Basic 3D Scene Setup in Godot 4

Why is everything dark?

I upgraded a project from Godot 3 to 4 and suddenly found that my game scene was completely black. As it turns out Godot 4 doesn’t have a default lighting. Here is what to do when you start a new Godot 4 project and need basic lighting for your scene.

If I create a new Scene and import a basic cube from Blender, this is what I see.

Here is how to fix it:

1. Add a DirectionalLight3D

Right-click your Scene hierarchy on the left of the screen and select “Add Child Node”

Search for DirectionalLight3D and click “Create”.

Now let’s orient it. Select it in the Scene hierarchy and in the Inspector give it a rotation as shown as follows.

Now, hit Play. The Scene is lit but there isn’t much ambient light.

2. Set up a WorldEnvironment

Next, let’s add another child Node called World Environment.

In the Inspector, click on the Environment <empty> field.

Select New Environment.

Click on Environment > Background > Sky.

Expand the Sky dropdown and select “New Sky”.

Next, click on the Sky value that appeared instead of <empty> and you’ll see a dropdown.

In the “Sky Material” click <empty> and select “NewProceduralSkyMaterial”.

Save the Scene and press Play and now you should be able to see the same cube with much better lighting.

Leave a message if you got stuck at a step. Good Luck!