Godot Rendering — Quick Reference

Last verified: 2026-02-12 | Engine: Godot 4.6

What Changed Since ~4.3 (LLM Cutoff)

4.6 Changes

• D3D12 is the default rendering backend on Windows (was Vulkan)
• Glow processes before tonemapping (was after) — uses screen blending mode
• AgX tonemapper: new white point and contrast controls
• SSR overhauled: better realism, visual stability, and performance

4.5 Changes

• Shader Baker: Pre-compiles shaders to reduce startup time
• SMAA 1x: New anti-aliasing option (sharper than FXAA, cheaper than TAA)
• Stencil buffer support: Enables selective geometry masking/portal effects
• Bent normal maps: Directional occlusion encoded in normal map textures
• Specular occlusion: Ambient occlusion now correctly affects reflections

4.4 Changes

• RenderingDevice.draw_list_begin: Many parameters removed; optional breadcrumb added
• Shader texture types: Changed from Texture2D to Texture base type
• Particles .restart(): Added optional keep_seed parameter

4.3 Changes (in training data)

• Compositor node: Compositor + CompositorEffect for post-processing chains

Current API Patterns

Post-Processing (4.3+)

# Use Compositor node — NOT manual viewport shader chains
# Add Compositor as child of WorldEnvironment or Camera3D
# Create CompositorEffect resources for each post-process step

Anti-Aliasing Options (4.6)

Project Settings → Rendering → Anti Aliasing:
- MSAA 2D/3D: Hardware MSAA (quality but expensive)
- Screen Space AA: FXAA (fast, blurry) or SMAA (sharp, moderate cost)  # SMAA new in 4.5
- TAA: Temporal (best quality, ghosting on fast motion)

Rendering Backend Selection (4.6)

Project Settings → Rendering → Renderer:
- Forward+ (default): Full featured, desktop-focused
- Mobile: Optimized for mobile/low-end, limited features
- Compatibility: OpenGL 3.3 / WebGL 2, broadest hardware support

Windows default backend: D3D12 (was Vulkan pre-4.6)

Common Mistakes

• Assuming Vulkan is the default backend on Windows (D3D12 since 4.6)
• Using manual viewport chains instead of Compositor for post-processing
• Using Texture2D in shader uniform types (use Texture since 4.4)
• Not using Shader Baker for projects with many shader variants