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Official 2020 Roadmap Q&A - Core Engine & Creator Tools

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by LeonhardP, Mar 23, 2020.

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  1. rustum

    rustum

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    Hi @JoNax97,
    There are many benefits to being part of the Universal Render Pipeline. The most important one is that the 2D Renderer is able to easily use all the foundational work that has already been done here and provide that to creators of 2D experiences in a unified way. This means 2D rendering can take advantage of SRP batching, integrated post-processing, simple Shader Graph integration and camera stacking among many other features.
     
  2. rustum

    rustum

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    We are very interested in doing this. The plan is still forming and we'd love to be informed by your thoughts on mixing 2D and 3D elements. Tell us about your project and goals in the 2D forums here.
     
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  3. optimise

    optimise

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    Any plan to fully convert SRP, URP and HDRP to DOTS tech codebase (exclude current UnityEngine graphics render backend)? I see Unity want to implement and support more and more features and it starts to have the tendency of maintenance nightmare and performance issue. If I understand correctly, the current approach Unity going on is creating another Hybrid Renderer on top of SRP, URP and HDRP then open a hole to plug in Hybrid Renderer. Why not just start fully converting the whole SRP, URP and HDRP to DOTS tech codebase in the first place?

    After conversion, you can do something like how current DOTS physics does that able to swap to Havok physics but still using the same set of data protocols. I think Shader Graph and other features can apply the same principle to solve problem. I think this has to be done asap before it's too late.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
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  4. TerraUnity

    TerraUnity

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    Since there was no direct information for the upcoming open-world shooter project in development which sounds exciting, would you please share more info on this? Is it a streaming environment such as MegaCity demo?

    As it utilizes the new non-destructive layer-based environment system, would you also elaborate more on what this means and its relation to the current terrain system, because the opened frame for these topics are so limited and can't get my head around them.

    Glad to see Unity working on a seemingly complete game title rather than a technical demo with customized engine source, thanks for all the hard work.
     
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  5. castor76

    castor76

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    Any ETA on Unity 2D light shadow improvement? I am specifically talking about :

    1. Support for soft shadow
    2. Support Tilemap collider.

    Answer:
     
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  6. Andrew_Bowell

    Andrew_Bowell

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    Thanks for the feedback. Yes, we take the stablization of LTS as a very high priority. Generally our process is to fix bugs on trunk first (i.e. the next release of Unity) and then backport the fixes to current and LTS branches. The exact mechanics for doing that depend on the nature of the bug, the dependencies it may have to other components, the state of the older releases, its user pain value. But key is to know that we look at each bug in this way and make an assessment. We have a team fully engaged to backport fixes to older versions of Unity. Thanks again for your feedback.
     
  7. ans_unity

    ans_unity

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    Hi desertGhost,

    Because DOTS.Animation rely on important experimental tools, like animation graph and state machine, we are keeping the whole package in experimental mode for the rest of the year. Our commitment to stability is paramount and we are taking every step to make sure you will have a great experience at release.

    In the meantime, we have a sample project available for early adopters that is updated regularly: https://github.com/Unity-Technologies/Unity.Animation.Samples. This will add the package to your manifest.

    Our latest version for DOTS.Animation package is coming up next week if you are interested.

    Cheers!
     
  8. DanielTG

    DanielTG

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    Yes this is a known issue and there are various performance considerations we need to consider as the team is investigating a solution.

    Thank you again for the feedback,
    Daniel
     
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  9. JC-Cimetiere

    JC-Cimetiere

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    Yes there is some serious work going on to optimize DOTS usage on mobile platforms with Unity!
    Besides the ongoing improvement discussed in the roadmap presentation for Universal Render Pipeline (URP) including refinement for iOS/Metal and Android/Vulkan, we are working on the DOTS Hybrid Renderer V2 which is designed to work with URP/Mobile. It will enable taking full advantage of DOTS systems on mobile. It’s in an early experimental phase, you can read more there: https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/com.unity.rendering.hybrid@latest
    The timing for this to be production ready is not known yet.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
  10. optimise

    optimise

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    Will sample project include URP mobile update next week too?
     
