Is this Unity 3 soldier absolutely necessary ?

Thanks for posting the screenshot. I've never seen this with my Unity installation and also don't seem to be able to find a setting in the preferences to enable it.

Does anyone know how to enable the splash-screen? I think there was a setting in the Preferences in the past but that seems to have disappeared. I've tried Pro skin / non Pro skin and also "Show project wizard on startup" (thought the wizard maybe overrides the splash screen) ... but no way to see it.

I agree that this looks kind of pathetic, so I'm glad I never see it.

 

And believe me, it's shameful when you're starting Unity at a client's place.

 

If you are using Unity at a client's place, which is odd in itself as most just want to see the results, you should probably be using Pro.

 

Nope not really...

 

I am using Pro, how to disable the splash-screen?

 

the splash screen isn't visible on the client side (the enduser of your product). It's only for the editor

 

And who tells you that a project doesn't include using an editor at the client's place?

 

if you mean, UNITY as an editor -> that would be odd. (giving away all assets).
Secondly, with unity you publish a product to the enduser(s). Not the tool itself.
(heck, for PRO would mean: oh well, i supply the editor, thus my license)

If you mean, build yourself an editor as part of the endproduct (without supplying Unity), go ahead, still you won't see that splash. (unless you build it in yourself as a custom splash)

 

You have a narrowed understanding of the variety of client work. On the other side you're not alone, Unity haven't groked it as well...

 

If you are working at a client site and using Unity instead of Unity Pro, the rates must be terrible to not require Unity Pro due to revenue.

 

Same answer as before...

 

I think this is another "If Unity were smart, they would listen to me" arguments by you, Taumel. You haven't said why it is a terrible thing.

 

Quite simple, the field of applications were you can use Unity isn't a) restricted to finished or closed content which don't include the usage of the editor at the client's place as well as b) also if you own Pro there still can be a reasonable number of cases were using Indie makes sense.

Beside of this wasn't the island popping up as a default behaviour in the Pro of V2.6 and the Beta of V3 had some weird splashes as well? Oh well...

 

If you make over $100,000 per year as a Unity-licensing entity, using the non-Pro version is not even an option in the legal sense and certainly not in the ethical sense.

Even then, you still haven't stated why having an image related to a demo on the splash screen is a terrible thing. It would be less awkward than explaining to a client why you are using the free version of the software for their project instead of the full-feature professional version when the professional version is quite under-priced.

 

The splash screen is shameful and no one said that Unity is used in an illegal way. Again there are different kind of cases and sometimes it just makes more sense going this route. Even if you own a Pro licence, like i do, it can be a lot less painful using a stripped down Indie version instead of going through all the unflexible Unity licence/activation/deactivation hassle.

 

How is it "shameful"? That is purely subjective and most people don't mind it enough to comment, only a very small fraction of Unity users have bothered to even post about it.

 

Hey, lets make it easyer. When configurating a build we can choose a splash screen right? lets propose the same for this. This must be a silly change that probably wont take a dveloper to implement more than 10 minuts including testing etc... Just allow the user in teh preferences select a custom image and tadaaa.

 

Shameful? What?

This is seriously getting ridiculous.

 

@JRavey
Beside of your personal preferences it simply depends on the project/client you're working for. Not all of us are using Unity for games solely.

 

That doesn't change anything, you still have not said why it is "shameful". Nobody expects you to justify your positions, that would be out of character and unfair of others to expect.

 

It changes a lot, believe me or not...

Personally i find it shamefull because i dislike these type of games - as i already wrote in the beginning of this thread, it illustrates how narrowed the understanding of 3d games still is, it shows no sensibility for the user's age nor the personal preferences, it is displaced for many fields of serious applications, it can put you in situations where Unity is taken less serious and you have to explain/defend it, it's just superfluous and not wisely choosen.

 

Well, there you have it. The splash screen is shameful because Taumel dislikes those types of games. It couldn't come from a more authoritative source. Well, I haven't seen the screen outside of this thread, but I like it and think they should keep it. My justification is just as strong as your justification, mere preference.

More importantly we know that the vast majority of users didn't care enough to post, so it looks like you are in a very tiny minority crying about the smallest of things. Should they really spend time modifying something that less than 1% of their users actually care about or spend that time doing something useful or at least enjoyable? I'd rather they take a coffee break than change the splash screen, because their well-being means more to me than your happiness with the startup of the editor.

 

Well, that's your level of argumentation...

My suggestion would be to disable it so that Unity comes in a neutral flavour. You're still free to implement your shooter, headshot aiming game or whatever you're after but you wouldn't have to mind sitting children in front of Unity or using it for more serious client work, ... as i suggested already it's simply not wisely choosen, grown up or whatever you prefer calling it.

