Improving Godot Editor UX and Touch Precision for Mobile (Android)

[bludosDevv]

Problem or limitation

I am currently developing a horror project in Godot 4.6.1 on Android. While the engine's portability is impressive, the editor UI and touch interaction models currently hinder productive mobile-first development. Below are the specific issues regarding UI scaling and viewport precision.

Proposed improvement

1. UI Scaling and Layout Constraints

The Problem: At default scale, UI elements are too small for reliable finger touch targets. Increasing the "Editor Scale" to 200% solves the touch target issue but causes UI elements (like the Output console and bottom panels) to crop off-screen, making them inaccessible.
Screen Utilization: Even at high scaling, the UI does not seem to utilize the full horizontal width of the mobile display, resulting in wasted "dead zones" while critical panels remain cramped or hidden.
Request: Implementation of an adaptive UI layout or a "Mobile-Optimized Mode" that prevents panel cropping at higher scale factors.

2. Viewport Touch Precision & Selection Issues

The Problem: It is currently very difficult to select and transform objects in the 3D/2D workspace using touch. When attempting to scale or move a specific object, the editor frequently misinterprets the gesture, selecting background objects or moving adjacent nodes instead.
The Impact: This makes environmental layout and map building extremely tedious, as objects are often moved or deselected accidentally.
Request: Improved "Touch Gizmo" sensitivity and better hit-box prioritization for the currently selected object to prevent accidental selection of background elements.
I love using Godot and am currently working on a complex map for my project, but these scaling and touch issues are the primary blockers for completing it entirely within the mobile editor.

Steps to Reproduce:

Open Godot 4.6.1 on an Android device.
Set Editor Scale to 200% in Interface Settings.
Observe that the Output/Debugger panels are cropped.
Attempt to move or scale a small object in a scene with multiple overlapping nodes to observe the selection inaccuracy.

Proposal review

• Yes, this proposal is highly specific and actionable.

[AThousandShips]

Open one proposal for each proposed feature

[bludosDevv]

Even the snap grid dots are too small for touch. What if you guys implement Virtual mouse inside the engine for Android devices so everyone can use it like how winlator gives you controls and mouse pointer.

[bludosDevv]

Open one proposal for each proposed feature

Yes yes it's about the UI Directly

[AThousandShips]

That's completely unrelated to what I said, please read again, this proposal is not specific

[bludosDevv]

That's completely unrelated to what I said, please read again, this proposal is not specific

Im sorry 😔, I mean it's been bugging me for while now creating games inside it sorry

[AThousandShips]

Closing as you are not following the proposal instructions, please read the proposal process thoroughly and make specific proposals for specific ideas, or make discussions if you are just wanting to discuss ideas

[Amn4583]

@bludosDevv I actually implemented Virtual Mouse in godotengine/godot#118253. But sadly my PR was closed as per #14613 (comment). I think this will be great if we have a Virtual Mouse just like in winlator and helps a lot while using the Android editor. I spent a lot of time and effort on this. But they don't want to add something like that in the editor and that was disappointing. The catch is that people actually liked it and want to use it on Android editor. You can even download and test it right now on my fork.

[bludosDevv]

@bludosDevv I actually implemented Virtual Mouse in godotengine/godot#118253. But sadly my PR was closed as per #14613 (comment). I think this will be great if we have a Virtual Mouse just like in winlator and helps a lot while using the Android editor. I spent a lot of time and effort on this. But they don't want to add something like that in the editor and that was disappointing. The catch is that people actually liked it and want to use it on Android editor. You can even download and test it right now on my fork.

I will try it and i love this idea so much, and I agree with you. its soo disappointing that they don't really care about the mobile users neither do they want us to fix anything in anyway 😔

[bludosDevv]

@bludosDevv I actually implemented Virtual Mouse in godotengine/godot#118253. But sadly my PR was closed as per #14613 (comment). I think this will be great if we have a Virtual Mouse just like in winlator and helps a lot while using the Android editor. I spent a lot of time and effort on this. But they don't want to add something like that in the editor and that was disappointing. The catch is that people actually liked it and want to use it on Android editor. You can even download and test it right now on my fork.

oh boy! this is amazing but still needs on touch screen controls like winlator but more customisable and I love how it's working so well, you should also add cursor size and guesture options like two finger swipe up will do scroll down etc etc which will be amazing. i hate how they ignore us because I have done some fixes for Android too— they rejected it because there was an ai in use and I know I did but I tested it by myself, then I spent a month trying to find the issue myself and they still ignored me and my comment

[arkology]

that they don't really care about the mobile users neither do they want us to fix anything in anyway

This is simply not true. Please re-read #14613 (comment) again.

What we are looking into instead is to follow an approach similar to Xogot where we update the UI of the Android editor to be touch friendly. You can see some aspect of that with the TouchActionsPanel and the embedded Game view.
The tradeoff is that this will take longer to get right, but we think this is worthwhile tradeoff to deliver an uncompromised touch experience.

And it's not hidden somewhere in tons of RocketChat messages.

[bludosDevv]

that they don't really care about the mobile users neither do they want us to fix anything in anyway

This is simply not true. Please re-read #14613 (comment) again.

What we are looking into instead is to follow an approach similar to Xogot where we update the UI of the Android editor to be touch friendly. You can see some aspect of that with the TouchActionsPanel and the embedded Game view.
The tradeoff is that this will take longer to get right, but we think this is worthwhile tradeoff to deliver an uncompromised touch experience.

And it's not hidden somewhere in tons of RocketChat messages.

ohhh I get it, instead of emulating something, the engine should feel like a home to new android users! I agree with this one aswell

[Amn4583]

@bludosDevv Glad you liked it. This rejection is a lesson for me and I believe maybe next time we will make something really useful and keep improving the Android editor. During the making of this Virtual Mouse, I learnt a lot of new things about how godot handles the input and overall how it works. And this is good for me for the future development. I completely agree with #14613 (comment) because this implementation just solves a few problems but isn't suitable for long term use.