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  11. UlasKarademir

    UlasKarademir

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    That is exactly the reason we are doing internal productions, our goal is to verify and provide early feedback to R&D- We would like to have different features getting tested and develop in real production environments. We don't have any plans about releasing the projects as commercial products. We will release source code and assets like we always do.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
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  12. optimise

    optimise

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    What's ETA of releasing next big DOTS Sample update that show at In Development section of the roadmap?
     
  13. MCrafterzz

    MCrafterzz

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    Will you implement decal support for URP? And will the legacy render pipeline be removed? If so, when?

    Answer:
     
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  14. optimise

    optimise

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    Is that new non-destructive layer-based environment system for terrain is the DOTS terrain that Joachim mention last time? Will it optimize for URP mobile platform? Will it support level streaming by default like how Megacity sample project works? Currently Unity terrain is very resource intensive for mobile platform. I hope this new environment system can solve this problem by providing something like lightweight environment mode that optimizes specifically for mobile platform.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 30, 2020
  15. atranson

    atranson

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    I have seen a lot of great things concerning the package manager (including the support for private npm repositories!). I think it is going in the right direction with, hopefully, an improved dependency resolution soon.

    That being said, I was wondering if there was any plan to support Nuget packages in a proper way any time soon?
    Currently, as far as I know, when we want to use a given Nuget package we always need to download it, unzip it and locate the right dll. Then we have two possibilites:
    - Copy the dll into our Plugins folder
    - Copy the dll and put it in a Unity package which is published to a npm repository so that it can be downloaded through the package manager (via scoped registries for example).

    Either way, it is pretty cumbersome and it feels unnatural when you are used to download those Nuget packages with just a few clicks in Visual Studio... Will there be anything in the near future that would allow a somehow seamless integration with the package manager ecosystem?
    Something like being able to declare Nuget packages dependencies in Unity packages
    package.json
    or in the project
    manifest.json
    would be awesome.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 30, 2020
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  16. UlasKarademir

    UlasKarademir

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    I lead the new internal production group inside unity. We have set up couple of internal productions teams that represent different parts of the game specific domains, We would like to ensure that each new Unity version works until such a tie doesn't make sense. Currently we are going though a library of content and evaluating what and how we can support.
     
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  17. DanielTG

    DanielTG

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    Hi @JoNax97,
    Supporting the UPM format on the Asset Store is still in the longer term plan but the current in-development priorities are to focus on polishing the 'My Assets' Asset Store integration and the core Unity Package Manager user experiences . We still have various limitations to address before the UPM format is ideal suited for majority of Asset Store publishers (mainly a workflow to allow 'editable' packages assets). If you have other questions please do let us know.

    Thanks,
    Daniel
     
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  18. quixotic

    quixotic

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    Yes, decal support is planned (see our public roadmap, if you vote on features there this helps us with prioritization).

    The built-in render pipeline has been a core part of our engine for many years, and it will eventually make sense for us to remove this. We have no timeline. The first step would be to mark it as legacy. As a point of comparison, the last rendering path we marked as legacy were the pre-5.0 deferred and vertex lit path, after 5 years of them having been named legacy we're now looking at removing them.

    And to answer the likely follow up question - "when will we mark built-in as legacy?" - Currently support is committed for built-in render pipeline to 2020.LTS. We are deeply engaging with our customers and internal teams to define the timeline and the plan for deprecation for built-in. We will continue to evaluate this, and it will be a data driven decision based on adoption. This is not a move we will make lightly. We will continue to add support for new platforms for built-in.

    Additionally, we are working towards Universal Render Pipeline becoming the default, and reaching feature parity with built-in as we are investing in SRPs as the future.
     
