Combining Assets for a fully featured game

Hey all,

So I've never used Unity - all of my experience is with Unreal Engine 3, 4 and Source Engine. I'm an artist not a programmer and I'd love to make a simple game project by utilizing some of the asset packs from the store but I'm wondering how difficult it is to get multiple projects to work together? For example if I wanted to make a hover racing game, I've noticed that there's a great hover car asset:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/44792

as well as a good basic racing system asset:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/45698

I'm just wondering how difficult it would be to get these two systems working together for someone who doesn't know a thing about programming? I doubt its as simple as plugging the two assets into your project but If this were a UE4 package for example, I could simply replace the car reference from the racing system asset with the hover vehicle and it would work. Wondering if the process is similar with Unity?

Thanks!

 

Maybe — it depends on how the racing system is simulating the car. It might be doing some fancy vehicle physics involving wheel traction, etc., and so it would require a vehicle that has wheels.

But if it is a more simple simulation, where the vehicle is essentially just a decorated box, then sure, you could drop in a hovercraft model (or anything else) and it would function.

It wouldn't handle like a hovercraft, of course, without some tweaking (and quite likely some coding) somewhere.

 

I'm thinking you didn't look at the assets. They were code assets not models. I'm asking if its easy to get two independently coded systems communicating together. The racing one is only a position, checkpoint and lap system and the hovercraft is the code to make the hovercraft function. I think what would be easier though is to simply implement my own lap and checkpoint system on top of the hovercraft code.

 

Generally, the answer to that question is always "No, it's not easy." Possible, sure. But not easy. Some assets go out of their way to integrate with the most popular frameworks (like Playmaker), and some offer a well documented API, but otherwise, I would assume you have to put a decent bit of effort into making things act as if they were made for each other.

You probably have the right of it by planning out and rolling your own system to integrate other assets into. When in doubt, before buying an asset you plan on extending somehow, contact the developer and ask for documentation or some kind of indicator you can use it how you intend to.

 

Thanks Schneider21. I wasn't sure how Unity was set up to utilize the different packages. I was hoping maybe that there was a global system in place that you could simply use to connect different assets together. Its essentially the same setup as UE4 then which I find funny considering that the reason someone would want to purchase a programming asset is because they don't know how to code

 

Not necessarily because they don't know how to code. I consider myself a perpetual intermediate programmer, and I'd be interested in (but have yet to buy) code-based assets if they saved me a good deal of time. Just because I could make something doesn't mean it's practical for me to do so. Even if I have to spend a number of hours incorporating it into my other assets, if it saves me several dozen hours, that's a good bit of time (read: money) off my project!

 

Very good point I guess I'm just sad because I can't code at all and it would be so much nicer to have a plug N play setup

 

Don't be discouraged! Anyone can learn to write code. It just takes time and dedication. Start with the basics, push yourself to learn something every day, and don't give in to the urge to say "Screw it" and quit!

 

ha ha! Thanks for the advice, its very true. I applied the same reasoning to every other aspect of game design so this year I'm definitely doing the same for programming