In Godot 3.2 FBX support was improved by implementing the open source AssImp library. In the upcoming release of Godot 3.2.4 we are getting an all new FBX importer. While based on AssImp initially, this project took over a year to developed, removed over 50K lines of non-FBX related code and made improvements across the board.
Developer Gordon MacPherson recently wrote about the experience on the Godot blog and detailed the following changes:
- We rewrote all the mesh code to support all formats of FBX meshes correctly.
- We built an entire abstraction for the FBX transform information, which was a very complex and convoluted undertaking to get working properly.
- We designed a better handler for the animations which can compensate for the complex transform information, which means that we can handle animations correctly.
The project is ready for use but there are some plans in the pipeline:
- Finish porting the rewrite to Godot 4.0 (we use the
3.2branch in production, so that’s where this was developed and quality controlled by many users). - Locator bones. Right now, you need to bake your animation before exporting.
- Improve material mappings (most are supported, some need mapping).
- Fix bugs in the beta phase, we expect them.
Be sure to check out the blog post for details on the project, why they did it and why you should care. In the video below we put Godot 3.2.4 through the paces with a couple FBX tests, including this scene from Sketchfab. Unfortunately until Godot 3.2.4 is released, you will have to build Godot from source, just be sure to checkout the 3.2 branch from GitHub. Special thanks to IMVU for sponsoring the project.