Tweening

Tween property animation, easing curves, chaining, and lifecycle management define smooth programmatic motion.

Available Scripts

juice_manager.gd

Expert tween-based juice system with reusable effect presets (bounce, shake, pulse, etc.).

NEVER Do in Tweening

• NEVER create tweens without killing previous — Spam click button, create 100 tweens? Memory leak + conflicting animations. ALWAYS if tween: tween.kill() before creating new.
• NEVER tween in _process without create_tween() — create_tween() every frame? 60 tweens/second × 60 frames = 3600 tween objects. Create ONCE, reuse OR kill old.
• NEVER forget to set_parallel for simultaneous — Chain tween_property() expecting simultaneous? Sequential by default. Use tween.set_parallel(true) first.
• NEVER use 0-duration tweens for instant changes — tween_property(x, 0.0) for teleport? Overhead of tween system. Just set property: sprite.position = target.
• NEVER skip finished signal for cleanup — Tween completes, node still references it? Memory held. Connect tween.finished for cleanup OR null reference.
• NEVER use linear interpolation for UI — TRANS_LINEAR for button hover? Robotic feel. Use EASE_OUT + TRANS_QUAD OR EASE_IN_OUT + TRANS_CUBIC for organic motion.

extends Sprite2D

func _ready() -> void:
    # Create tween
    var tween := create_tween()
    
    # Animate position over 2 seconds
    tween.tween_property(self, "position", Vector2(100, 100), 2.0)

Tween Methods

Property Animation

# Tween single property
var tween := create_tween()
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "modulate:a", 0.0, 1.0)  # Fade out

# Chain multiple tweens
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position:x", 200, 1.0)
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position:y", 100, 0.5)

Callbacks

var tween := create_tween()
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position", Vector2(100, 0), 1.0)
tween.tween_callback(func(): print("Animation done!"))
tween.tween_callback(queue_free)  # Delete after animation

Intervals

var tween := create_tween()
tween.tween_property($Label, "modulate:a", 0.0, 0.5)
tween.tween_interval(1.0)  # Wait 1 second
tween.tween_property($Label, "modulate:a", 1.0, 0.5)

Easing Functions

var tween := create_tween()
tween.set_ease(Tween.EASE_IN_OUT)  # Smooth start and end
tween.set_trans(Tween.TRANS_CUBIC)  # Cubic curve
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position:x", 200, 1.0)

Common Combinations:

• EASE_IN + TRANS_QUAD: Accelerating
• EASE_OUT + TRANS_QUAD: Decelerating
• EASE_IN_OUT + TRANS_CUBIC: Smooth S-curve
• EASE_OUT + TRANS_BOUNCE: Bouncy effect

Advanced Patterns

Looping Animation

var tween := create_tween()
tween.set_loops()  # Infinite loop
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "rotation", TAU, 2.0)

Parallel Tweens

var tween := create_tween()
tween.set_parallel(true)

# Both happen simultaneously
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position", Vector2(100, 100), 1.0)
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "scale", Vector2(2, 2), 1.0)

UI Button Hover Effect

extends Button

func _ready() -> void:
    mouse_entered.connect(_on_mouse_entered)
    mouse_exited.connect(_on_mouse_exited)

func _on_mouse_entered() -> void:
    var tween := create_tween()
    tween.tween_property(self, "scale", Vector2(1.1, 1.1), 0.2)

func _on_mouse_exited() -> void:
    var tween := create_tween()
    tween.tween_property(self, "scale", Vector2.ONE, 0.2)

Number Counter

extends Label

func count_to(target: int, duration: float = 1.0) -> void:
    var current := int(text)
    var tween := create_tween()
    
    tween.tween_method(
        func(value: int): text = str(value),
        current,
        target,
        duration
    )

Camera Smooth Follow

extends Camera2D

@export var follow_speed := 5.0
var target: Node2D

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    if target:
        var tween := create_tween()
        tween.tween_property(
            self,
            "global_position",
            target.global_position,
            1.0 / follow_speed
        )

Best Practices

1. Kill Previous Tweens

var current_tween: Tween = null

func animate_to(pos: Vector2) -> void:
    if current_tween:
        current_tween.kill()  # Stop previous animation
    
    current_tween = create_tween()
    current_tween.tween_property(self, "position", pos, 1.0)

2. Use Signals for Completion

var tween := create_tween()
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position", Vector2(100, 0), 1.0)
tween.finished.connect(_on_tween_finished)

func _on_tween_finished() -> void:
    print("Animation complete!")

3. Chaining for Sequences

var tween := create_tween()

# Fade out
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "modulate:a", 0.0, 0.5)
# Move while invisible
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position", Vector2(200, 0), 0.0)
# Fade in at new position
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "modulate:a", 1.0, 0.5)

Common Gotchas

Issue: Tween stops when node is removed

# Solution: Bind tween to SceneTree
var tween := get_tree().create_tween()
tween.tween_property($Sprite, "position", Vector2(100, 0), 1.0)

Issue: Multiple conflicting tweens

# Solution: Use single tween or kill previous
# Always store reference to kill old tween

Reference

• Godot Docs: Tween

Related

• Master Skill: godot-master