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heat map with unity analytics

Discussion in 'Unity Analytics' started by codejoy, Feb 12, 2015.

  1. codejoy

    codejoy

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    So I am guessing I would want to create custom events that log a death with a location and a level and I could generate a heat map with this that shows where players are dying...am i on the right path?


    And it says only for iOS and android, does this mean there is no PC support even? (saw where it said no web support)
     
  2. angeloferro

    angeloferro

    Moderator

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    Hey @codejoy ,

    You can create a custom event that passes the location and level when a player dies to Unity Analytics, and use that data to generate heat map. Unity Analytics does not have heat map functionality, so you'll need to use additional tools to generate a heat map.

    Unfortunately, we don't yet offer a way to export the data at the user level (the data you can export from the dashboard is aggregated at the segment level). We are considering building a raw data export API in the future (list of APIs we are considering is here).

    Currently we support only iOS and Android platforms, but we'll keep the community updated once we extend support to PC, web and other platforms :)
     
  3. codejoy

    codejoy

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    Ty for the freed back... I am so new to this (like just a few hours ago checked this out) so not sure what you mean on the user level vs segment but it is possible it does sound like to get that data back of death locations/levels and then yes i could feed it into a separate program to generate that heat map.
     
  4. marc_tanenbaum

    marc_tanenbaum

    Unity Technologies

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    To expand upon @angeloferro's point a bit...

    The short answer is that we're not yet providing enough information or functionality to support heat maps. That said, we recognize the importance of this visualization to game development, and it is very much under discussion. The two basic routes to heat map insights seem to be: a) build a dedicated heat map system, or b) provide sufficient access to raw data such that you could construct the visualization yourself via API. Since neither of these is currently available you won't be able to do heat mapping just yet. And since our resources are finite, what gets built and in which order are necessarily a matter of some discussion.

    As with all feature requests, we're listening intently to our user base. So if you want this, encouraging us by telling us is the best thing you can do to drive it forward.
     
    Watoran, DomDom and angeloferro like this.
  5. codejoy

    codejoy

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    Thanks for the awesome reply. I see value in this functionality on some level, highest value would be an editor that could create a heat map in 2d or 3d right over your level.
     
  6. DomDom

    DomDom

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    Oct 18, 2013
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    Would it be possible to log movement data on a FixedUpdate basis and then (when the raw API is created) consume the data to build a sort of replay? Or would Transform data on a FixedUpdate basis be too calls?
     
  7. marc_tanenbaum

    marc_tanenbaum

    Unity Technologies

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    I'm imagining you meant to write "too *many* calls"? And yes, it would be. The SDK currently caps you at 100 events per user per hour. Calls from FixedUpdate would eat up that budget in seconds, so that's not really on.

    That said, our early experiments with heatmaps have allowed us to explore replay in much the way you suggest, sending time-based events and reconstructing individual plays, so it's not out of the question that such a capability might be possible. It would require exceptionally fine-grained access to the data (i.e., you'd need to be able to get each discrete event from the individual player in the order it was originally sent). If/when we get to the point of being able to provide such a capability, we'll certainly announce it very loudly. :)
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2015
    toddh likes this.
  8. WelchCompositions

    WelchCompositions

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    I'm currently attempting to do this myself by having a custom event call the X and Y cords every 36 seconds to stay at the limit but I think we really need to be allotted something more like 300 events per hour to give enough detail to make this very useful. Any chance we can get a lil bump in allotment :D
     
  9. marc_tanenbaum

    marc_tanenbaum

    Unity Technologies

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    A bit of an update on this topic...

    At Unite Amsterdam, we announced a new in-the-works Heatmaps capability.



    That system is now in pre-alpha trial with a select few developers so we can see how well it works, what things we may have overlooked, etc. The new system is built on top of raw data export, which is also being trialed to a small subset of users. If the trial goes well, you can expect to see us follow up on our Amsterdam announcement soonish. If it doesn't go well, you'll find me crying in a SOMA bar somewhere.

    To @WelchCompositions question about event limits...you're quite correct that a limit of 100 events/user/hour is pretty low for anything to do with heatmaps. I can't tell you that a rate limit increase is coming, but it's a big consideration for heatmaps...so I can tell you that we're at least pondering the possibility.
     
  10. marc_tanenbaum

    marc_tanenbaum

    Unity Technologies

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