Change the default Android export behavior so that a .pck or .zip file of the project is pushed to the assets folder instead of the project files

[dariuspranskus]

Describe the project you are working on:
Any Godot project which needs to be exported to Android

Describe the problem or limitation you are having in your project:
Currently export to Android feature puts individual project files into assets folder on exported APK. Some of the files are exported as is in plain text. This allows easy retrieval of assets and other files.

Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation:
Change the default Android export behavior so that a .pck or .zip file of the project is pushed to the assets folder instead of the project files. This will make the extraction o the asset and other project files more difficult

Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudocode, mockups, and/or diagrams:
After the change, the export to Android feature will create a pck file in the exported APK file of all the projects files. then the load behavior needs to be changed to look also for PCK file.

If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script?:
It will be used every time the export to Android feature is used. No, it can't be easily worked around with a few lines of code

Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library?:
Because this is a core export functionality

[phil-hudson]

Hey, want to re-awaken this. As for new apps, Google does not allow APK upload, this system could potentially allow us to use AAB export (new requirement for Play Store) with encrypted internals.

Did you have any in progress commits/PRs?

Thanks

[dpnnl]

Still waiting for this in Godot 4. A way to not leave my project so exposed when exported to Android... Literally the entire structure of scenes and scripts is visible, even my comments on my scripts. 😮‍💨

[phil-hudson]

Should be resolved with godotengine/godot#76161

Ideally in 4.3