I have tried godot 4 - alpha 4 & alpha 9 releases (win64). However, i received same messages below respectively. Almost same except line of the code depends on assert.


My system is like that below.
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3230M CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.60 GHz
Ram: 12 GB
OS: Windows10 - x64
Graphics Card: Embedded in Mainboard (driver details below)

Can I use Godot 4 any beta or stable release eventually with this configuration?

  • The cheapest new GPU you can buy, that supports all the latest standards is the RX 6400.

    https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeon-rx-6400-rx6400-cli-4g/p/N82E16814930068

    It's honestly a pretty weak card, but it's cheap, and for development of lower-end games it's probably okay (like I'm saying 2D games or classic 3D). However, you need a desktop computer and it looks like the OP is on a laptop. So their only option would be to buy a whole new laptop, which I would say is not a good idea to test alpha software. Godot 4.0 may be a year away from release, so it would make more sense to upgrade when it actually comes out (especially considering that GLES3 support may work by that time). Also, Godot 3.x still works fine and may be supported for another 2 years or who knows how long. So I think it would be premature to spend a bunch of money right now.

Looking on the Nvidia forums, the GT 720M is not Vulkan compatible (Nvidia had plans to support Vulkan on it, but they were dropped 6 years ago).
Currently Godot 4.0 is Vulkan only, so it can't run on a GT 720M. The devs say Godot 4.1 will have opengl support again, which should work.

You could install the vulkan tools and try to run "vulkaninfo". Can't tell how to do it on windows, but it shouldn't be too hard to look it up.

The GTX 720M may not enough to run a modern game engine. Though I am unsure.

    Pixophir You could install the vulkan tools and try to run "vulkaninfo". Can't tell how to do it on windows, but it shouldn't be too hard to look it up.

    There should be no need to install vulkan tools separately. If the nvidia or amd gpu drivers are recent enough/up to date it should be included. Or I guess if it's not then that is itself perhaps a sign that your gpu doesn't support vulkan.

    My GPU certainly supports vulkan in all its facets ;-)

    Ok, on Windows they are there, good to know. On Debian Linux, the tools are an own package.

    vulkaninfo is an executable If it reports that no instance can be created than there's probably no Vulkan.

    Yes, I quoted the statement about windows thinking that would make the context clear. I was indeed referring specifically to windows.

    Thanks for all precious answers...

    There is an impossible issue regarding Nvidia may support older cards with Vulkan driver on a close date.
    There is a maybe about Godot 4.1 will support openGL in next stages.

    As far as I know from the info in the net,
    most of the Android systems, on little older mobiles, have no support for Gles 3.0 (maybe Vulkan too)
    For this reason, I use Gles 2.0 with Godot 3.x.

    I believe that brand new computer and brand new mobiles dependent development does not exactly fit with the Godot "free" philosophy, especially in these economical crisis days and specifically in third world countries.

    At least, can anybody tell me whether the devs will continue to develop Godot 3.x for some additional years?

      Volkovino I believe that brand new computer and brand new mobiles dependent development does not exactly fit with the Godot "free" philosophy, especially in these economical crisis days and specifically in third world countries.

      Your mistake is in thinking that as soon as 4.0 is released that 3.x is invalidated. If you are targeting certain platforms then 3.x is probably the right choice. There's a reason 3.x has been getting not just bug fixes but continued new features of it's own. Indeed it is likely that 3.x won't be discontinued until a 4.x release has become a truly viable replacement.

      Yes, I agree with that. I think it's good that Godot is moving to Vulkan for the future, but sadly support is not great on old or lower end devices. Especially for mobile, the hardware and drivers are not mature, and a lot of non-flagship phones don't even support GLES3, let alone Vulkan. Which is why I am using Godot 3.x and GLES2 right now so the game can be played by the most people.