 

anyway.. UT won't change it anytime soon. (if at all)

 

Oh, for God's sake. "For the children" is your argument? If your kids are traumatized by a soldier on a splash screen, they are going to be hammered by the real world, which is fine because we need emotionally fragile emo kids to serve as an example of what not to be. Keep them away from all newspaper stands and magazine racks, just to be on the safe side.

Your problem, Taumel, other than a lack of legitimate logic is that your entire position rests on something which is entirely subjective: that the splash screen is "shameful". Yet, it is not shameful enough to rouse more than a few constant complainers into action. If the splash screen had an SS guard with a Unity emblem on his armband watching over workers labeled Torque, Unreal, C4, etc from a guard tower, you might have a case. As it is, it is a rather generic soldier holding a very commonly distributed weapon. If that is really offensive to you or your clients, then you have lived a pitifully sheltered life.

 

I don't think it makes sense continuing talking about it on your level, at least i don't consider it beeing worth my time, i'm out...

 

You know some project is not just working on your own, you need team work, that splash screen is horrible for non-game business when working a product and show it to business client.
You know not many business people are interest (like) games, particular those only see figure for living. Right now I am still using on my own, however I wonder what reaction when I need to launch the editor to explain how I did to those figure (fu_ker) business people when they see the splash screen, they would think that is something game related and not take serious at all.

Please remove the soldier, if it is necessary to keep something, replace it with a lion, tiger, elephant or even a cow is fine.

 

While Unity can be used for more than just games, it is first and foremost a game engine.


The very first words on the Unity Page http://unity3d.com/unity/

From Garage Games http://www.torquepowered.com/products/torque-3d

From Unreal Technology's front page, which happens to have Marcus from Gears of War. http://www.unreal.com/

To fit what some people want Unity to be, an all-purpose simulation tool, the entire Unity product line would have to be redefined and probably rebranded. So instead of telling UT how to run their business, maybe people should focus on their own. If the splash screen is that big of a deal, go buy another engine and when your clients (I admit doubts about their existence in some posters' cases) look up that technology and find it is primarily used to make games, expect to do the same explaining as you would have for Unity.

In each of these three vendors' cases, they describe their technology as being for game development and Unreal describes it as being useful for visualizations and media. The Unity page suggests that UT thinks of Unity as being a "game development tool" (their words). They want to show off how great their technology is and FPS/TPS games frequently push technology to the limits. If I recall correctly, Lockheed Martin and NASA have both used Torque from GarageGames in the past and they had "Games" right in their company name! They are serious organizations and they were not making games in the traditional sense.

Also noteworthy is that each of these vendors have customers using their technology for non-game related applications.

It seems pretty clear, a a very small minority of users have latched onto something they imagined to be a huge deal and now refuse to just let it go. They have their drums and now will beat the hell out of them until the next major imagined flaw in Unity comes along. Maybe we can focus on the front page having two sample screenshots (labeled Engine and Publishing) which are game centric and show screens which can be considered violent.

 

I've reserved my comment for a while. It's really quite stunning what people have problems with. Maybe if less time was focused on this teeny tiny "issue" maybe more games would be produced. But I digress...

A splash screen? Really?

 

I am on pro and I still see splash when launching the editor

 

I agree with taumel.

What I like about Unity is that it's a general purpose tool. And the argument that Unity is "just for game development" seems a bit limited from my perspective. If UT thought Unity was just for game development, they wouldn't have "Best Non-Game" as one of the 5 categories for the Unity Awards and frequently stress how they like that many people use Unity for non-game content.

The only thing I like about the new splash screen is that I don't even ever see it when I open Unity. So if someone can explain how that setting is changed, all should be happy (it seems to be a hidden setting).

The ironic thing is that "soldiers" are kind of history anyways. These days, robots are used to kill. And unsurprisingly, the way those robots are controlled looks and feels like a computer game. The good thing about robots from the perspective of those that are using them is that they have no conscience at all.

I find it pretty sad that UT associates themselves with that kind of killing industry. Keep in mind that the military was a driving force behind computer games technology not too long ago. And they did that for a reason. It's called "training". For them, those are not games. They call it simulations. Serious applications.

I prefer Pac Man.

 

I also would like to see the option to choose a different startup screen for the editor.

We are doing Serious Games and Simulator for the industry, after all quite "serious" clients.
And in this context the soldier in the forrest showing up when starting the editor is extremly childish and awkward.

Funny: we are about to make the transition from a software called "3D Gamestudio" toward a more serious software. And now this ...

 

Andibeh, your argument doesn't work, because governments buy a large portion of serious software and a large portion of that is for military training. Crisis response involves the military in most countries, I can think on none where it doesn't, and the splash screen wouldn't be a problem for that. Let's call it what it is: oversensitivity for the sake attention.