  19. Flipps

    Flipps

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    Thanks for the really great talk!

    The next talk on Wednesday 01.04 will be about Multiplayer. Does this also include Unity Netcode (especially the simplyfied ghost setup) or does this only target multiplay & co?
     
  20. AndrewKaninchen

    AndrewKaninchen

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    Just to be sure, is this latest version one that includes the Compositor shown in the roadmap? I'm very excited to play with that.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 30, 2020
  21. DanielTG

    DanielTG

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    Hi @atranson,

    Thank you for the positive feedback. The team is really determined in making the package manager a reliable, scalable system not just for Unity's developed packages, but for our users' own packages as well.

    Unfortunately, natively supporting Nuget packages in the Unity Editor is not a near future plan or in any form of active development. We fully understand the request, and how the current workflows aren't ideal. We just aren't in a position to support another package management when there is much more work left to do for the Unity Package Manager experience.

    Thank you again,
    Daniel
     
  22. Rowlan

    Rowlan

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    For which Render Pipelines will the Environment System be built? If multiple, which one will be first?

    Answer:
     
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  23. quixotic

    quixotic

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    We will continue evolving our rendering technology. Converting everything graphics truly to DOTS will mean a complete rework of our underlying renderer, and this will be a significant undertaking. Hybrid renderer helps us provide maximal project upgradability and continuity. We expect to have entities mixed with monobehavior for at least a couple of years, and providing a bridge for that makes it easier for people to transition over time.
     
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  24. quixotic

    quixotic

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    Yes, it is DOTS terrain. We will optimize it for URP & mobile - though right now we're focused on workflows and getting a solid MVP. We are doing work on streaming and it's a progression from what we've previously had. We want to improve lots of things from the current terrain system and performance is definitely a focus point for us.
     
  25. optimise

    optimise

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    What's the current progress of DOTS Addressables? I didn't hear any more updates after the announcement.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 1, 2020
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  26. optimise

    optimise

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    From what I understand the current Texture Streaming feature powered by Graphine tech only works for high end platforms. How about Texture Streaming for mobile platforms?

    Answer:
     
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  27. rustum

    rustum

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    Hi @castor76,
    Without getting into specific dates, let me reassure you that this work is part of the top priority for the 2D graphics team, namely performance and workflow improvements for 2D graphics happening this year into the next. It's worth noting that 2D shadow caster shapes are independent of the collider and as such shadow support for Tilemaps will not necessarily be bound to their colliders. We are always interested in hearing more about how you are planning to use them in your projects so please join us in the 2D forums here and tell us more!
     
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  28. optimise

    optimise

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    Are there any plan to fix all kinds of bugs cause by poor legacy Unity design (not limited to core engine C++ part of render pipeline)? I see there is hack fix at URP and I dun really want URP ends up become built-in render pipeline 2.0 with crazy amount of hack fixes.

    upload_2020-3-28_12-45-37.png

    Answer:
     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2020
  29. optimise

    optimise

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    Any plan to support WebAR and WebVR? I guess it should be part of Project Tiny features.

    Answer:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 30, 2020
  30. Rowlan

    Rowlan

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    In Open World games Shadows make a huge difference. I made a post about that here. When there are no shadows on distant trees everything looks flat. If you extend the shadow cascades you can see quite the difference. However the cascade close to the player flickers in that case. Will Unity address this problem and give close and distant terrain shadows importance in the new environment system? Will we get an improvement for this problem in the current terrain system? I tried in HDRP as you can see in this post, but don't get results that I'm happy with. And what about URP?

    Answer:
     
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  31. optimise

    optimise

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    Does input lag issue has been fixed at new Input System like for example creating rhythm game needs highly responsive input?

    Answer:
     
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  32. optimise

    optimise

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    Any plan to write specialized highly optimized platform backend codebase for every platform instead of writing all in one super slow generic platform backend codebase to support every platform? From what I know, Unity platform backend is using super slow generic platform backend codebase that transfer data byte by byte at one time instead of just memcopy.
     
