I am in need of a new/used (new to me, but still used for my budget) game development station.

I'm thinking a refurbished Mac will do the trick.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Apple-MacBo...11422/bn_227081/i.html?_trksid=p2045573.m4213.

I'm all about game programming and currently a refurbished Macintosh laptop seems like it might do me well. Can I have any thoughts? If I could get the bids below $500.00, that would be awesome.

I also like Linux.... and even, I guess I could do another Windows machine. I just need something that can load Visual Studio in a time quicker than 2:53:03. That's how long V.S. just took to load. I just timed it using my phone. Are there any alternative O.S. suggestions, also?

 

If you are looking at Linux distros, I personally think I'm gonna use Manjaro on my next computer. I had hope for Ubuntu 16.04, it looked great in Beta, but then it came out and something seems to have gone horribly wrong somewhere, I hope they get that stuff figured out.

In the meantime though, I like how Manjaro can pretty much get software from any of the branches of the Linux world thanks to the AUR. And of course, if you are an Arch user, you are gonna be like "Oh but you should use Arch because blah blah blah". If thats the case, then thats your deal, I want a graphical installer, and I like how Manjaro's XFCE desktop looks. And it's super light and not very resource intensive, so I really like that.

If you want an easier experience, theres Linux Mint and Linux Lite. Both of those are coming out with new versions soon that are looking pretty nice, but if they are anything like 16.04, which they are dirived from, I'd hold back on them and wait for them to get their shakedown before deciding on either of those.

Of course, you could use Ubuntu 14.04 or Mint 17.3, older, but higher stability there.

As for hardware, I'm not sure what your budget is, so it's impossible to make recommendations on that front.

 

Well, we're aboard the same boat regarding budget knowledge ... So... Just give me a short while...



Let me ask you this while we're waiting:
Is the fact that Visual Studio took 2:53:03 to load unacceptable?

 

I'm in the process of moving and I'll have more knowledge regarding my funds when that concludes.

 

Where are you located?

 

Could you list a decent refurbished Unity game programming system for the following price ranges?
Ha-ha.
It would just be nice.

$00.00 - to $150.00
$150.00 - to $300.00
$300.00 - to $500.00
$500.00 - to $750.00
$750.00 - to $1000.00

Paying over a grand for refurbished Unity game development system is asking a bit much, So we'll stop there.

 

To Ony: Wyoming.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com

 

That site is awesome, I'll be sure to revisit it once I'm moved and my budget limitations are better known.

I guess I'll do a poll over which operating system is best to write games in....
...
..
.
I'm new to this forum. How do I set up a poll?

 

I love it and use it all the time. Just used it last week to set up a new build for my partner.

 

Cool. Do you mind telling me how to set up a poll? The question is whether Linux, Macintosh or Windows is preferred as a Unity game development O.S. . Actually, I'm sure it's a hot topic. Can anyone either point me towards a poll that addressees that question, or tell me how to set up a poll myself?

 

You don't need a poll. Use the one you're most comfortable in or, failing that, the one which is most easily accessible to you.

For me that's Windows because Visual Studio is my preferred IDE. I haven't used Unity on Linux, so I can't really comment there, but at the end of the day all of the major OSes should get the job done more than adequately. Use the one you're already most productive in. Don't waste time that you could be putting into your game.

I have the privilege of having multiple machines at my disposal, and have a 2009 (I think) 17" MacBook Pro. If you do a search you'll find me giving it plenty of praise over the last several years, it's had a fantastic run and it's still going.

That said, it's useful lifetime as a game dev machine has largely come to an end. Perhaps some more RAM or a faster HDD could get some more life out of it, but it takes ages to start up and opening apps or task switching takes a distractingly long amount of time. (Once you're in it seems fine.) Then, once you're past that and working, there's still a distinct limit on the kinds of games you can effectively develop on 7 year old hardware.

Perhaps it's just me being spoiled with my other machines, but in any case I haven't chosen to work on it for quite some time now. So if you're in need of an upgrade I'd be hesitant to suggest buying something of similar vintage and specs today. (If you were buying new, wanted a high-end, traditional style laptop, and had the budget then my recommendation would be quite different.)

