Some of us are artistic, some of us are technical. A gifted few are both. But, if you\u2019re like me and are more on the technical side, then it\u2019s likely you\u2019ve decided to make a game or project, and then thought, how am I going to make it look good? The answer to this is inevitably searching on the likes of Sketchfab or TurboSquid for some free assets to bring your idea to life. At least in the concept stage.<\/p>\n
But then comes the second problem, importing them to your engine of choice. When working in Godot, there are a few nuances you need to be aware of when importing assets, and in this tutorial, you\u2019ll go over them in order to create a main menu scene for a horror game.<\/p>\n
Getting Started<\/h2>\n
For this, there\u2019s no starter project, but you can still download the final project from the links at the top or bottom of this page. Go ahead and create a new project in Godot using the default settings. For your main menu prototype you\u2019re going to need four different types of assets imported:<\/p>\n
- \n
- A static model to use as the scene.<\/li>\n
- An animated character model.<\/li>\n
- A texture to use as a title logo.<\/li>\n
- Two audio clips.\n
- \n
- Background music.<\/li>\n
- An eerie sound effect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
By the end of the tutorial, you should have something that looks a little like this:<\/p>\n
![\"End](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zight-Recording-2024-09-06-at-09.10.24-PM.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nSupported File Types<\/h2>\n
According to the list of features<\/a>, Godot only has a limited type of file formats that it supports with imports. In terms of image formats, Godot does support most of the standard formats. But for audio, you\u2019re limited to:<\/p>\n
Using Different 3D Model Types<\/h3>\n
For 3D model formats, Godot really recommends you use the glTF format. Its full list of supported formats are:<\/p>\n
- \n
- glTF 2.0.<\/li>\n
- .blend.\n
- \n
- However, this is only supported by blender calling a glTF formatter at export.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- FBX.\n
- \n
- This file format is supported natively by Godot since version 4.3.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
- Collada (.dae).<\/li>\n
- OBJ.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You may be familiar with some of these formats, but you can see that Godot really wants you to be using the glTF format. Another file type you\u2019ll see around the asset libraries is GLB. GLB format is just a binary representation of the same data as glTF format, so in this regard, Godot can work with either format.<\/p>\n
Importing 3D Models<\/h2>\n
For this project, you should open a blank Godot project. The 3D models that you\u2019re going to import in this tutorial are included in the project materials, or you can simply download them directly from the source.<\/p>\n
3D Environment<\/h3>\n
To take a look at the different import types, you\u2019ll look at both a GLB and a glTF import for this tutorial. You\u2019re looking for a spooky, \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 style environment, so this Abandoned Warehouse \u2013 Interior Scene<\/a> by Aur\u00e9lien Martel<\/a> on Sketchfab is the ideal starting point. When you click the download it\u2019s available as both glTF and GLB, but for the purposes of the tutorial, download the GLB format, or find the asset in the materials folder under the GLB folder.<\/p>\n
Abandoned Warehouse \u2013 Interior Scene <\/a> by Aur\u00e9lien Martel <\/a> on Sketchfab<\/a>\n<\/p>\n
Right-click on the res<\/em> folder in the File System<\/em> view, and create a new folder in your Godot project called Models<\/em>, and then another subfolder called GLB<\/em>. Right-click on this new folder and select Open in File Manager<\/em>. Drag or Copy the
abandoned_warehouse_-_interior_scene.glb<\/code> file into the GLB<\/em> folder and then return to the Godot editor.<\/p>\nGodot will start to import the file:<\/p>\n
![\"Godot](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-21.43.10.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nOnce the import process is complete, you\u2019ll have a lot of texture files in the folder along with the actual .glb file.<\/p>\n
![\"Imported](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-21.50.36.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDouble-click on the .glb file and the imported scene will open up in a new window for you to check out.<\/p>\n
![\"GLB](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Godot-Engine-2024-09-14-at-9.54.03-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEditing Scenes<\/h2>\n
When working in Godot with multiple assets, it\u2019s best to set them up as individual scenes for editing later. A game in Godot is typically composed of multiple scenes, loaded at the same time. From the top menu, click the
+<\/code> icon to create a new scene, and choose 3D Scene<\/em> as the root node.<\/p>\n![\"Create](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-22.14.19.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWith the new scene open, drag the imported .glb from the FileSystem<\/em> window onto the root node in the Scene<\/em> window. This will instantiate your model in this scene. Save this scene with the name Environment<\/em>.<\/p>\n
![\"Saved](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Screenshot-2024-09-14-at-22.22.00.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAnimated 3D Model<\/h3>\n
While the environment import was nice and simple, you\u2019ll try something a little more complex for the next import. What\u2019s a \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 inspired scene without the introduction of an iconic monster? For this you\u2019ll import the Demogorgon Rig<\/a> by NO DONT EAT ME CASEOH (Ferris wheel)<\/a> again from Sketchfab.<\/p>\n
Demogorgon Rig <\/a> by NO DONT EAT ME CASEOH (Ferris wheel) <\/a> on Sketchfab<\/a>\n<\/p>\n
This time, download the glTF format model or find it in the tutorial materials folder. Create another subfolder under the Models<\/em> folder called GLTF<\/em> and copy the entire folder demogorgon_rig<\/em> there. Open Godot to allow the asset to import like before.<\/p>\n
Open the scene.gltf<\/em> file that\u2019s now in the Models<\/em> \u25b8\ufe0e GLTF<\/em> \u25b8\ufe0e demogorgon_rig<\/em> folder.<\/p>\n
![\"Imported](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Warehouse.tscn-Asset-Import-Godot-Engine-2024-09-16-at-10.51.37-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHere you\u2019ll see that the model is a little more complex, broken down into various different meshes, including a skeletal rig. This is essential for the model to be animated, but thankfully, it\u2019s all set up for you already.<\/p>\n
![\"Advanced](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Advanced-Import-Settings-for-Scene-scene.gltf-2024-09-16-at-10.57.00-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAlso imported in this scene view are a number of different animations included in the asset. You can run through them all to take a look, but for the tutorial you\u2019ll use just one of these.<\/p>\n
Create a new scene as you did before for the environment, again with a 3D Scene<\/em> as the root node. Rename the node as Demogorgon<\/em>. This time, drag the Models<\/em> \u25b8 GLTF<\/em> \ufe0e\u25b8 demogorgon_rig<\/em> \ufe0e\u25b8 scene.gltf<\/em> onto the root node. This will instantiate the model as Sketchfab_Scene<\/em>, but only as a single static model Node3D<\/em>.<\/p>\n
Right-click on the Sketchfab_Scene<\/em> node and select Editable Children<\/em>. \u00a0Once you do, all the nodes from the asset will appear in the Godot scene.<\/p>\n
\ufe0e
![\"Asset](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Demo.tscn-Asset-Import-Godot-Engine-2024-09-16-at-11.16.05-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWith the nodes now editable, select the AnimationPlayer<\/em> node and look for the Current Animation<\/em> field in the Inspector<\/em> panel. Use the dropdown to select the IdleHunt<\/em> animation to see the model animating in place.<\/p>\n
![\"Animation](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Zight-Recording-2024-09-16-at-11.22.15-PM.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe animation only plays once. It\u2019s designed to loop, however, and this is what you want for the menu scene. Find the Animation Player<\/em> window at the bottom of your view, and toggle the Loop<\/em> button.<\/p>\n
![\"Toggle](\"https:\/\/files.koenig.kodeco.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Demo.tscn-Asset-Import-Godot-Engine-2024-09-16-at-11.24.26-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nUh oh, did you get the following error dialog?<\/p>\n