  33. xoofx

    xoofx

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    We had to delay this feature to focus on more critical issues requested by many studios (debuggability, compilation time...). We hope to comeback to this later this year.
     
  34. sinjinn

    sinjinn

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    Can I make a DOTS game right now or this year? with a DOTS charachter controller.

    The reason I ask is that I am new to programming, so there's a lot of unknown unknowns for someone like me, who doesn't fully understand any code yet. I don't really like the idea of learning Monobehaviour/inheritence patterns, if it's all redundant by the end of the year. I'd like to start in DOTS. Could I ship a simple game and do you have DOTS chrachter controller stuff in DOTS sample?

    While I' am here. Is the Animation Rigging package going to be left as "make your own stuff with these tools" or is it being extended in some way. It looks very interesting. I wish there was a Unity Learn course that takes you through a simple Workflow, or a Unity Learn Live session, integrating player controller, animations. constraints, etc . If you notice on reddit, this kind of procedural animation is very popular because it fakes stuff extremely well. I'd say this is the current hotness, you need to throw in more ingredients and make it simmer to make a spicy procedural soup.

    Is the Animation Rigging package on pause to integrate later with DOTS animation?

    How big a deal is Kinematika? and how well integrated are these tools with each other?

    When will playable Graphs become easier to learn?
     
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  35. Edy

    Edy

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    Hold on, so you're really planning to move everything to ECS and deprecate MonoBehaviour?
     
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  36. Kamyker

    Kamyker

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    I really wish that we would have "Live Projects" (similar to Live Game) created by both Unity and community. Instead we have Abandoned Projects that were made just to showcase some kind of preview feature.

    For ex. live-link that didn't work on ipad:
    Probably 99% viewers missed it.

    Answer:

     
    Last edited: Mar 28, 2020
  37. mfuad

    mfuad

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    Thanks for the question. While we don't have any concrete plans to share at this time, we are excited about technologies like Project Tiny, which could eventually support XR on the web.
     
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  38. lukaszunity

    lukaszunity

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    Could you ask this on the new input system forum? And provide more details such as which devices and which platform you are experiencing issues on?
     
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  39. ans_unity

    ans_unity

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    The quick answer is that we work on a DOTS only solution for visual scripting.

    More precisely, we are developing a game object based editing workflow that will run in DOTS. So when working in the editor you will be in a familiar environment and you will be able to manipulate game objects like you are used to. We will take care of executing it in DOTS at runtime to benefit from the performance gains.

    We will release a major experimental version (drop 8) tomorrow and I invite you to take a look at our forum to get the latest news: https://forum.unity.com/threads/dots-visual-scripting-6th-experimental-drop.795807/page-2.
     
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  40. Adam-Mechtley

    Adam-Mechtley

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    We have the ComponentExtensions class, which has methods for adding impulses. As in classic Unity or anything else, adding force is simply the process of doing this over the course of several frames. If you have other specific use cases you feel like are not adequately covered right now, we'd love to have your feedback in the DOTS Physics sub-forum!
     
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  41. marc_tanenbaum

    marc_tanenbaum

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    Noted! Any feature still in development is subject to changes, reprioritization, deprioritization, or even cancellation. So take everything that follows with a big grain of salt.

    As I mentioned in a follow up, our first use cases are definitely terrain-related, so we're right there with you on that need. There are numerous considerations, however, when it comes to bringing out new features to support previously existing releases, especially when the new tool is at such an early phase. So I can't promise anything around 19.3 specifically. The new system uses DOTS for performance, but I've seen it work on GameObjects, so for some use cases, at least, it can assist in non-DOTS projects. And of course we intend it to work with Universal and HD Render Pipelines.
     