 

I imagine that I'm most comfortable using Windows also. That pretty much makes up my mind for me, then. I'll order a machine from http://pcpartpicker.com.

 

What platforms are you interested in targeting? Are you interested in 2D or 3D games? I have an older MacBook and it is barely able to run Unity. The Standard Assets Examples manage a whopping 30 frames per second and they are simply untextured cubes and spheres.

If you wish to target Apple's App Store you will need access to the latest releases of XCode which requires the latest release of OS X. Some older MacBooks will allow you to upgrade to the latest release (usually for free) but many of them will not support it. It's yet another headache you're better off without.

An SSD makes a world of a difference for older machines. I replaced the 160GB 5400RPM HDD in mine with an ADATA 120GB SSD and the performance boost was just absurd. Everything ran more smoothly (the OS X Finder went from being almost unusable to instantly responding for example).

 

Yeah, I kept thinking about doubling the RAM and maybe getting an SSD, but that was $500 I preferred to put towards getting a replacement.

The geometry might be simple, but the Standard Shader used to draw them is another story.

 

Ouch. When and where would you have been purchasing those upgrades to make them that expensive. I know prices used to be significantly higher for SSDs but my ADATA was only $80 when I bought it back in 2011/2012. These days if you know where to look you can get even better deals.

Still doubt it'd be worth the time and money to do so though unless you're desperate or already have the machine.

https://starmicroinc.net/apple-mac-...0-macbook-13/white-macbook-13-3-intel-core-2/

It didn't even occur to me that they might be using a demanding shader.

 

A couple of years ago, and in Australia. Needed 8 gigs of RAM compatible with a dated MacBook, so choices were limited, and would have wanted a fairly decently sized SSD. Maybe it still wouldn't have been $500, but still enough that I'd rather put it towards a replacement.

 

I'm thinking 2d. I like the 2d environment better. I'm currently thinking P.C. first, but I have an Ouya here that I've run ROMs on. If I compile my games under Unity for Android, my Ouya should run them correct?

Tell me, is 2:53:03 a bad Visual Studio compilation time?

 

Yes. There are also Unity packages available for that device (and a couple other devices apparently).

https://devs.ouya.tv/developers/docs/unity

 

It totally depends on the project, I would imagine.

 

Do you know which package I should pick? On my Ouya alone, my screen looks like this: .,and it runs with slowdown. This has do to with my package selection skills, right? I ask, because it runs fine on my P.C. .

 

Those who know, newegg...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_sp=Homepage_BS-_-P4_34-234-004-_-06272016

 

In the player settings, look at landscape vs. portrait display modes.

As for performance... that's a big one that'll take quite some time and reading and practice to learn about. Mobile and desktop CPUs and GPUs have radically different performance characteristics, so even though your PC is old it's probably still much more powerful at some things than the Ouya, which is itself based on somewhat dated hardware by now (though don't let that stop you from targeting it - plenty of people still use that level of hardware).

Edit: Also, for tech support type questions you should open a thread in the appropriate place. This section isn't for that, and people with relevant knowledge to help are less likely to see it buried in a thread about something else.

 

NewEgg is awesome and I've been buying from them since 2004. I also order from SuperBiiz.com and occasionally NCIX. Amazon also has some great deals sometimes and I end up buying from them a lot since I have Prime (free shipping). PCPartPicker really helps with price hunting, though, as it will let you know the lowest price for a part from all of the available places.

 

2004 is a year I hate. On 9/11/2004, I was ejected 35 feet through the windshield of a friends car. Then I was run over with both sets of wheels.. I used to have much going for me academically. Today, I've forgotten a good deal of what I knew, but I'm trying to get that all back.

 

Awesome!!! That setting my display mode to landscape did the trick. It still runs choppy. Is that just something I'll have to deal with? It runs full speed on my computer. So I'm guessing it has something to do with an unknown setting.

 

Seat belt? Or did it fail?

 

I've been told I tried to play hero and took off my seatbelt seconds before the crash. I failed.

But that's all part of a past I can't change. I'm looking forward. Should I take these I take these courses, and is taking them generally the boards recommendation?