Basic Basic questions

OlderThanTheDinosaurs

So the last game dev I did I think was in unity maybe 7/8 years back, in Unity using C#. Before that it was AS3 in Adobe Flash (with some javascript along the way). I've been meaning to get back into game dev before I get so old I can't see the monitor anymore. I've some very specific projects planned. All 2d. All pixel art (Which I'll do as I actually did some pixel game work, back when everything was pixel art). Below, I've got some questions and if anyone has any suggestions that would be great. I'm deciding right now between Godot and GameMaker, but heavily leaning towards Godot because of being open source, and with recent developments that might prove to be very important.

1) I never used the actual editor in Flash or Unity. I just had an initial script which set things up and then I was into the mainloop, and then called any other code needed, with everything being created from code. Is that doable in Godot? It seems the modern way of doing things is putting scripts on objects/nodes, but that's just confusing to me. I would rather keep it all in my head 🙂
2) The first game I want to create is an old school, top down shooter. I read the tweet about putting some code as C# for performance, but I imagine I'm not going to need more than a few thousand sprites on screen at a time, so I'll be fine with GDScript?
3) Are there any tips/shortcuts/things to know/avoid with using pixel art with Godot?
4) My 2nd game will require some access to server data (There will be some asynchronous/multiplayer aspects to it) How is that kind of thing done in Godot? Are there plugins for that kind of thing?
5) These will be PC/Mac games only, and I want to sell them on Steam. Anyone have examples of Godot games on Steam? Or is there any list somewhere?

Tomcat

OlderThanTheDinosaurs Anyone have examples of Godot games on Steam? Or is there any list somewhere?

Godot-made games on Steam

duane

OlderThanTheDinosaurs 1) I never used the actual editor in Flash or Unity.

I use gvim to edit, almost exclusively. You don't have to use the godot ide for much if you're not making complex animations or doing 3D. In theory you could do everything in one file (which would be the script attached to your main scene). I make a file for each custom object I create. All of my godot objects are created from code, even the background texture.

Here's an unfinished example. You'll notice I have one, mostly empty scene, because it's mandatory.

I do keep the ide open so I can browse the built-in documentation and use the debugger when I need it.

2) I read the tweet about putting some code as C# for performance...

Gdscript is faster than it used to be. C# is still faster, but not more than 2-3x, and that's only if you're doing a lot of number crunching. The godot functions do most of the heavy lifting, so gdscript will work fine.

Toxe

OlderThanTheDinosaurs before I get so old I can't see the monitor anymore

We are getting there. 😉

Yes, you probably can. But I feel like the Godot "IDE" works pretty well and I am fine with doing stuff in the Godot editor and writing most of my GDScript code in VSCode.
GDScript seems fine so far and you should learn it first. Personally I'd rather stick with GDScript and then add C++ where beneficial as I don't really care for C#.
Make sure that you set the sprite import settings to not interpolate and preserve the pixel art sharpness. There are Youtube videos about this exact topic.

samuraidan

the most successful steam games made in godot I know of are brotato, cassette beasts, and cruelty squad. actually brotato is a top down 2D shooter so it's probably double worth looking at for you.

every other question is something I'm unfamiliar with and will leave to others