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  42. ans_unity

    ans_unity

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    Yes it will eventually include it. Compositor is at the moment two distinct efforts: the animation graph and the animation state machine.They are separate packages though and our early experimental animation graph will soon be included in our public experimental releases. Work is just starting on the new animation state machine so expect the first public experimental packages for end of year or early next year.
     
  43. quixotic

    quixotic

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    The Environment system will support HDRP and Universal Render Pipeline. I believe the only bit that is unique to render pipeline is the shader. The HDRP shader has been made first so, technically HDRP though we intend full support for both.
     
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  44. quixotic

    quixotic

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    SRP is a way of getting past many of the older design decision in the built-in renderer. As we encounter issues that pop up in URP and HDRP, we take a look at the cost of the fix in core Unity vs. the cost of a workaround. We prefer the real fix but there are a few things where this isn't possible so we have to use a workaround. We are limited by our need to avoid breaking project, and are able to evolve as people adopt newer tech. The SRP codebase in general is actually a lot cleaner than the built-in renderer.
     
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  45. quixotic

    quixotic

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    Our texture streaming requires compute shaders and modern graphics APIs (like Vulkan or Metal), which limits the devices we can support. We do plan to support texture streaming for a subset of mobile devices, which ones/how many will depend on what we encounter when we work on support. As part of this, we are planning on bringing Virtual Texturing to the Universal Render Pipeline - more information to come as we solidify our plan.
     
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  46. quixotic

    quixotic

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    Shadows for large distances is on our roadmap - we’re working on getting out our initial new environment first. Per your HDRP shadow issue they should be working -that’s not one we’ve been able to reproduce. So check your setup and check that VS is supporting HDRP (unsure what level of support is offered there). We don’t plan on adding any features or doing any major refactors to the current terrain system.
     
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  47. LaurentGibert

    LaurentGibert

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    Hi @Edy,

    Thank you for the suggestions. We cannot share any news today related to those requests, but I am taking notes of those so that we can consider them when we get the opportunity to improve the PhysX integration.

    Laurent
     
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  48. LeonhardP

    LeonhardP

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    From the devs:

    Today, addressables is an optional and feature-rich wrapper around the engine's asset bundle system. Using asset bundles without addressables is challenging and requires writing a lot of custom code.

    In the DOTS future, the functionality currently in addressables will be broken into two categories. The core functionality (potentially items like: properly building content, managing dependencies, ref-counting) will become a core piece of DOTS. This will no longer be optional, but instead will be automatic and transparent. The optional "addressables" layer on top of DOTS will be lighter and focused more on content layout and distribution.
    Exactly how this division unfolds is unclear at this time. There are two key takeaways here.

    First, the current version of addressables will not "just work" with DOTS at some point. There will instead be an Addressables v2 that depends on DOTS. Second is that we are learning from the current addressables and focusing our energy on making sure v2 will cover all the same use-cases of today's addressables, with minimal amounts of re-learning.
     
  49. Matjio

    Matjio

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    Hi @atorisa ,
    Yes, Unity Recorder is Editor only and targeting offline high end recording.
    We have no plan for runtime recording currently.
    Best,
    Mathieu
     
  50. MartinGram

    MartinGram

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    Hello @Kamyker

    The DOTS Sample is alive and well, it recently received a small update to a newer version of 2019.3. There are more updates planned, and we are using it internally as a living project to validate new and existing features.

    Regarding Live Link as shown above, while obviously a preview feature, we wanted to show just how far reaching our ambitions for increasing user productivity and iteration speed goes. We are actively working on Live Link and Live Link functionality and will show case more progress throughout the year.

    Regarding the spoilers:
    The tablet on the table is a Surface Pro. It updated once the tablet got back into WiFi range. This was the first time during our presentations that it failed to update. Lesson learned about WiFi driven demos in front of live audiences, again.

    Live Link was developed and first ran on an iPad. We chose to use a SurfacePro for the presentation to keep all devices on the same architecture in order to reduce complexity.
     
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