 

JRavey,
I come from an neutral country in which the military doesn't play a big role.
And civil sector is strictly separated from military. Which is a good thing in my opinion.

 

That's nice, but even in Switzerland, the military has a disaster relief role for domestic crises.

 

Actually .... while I think the tech demo is no problem at all the startup screen issue I can relate to. I don'T have a problem with it personally but I know a lot of people who still have that common picture of games = shooting and military and violence in mind. I can see that there is a problem if you're trying to convince those people that Unity indeed is a neutral tool. Preach as much as you want - prejudice is strong.

So yeah - personally I surely don't have a problem with it but I'd also think it would be cool to be able to change the startup screen if you really want or need to. Maybe it isn't even that much of a problem. I'm thinking of putting a picture of a given size in a startup folder and so that the branding doesn't get lost Unity adds it's logo on top of it.

Surely no kill-criteria at all. But in this special case I think *some* misgivings are justified.

 

The problem with letting people change their startup screen is people will try to rebrand Unity as their technology. You are suggesting going to a client site and letting people change the branding on a 3rd party product, which obviously would be used to allow another organization to think you are using your own technology. For a middleware company, getting their name known is very serious business, as most people only see the end products.

 

About the splashscreen,
I can't help myself but the old one looks much "nobler" to me. Not because that there is a soldier in it now, it's just looking a bit flat and indiscreet somehow.

But no drama, I'm awaiting the new and gorgeous Unity 4.0 tropical island screen ;D

 

Another well thought out argument, a soldier branding a general 3d/game dev tool like Unity.

Let me have a look at the dock...

Modo: no splash, Pixelmator: no splash, Photoshop: oh, surprise, it starts with some porn splash screen, you know porn is very common in your country blahblah sülz laber Dummbeutelzeug erzähl, ahm, obviously no splash, Sound Studio: no splash, Reason: no splash, Text Wrangler: ahh some ASCII warez art, nah again, no splash, BlitzMax: no splash, XCode: no splash, Flash: no splash... this is getting boring, i'll end here.

I wouldn't use a splash screen for starting up Unity at all but at least make it a preferences option (default beeing disabled) or if you can't prevent the desire to show something then brand it properly and make it the Unity logo.

 

I have no splash screen for Unity.

What are you talking about on Photoshop?

 

I think they are talking about this. It never really bothered but it does seem out of place. It pops up every time you load at least on windows. I am also using pro

 

Wow, you guys are still talking about this?

@Jashan - Regarding the military + computer games, you're more right than you probably realize. Last year the US Air Force announced that for the first time in history they are training more UAV pilots (robot planes) than they are conventional pilots. And how do they find prospective UAV pilots? Well the US Army has funded a number of games (you can find them on their website) and have set up "game centers" in major shoppig malls (near big cities) where kids can play (and learn more about the joys of military life). Can't recall where I read this, but if you visit the US Army recruiting website you'll find this same info.

As I said a couple of weeks ago, the splash has nothing to do with what I do and I could care less what it looks like. I'm more concerned about the bigger issues that 3.0 brings (don't get me started ). But here's a suggestion for anyone who doesn't want to see the splash screen:

1. Double click the Unity editor icon
2. Close your eyes
3. Count to 10
4. Open your eyes
5. Voila! Start building games!

 

All Adobe Products DO have a splash screen
Sorry - but saying that only no splash screen is the way to go is pretty much overshooting.

As I said: let people do their own startup image and Unity itself slaps its logo with alpha on top of your own image. No rebranding done.
The only downside here would be for someone to have a compromising picture with the Unity Logo on top.

Everything has pros and cons. I only find the attitude of some people here a little exhausting.

 

If you find me to be only a little exhausting, I am forced to double my efforts.

What I meant about "what are you talking about on Photoshop?" was an explanation of how it is like porn.

 

@motionblur
My Photoshop does not show a splash screen, i've just used it. ;O)

But even if you want to mimic Adobe, the point is that they are more appropriate.

 

Seriously? That's what I get ...


Just a different color for all the different Adobe Products. Photoshop has had a splash screen since I can remember, actually.

Cinema 4D also has one.

Blender also has one ... but that can be changed of course.

 

Yep, Adobe products actually have neutral splash screens but you can remove them on your own.

As for Cinema 4D, no idea, i use Modo, obviously the better app, as there is no splash screen. :O9

 

Having a spash or not, doesn't tell if an app is a "better" app or not.
(i use Modo too, btw)

 

Taumel does not always explicitly tags his post as sarcastic. You'll get used to it

 

Manchmal möchte man verzweifeln; ach, es hilft ja nix.

This wasn't meant as a serious note pal, although when thinking about it, it actually does add on the feature list.

*update*

Hah, motionblur got it! *dancing*