine, you have to have some bit of coding knowledge. The problem comes in when you know a language that is not supported by your game engine. Godot ensures that whatever language you know is supported by it. It supports C++, C# and their own GDScript. Recently, they have been working on VisualScript which is a similar to Unreal’s Blueprint engine.

Supports both 2D and 3D development

Many games today are in 3D. However, for Indie developers, 2D game development is essential. Godot is great for Indie developers since it is especially tailored for 2D game models. Godot game engine provides a smooth and great workflow for these game models and this is why almost all Indie game developers use it. Unlike newer game engines that work in pseudo 2D where a 3D world is represented in two dimensions, Godot works in actual 2D that is expressed in pixels. This is the reason we say it is tailored especially for 2D game models. They plan on releasing 2.5D support soon.

It is an open source game engine

Godot is well known for being an open source software. All its features and tools are registered under the MIT license. This means that it is free and you own everything that you create from it. Because of its open source nature, it is very flexible. If you are a developer and find something that does not work for you the way you want, you can change it. Through its online community, more and more tools and features are added and availed freely to users. It therefore allows them to unique elements to their games.

It has a node system

To understand the node system, you have to first understand how game engines work. Game engines normally use scenes to represent a level in a game. In the scene, there are objects. These objects are what identify a scene. With newer game engines, the objects are called Actors.

For Godot however, scenes have a node. Each node is a single object and can inherit from any other node. Many nodes make a scene meaning that even scenes have the inheritance property as long as they have the same root node. Nodes can be difficult to master if you have never worked with them before. However, for people used to them, it is a very intuitive and great design tool

Godot has its own IDE

Godot comes with its own IDE or text editor. You are not bound to use this editor and can use any other editor you prefer. The inbuilt editor is definitely not as cool as other third party IDEs but is great for use in Godot.

It is light for systems

Godot does not consume a lot of memory in the system. In fact with just over 60MB, standard Godot is executable. It also does not need installation. After you download it, all you need to do it to unzip it and get started. It is preferred by many because on top of its small file size, the engine is perfect for lower powered systems. It is important to note however note that, the in engine performance of your system is directly linked to the performance of the finished product. This means that if your system’s engine is slow and buffery, the game will also be slow and jittery.

Godot is a cross platform

Godot supports all major operating systems in the world today. This list includes Windows, Mac and Linux among others. It can also be supported by either 32 or 64 bit machines which makes it every convenient for many. The only problem is that many alternative tools in Godot are tailored with only one OS in mind: Windows. This means that when using another operating system with such tools will cause problems.

Has a server

Godot game engine has an inbuilt server to support multiplayer game development. The server also allows games made by Godot to be suitable for multiple game environments such as Android, PS3, HTML5, PS Vita and even the less popular Windows Phone. They are currently working on a Raspberry Pi version.

Better documentation

Godot is open source and this means that the online community is involved in documentation. With around 100k active users, Godot has one of the best manuals. As time goes, Godot users will continue to grow and the manual will continue to get better and better.

Superb animations

Godot has one of the most diverse and powerful animations studio – better than most of the newer game engines. And as much as it is diverse, Godot has made it that it is also one of the easiest to use and learn. It does not go as deep as newer game engines meant for 3D models, but definitely offers ease of use.

Great for 2D games

As we’ve said before, Godot was tailored for 2D game models and until they released a new version, it was limited to only 2D creations. If you plan on developing a 2D game, then Godot is a great choice for you.

LUMBERYARD GAME ENGINE

Lumberyard engine is a cross platform engine that was developed by Amazon. The main and most obvious difference between the two is that Lumberyard integrates Amazon Web Services that allow developers to build their games on Amazon’s servers. It also supports the live streaming platform known as Twitch. Like Lumberyard, the source code is made available to the developers although with a bit of limitations. These limitations include: user cannot publicly release the source code or incorporate it in their own game.

Lumberyard was released in 2016 together with a multiplayer hosting service known as Gamelift. This was done to attract as many gaming fans as possible to the system. Since this game engine is so recent and not fully developed, a beta version was released in 2018 to support multiple platforms such as Windows, PS4 and Xbox One. Linux and Mac are partially supported and full versions are currently in the workings. Virtual reality support is also in its beta stages and allows the game developer to build games supporting unique devices such as HTC Vive. Since the Lumberyard game engine is new, not many games have been created using it. The following are the games built by this game engine: The Grand Tour Game (2019) and Coffence (2018). The rest of the games have not been officially released yet.

Lumberyard is a cross platform

Lumberyard supports all major operating systems in the world today. This list includes Windows, Mac and Linux among others. It can also be supported by either 32 or 64 bit machines which makes it every convenient for many. The only problem is that many alternative tools in Lumberyard are tailored with only one OS in mind: Windows. This means that when using another operating system with such tools will cause problems.

It has a server

Lumberyard game engine has an inbuilt server to support multiplayer game development. The server also allows games made by Lumberyard to be suitable for multiple game environments such as Android, PS3, HTML5, PS Vita and even the less popular Windows Phone. They are currently working on a Raspberry Pi version.

Supports multiplayer gaming

Due to Lumberyard’s versatile features, creating multiplayer games has been made quite easy. Lumberyard game engine has an inbuilt server to support multiplayer game development. The server also allows games made by Lumberyard to be suitable for multiple game environments such as Android, PS3, HTML5, PS Vita and even the less popular Windows Phone.

Lumberyard offers offline rendering

This is a key feature since not many game engines have this option. In fact, only a few high end game engines have this feature. Offline rendering means that rendering can continue even when there is no internet connection. This is convenient as it protects the developer from losing progress in development.

Lumberyard is free you only pay for AWS

Lumberyard is total free , there is no revenue limit or royalty to be paid when you publish your game. You can make any game you want and publish them free if cost. There is one catch that lumberyard uses Amazon AWS services for many in-game features and AWS is not free. You have to pay for any AWS service you use.

Lumberyard has a rich documentation

Even though Lumberyard is a variation of cryengine. Amazon has made sure anybody who uses lumberyard shouldn’t face any difficulty. Lumberyard documentation is well arranged and easy to read. You must be able to get the any of it with regular use.

Lumberyard supports facial animation editing

When it comes to designing games, a lot of facial expressions are needed for the game characters. This game engine comes with a new powerful facial animation editor. This editor allows the developer to input real life expressions on their characters’ faces. This makes the game more realistic and more enjoyable.

Conclusion: Godot vs Lumberyard

Lumberyard is good game engine and has amazon to support it. But, as of now lumberyard is not as good as Godot is. Godot is free and open source, and will remain like that. We can’t say the same for lumberyard. If you are looking to go indie with game development, Godot is the best game engine to consider. If you are looking to get a job then you might consider Unity or Unreal.