      I terms of Godot 4.0, we may be a year away (or longer) before it comes out, so technology will have advanced. And it's likely that Godot 3.x will be supported and maintained for some period even after 4.0 releases. No one has given an exact timeline, but I would guess at least a year, given that Godot 4.0 will not be complete at launch (missing WebGL and some other features).

      The GLES3 renderer is already in master, but it's pretty broken and missing a ton of features. Not usable for 3D right now, maybe for a simple 2D game, I don't know. If you build master from source, you can run the Godot 4.0 editor from the command line with this option.

      --rendering-driver opengl3

      Is there a software renderer for Windows ?

      On Linux, the MESA libraries have lavapipe for Vulkan and llvmpipe for OpenGL. Which make me think of a low consumption PC with onboard graphics for development.

      Will say: Godot 4.0 alpha 10 runs with the lavapipe renderer. At least it starts. If such a thing is available for Windows, it may be a (probably terribly sluggish) workaround until better hardware can be obtained.

      Edit: False alarm. It was only the entry screen that obeyed to manual gpu selection. The Editor reported use of the GPU.

        I've tried lavapipe, Godot 4.0 does open, but it's basically not viable. I tried even some 2D stuff and it was so slow I could not use the editor properly and then it eventually crashed. In any case, if your computer is so old it doesn't have Vulkan support, then there is little chance it is fast enough to software render.

        Pixophir Is there a software renderer for Windows ?

        Yes, you can try SwiftShader, which is a cross-platform CPU implementation of Vulkan. I haven't tried it, but my guess is it would be too slow for serious development. Though perhaps for some simple 2D or PSX-style 3D it would be enough.

        https://github.com/google/swiftshader

        Understood. So that's why it says "lavapipe is not a conformant Vulkan implementation. Testing use only." :-)

        Thanks. Well, not for me, I was thinking about a workaround for the OP's or possibly other venerable entry level graphics hardware.

        The cheapest new GPU you can buy, that supports all the latest standards is the RX 6400.

        https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeon-rx-6400-rx6400-cli-4g/p/N82E16814930068

        It's honestly a pretty weak card, but it's cheap, and for development of lower-end games it's probably okay (like I'm saying 2D games or classic 3D). However, you need a desktop computer and it looks like the OP is on a laptop. So their only option would be to buy a whole new laptop, which I would say is not a good idea to test alpha software. Godot 4.0 may be a year away from release, so it would make more sense to upgrade when it actually comes out (especially considering that GLES3 support may work by that time). Also, Godot 3.x still works fine and may be supported for another 2 years or who knows how long. So I think it would be premature to spend a bunch of money right now.

          All duly noted.
          for the noob indies (like me) ,which suck and filter info slow, it was enlightening for the recent developments.
          Now, I am aware about the possibilities and I can arrange the wide path to proceed regarding hardware, software, mobile market.

          Thank you for your intensive interest.

          cybereality The cheapest new GPU you can buy, that supports all the latest standards is the RX 6400.

          https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeon-rx-6400-rx6400-cli-4g/p/N82E16814930068

          If one's really on a budget, there's always the gt 1030(gddr version) for ~ 95:
          https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gt-1030-gv-n1030oc-2gi/p/1FT-000A-000G5

          But if you go scouring the right places you might be able to score a used RX 470 for about the same price, so I'd go for that instead. Either ways you're going to end up with a vulkan capable gpu that is multiple generations newer than what you must currently have if your current gpu doesn't even support vulkan.

            cybereality Godot 4.0 may be a year away from release, so it would make more sense to upgrade when it actually comes out (especially considering that GLES3 support may work by that time)

            this also makes sense considering how technology gets cheaper every year:

            1 year ago i had bought a laptop for school. it costed 800€ and it's stronger than the 3-year-old (or older) tower i still use at home that had costed 1000€ when i got it as a christmas gift.

            2 or 3 years ago i had bought my computer monitor for 500€. it has a 34cm tall SRGB screen with a reesolution of 1920×1080px and a refresh rate of 60Hz. now i have heard reports that some equivelant screns today cost only 300€.