Phaser, the popular HTML5 game framework, has released version 4.0.0 Beta 7, introducing a fundamental rewrite of its camera system alongside several improvements to GPU-based sprite handling and rendering.

The camera system overhaul represents the most significant change in this release, restructuring how camera matrices are calculated. Unlike the previous system in Phaser 3—which combined position, rotation, and zoom into a single matrix with scroll appended later—the new approach utilizes two distinct matrices to cleanly separate view from position.

"This change doesn't affect how you set camera properties to change the view. It mostly affects internal systems," states the changelog. However, developers who directly manipulate camera matrices should note several important differences:

  • Camera#matrix now incorporates scroll but excludes position
  • A new Camera#matrixExternal property has been introduced to handle position
  • Camera#matrixCombined multiplies the two matrices when needed

The restructured camera system resolves numerous issues with nested transforms, filters, and other transform-related operations that were problematic in previous versions.

Beta 7 also brings improvements to the SpriteGPULayer with several new methods including insertMembers, insertMembersData, and getDataByteSize, making efficient modifications easier. One-time particle effects and dynamic sources are now possible through non-looping animations in the GPU layer.

Other notable additions include improved parent matrix support for TilemapLayer and TilemapGPULayer during rendering, and default filtersFocusContext settings for the Shape class to prevent clipping of strokes at edges.

Several bugs have been fixed, including issues with the BatchHandler, SpriteGPULayer segment handling, and frame animation generation. The update also changes the default roundPixels game option to false to avoid potential visual artifacts, though this setting remains available for specific use cases.

The release continues to refine Phaser 4's evolving architecture as it progresses through its beta phase, delivering important performance and functionality improvements for HTML5 game developers.

You can test v4 Beta 7 now in the Phaser Sandbox, or download it from GitHub or npm using the beta tag.

Download Phaser v4 Beta 7