What are some good Vector graphics game engines ?
What are some good game engines that can export games with Vector graphics ?
Posted Sep 13, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC
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Godot works with raw .svg files by default.
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Could you be more specific? I did some digging and the closest I've come to Godot supporting raw .svg files is https://godotengine.org/article/godot-3-0-released#assets-svg
Daniel Ramirez (djrm) implemented importing SVG as bitmaps (with customizable resolution). This functionality is also used to better support HiDPI modes, as editor icons are converted to native resolution when the editor starts up.
This does not let you use SVGs directly as 2D meshes yet, but it's on the roadmap for future releases.
Importing the graphics as bitmaps is one thing, but that doesn't sound like export support...
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You are right, I have used raw SVGs in Godot but it does convert to bitmaps before runtime. You could likely look at how this occurs in the engine and modify it to convert in real time to achieve the result you want, but it would require C++ programming to make a plugin like that.
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Adobe Animate. Used to be called Adobe Flash, but nowadays it can export to pure HTML+Javascript.
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"it can export to pure HTML+Javascript"
Adobe has stopped supporting Flash.So, does Adobe Animate export graphic content (images, textures, gradients, etc.) in other vector formats(such as .SVG) ?
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Yes. It even has a pure SVG export mode (SVGs can include JavaScript).
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Adobe stopped supporting flash player. Not flash. It’s not really called flash these days though as the name changed to animate.
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Even if you build your art with vector graphics, they can be really expensive to render in realtime.
You could render fancy bezier curves in the CPU (which is what Flash did) but then you’re heavily limited with the number of lines/shapes on screen, plus you can’t use the CPU for other tasks.
The other option is to convert the vector art into polygonal meshes, which uses the GPU and can work pretty well but it still heavily limits the amount of detail you can show on-screen. Might be good for a fighting game with only 2 characters on the screen, but not a great idea for something like an RTS.
The more esoteric option would be signed distance fields. It uses the GPU, is not limited by detail, and keeps things looking really sharp at high zoom. But it generally only renders one color at a time, and it isn’t easy to convert a complex multi-colored vector art into SDF. This technique is often used for text and is very effective, but would probably not work for most vector art games.
But 99.9% of modern games with vector art import that art to the game engine as bitmap sprites. Every mainstream game engine has robust sprite rendering support, you can render many thousands or even millions of sprites on the screen. You don’t need to support infinite zoom, just make your sprites big enough that they look good on 4k displays. Mip-mapping also helps you render sprites at a varitey of zoom levels. You can add all kinds of detail, paint-over the vector art, and use post-processing effects on sprites easily.
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There’s a plug-in for vector graphics in Unity