Engine source compilation to macos arm64 fails

This is a READ-ONLY snapshot of the Godot Community Forums when TwistedTwigleg was the owner, which is hosted for archival reasons only. The current Godot Community Forums can be found here.

Some links may point to external websites, including the current Godot Community Forums. These websites are not associated with TwistedTwigleg.

Engine source compilation to macos arm64 fails

grify

Hello! I am trying to build engine from source. I already have done so for godot 3.5 with no problems. Now, I am trying to do it again in a new place for the godot latest, for plugin development.
Following these official docs doesn't work for me.
I can get as far as scons compiling, same as I am used to doing on godot 3.5, but while I can compile to x86_64 (intel) no problem, I cannot compile to arm64 (M1), and instead get a massive error message (linked at bottom).
Any help and suggestions is appreciated

ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture arm64
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
scons: *** [bin/godot.macos.editor.arm64] Error 1
scons: building terminated because of errors.
[Time elapsed: 00:00:36.520]

(that is just the very end of the error, here is the full thing:

duane

Usually, when I get an error linking, it's because it ran out of memory.

grify

duane Kind of, yes, the process ran out of memory trying to load from libraries. My dev machine has 16GB, but I have a gaming computer with 32GB. Do you think that I should try to compile from my gaming computer instead?

Pixophir

I reckon because of ld you're compiling on Linux x86 for Apple ? Looks like a necessary library isn't linked correctly or cannot be found.

Searching "linker missing symbols " and one of the symbols it reports missing I find several information bits, don't know if they help.

grify

Pixophir I am not on linux and am not compiling to linux, but x86 is the archname for the earlier generation of macs with i5/i7 cpus (these are the same ones that ran intel integrated graphics and made running graphically intensive games on macs a nightmare pre-2020, giving macs their anti-gaming rep). I dev on a newer 16GB apple M1-series mac, no longer using intel and instead Apple's proprietary arm64 chips. I am trying to compile a build of godot engine editor for that same arm64 mac.
The missing library it needs is identified to be MoltenVK/Vulkan, but the reason I am posting this on Godot forums instead of Vulkan forums is because I already have Vulkan installed as per the docs' instructions, and that I can compile Godot with Vulkan just fine to x86 but not to arm64.

I am desperate for any help or guidance here because if I can't find this, then it will require me to either

abandon Godot for something more established (which I really don't want to do)
lock myself away from Godot4.x at master and only ever stay stuck on Godot3
Spend all my savings on a top-tier older apple computer that probably won't be any use to me besides donating thousands to Apple Corporation
None of these are appealing options to me. Any and all advice is much appreciated.

Megalomaniak

grify Does it hurt to try?

grify

Megalomaniak No, possibly not. I'll do so now.

Pixophir

@grify : This has nothing to do with Godot, but with missing libraries for the architecture you try to compile for. Options are:

Look up how to compile on your architecture to macos arm64. Apple forums or FAQ places I'd try.
Get a ready made executable (which Godot doesn't have apparently for macos arm64).
Switch game development to a better established platform. Will be most of your customers anyway. They don't cost as much as Apple, with comparable or better performance.
If you are already on macos arm64 install necessary dependencies and check your machine's configuration, library paths, ...

Maybe others I am not thinking of. Are there game engines for game dev on macos arm64 that can compare to Godot ?

grify

Pixophir What this has to do with Godot is that following the instructions on Godot's official documentation doesn't work.

I have already looked up all these errors, and best that I can tell they are specific to Vulkan being improperly installed.
I cannot use a readymade executable because it would prevent me from using custom modules and binding my own SDKs
I can't switch game development to "a better established platform", I am developing on a mac and I started this forum thread seeking help. It is unreasonable to suggest that the only way to proceed is by taking the impractical and expensive option of getting a windows computer specifically for game development even though Apple macs are usually industry standard for creative software and many design applications don't even support Windows.
I have tried installing the necessary dependencies (Specifically Vulkan and MoltenVK) through the official installer which said it had installed properly and with no errors. Godot still doesn't compile.

Is the only recommended course of action abandoning Godot Engine entirely? Because that is not preferable.

Megalomaniak

grify It is unreasonable to suggest that the only way to proceed is by taking the impractical and expensive option of getting a windows computer specifically for game development even though Apple macs are usually industry standard for creative software and many design applications don't even support Windows.

He didn't, he just acknowledged the option for completeness. It's just one of many in the list.

In this specific case I think your best course of action is to seek advice from the core developers, preferably specifically one who is in charge of and/or dedicated to building and maintaining the Mac OS X platform support. The contributors chat is likely your best bet for that.