Is Unity getting to the point where we need a project to unity version decision chart?

Unity seems to be more modular and divided than ever, with modular bits in various states of development and beta.

So as a developer with a game idea do we need a decision chart to help map the needs of our game to the right version of Unity we should be using?

Hopefully it will be less complex than this example chart for time travel movies, only I suspect a lot of developers using Unity would like a time machine at the moment to help them work out what version of Unity they should be using...



Or what other ways could Unity make it easier to work with it's modular and constantly in development game engine?

 

Time travel in the nude.

- noted.

 

I don't see the point of this thread either.

If you feel you need stability right at the beginning, use the latest LTS.
If you need the fresh tech and you're willing to make sacrifices (black sheep or just your time to deal with bugs and quirks) then choose the latest tech release or even beta.
If you're insane and want to use the alpha in production then don't tell it publicly on this forum.

ps: although as we talked about in another thread, this is just true for now, in the near future this decision will shift to the package selection more and more (it will be more interesting which packages to pick not which Unity version)

 

Yeah, here it is:

 

Bwaa ha ha @Murgilod , thank you, I needed to laugh my ass off today, big time. I should do this at work

How about use the freaking hub? Pick a version for each project, then just click on the project name and viola!

 

I think you seriously misunderstood the question. It wasn't that how to open a project in a specific version of Unity, it was what version to choose at the beginning.

 

Well it already has one for networking...

So it just needs to expand it a bit to help developers decide which of the about 82 modular packages over 3+ versions of the engine that can build to 25 platforms.

Spoiler: Packages In Unity...

Not counting any asset store items that might be needed to maximise use of development time and some of which only work with a subset of the engines versions.

 

I can't decide if you're trying to complain that you have options or just the usual, let's talk about the nothing for two days-kind of thread.

 

It's about the growth in complexity of Unity for developers and how UT could help developers navigate their projects to the best systems available.

 

Typical thread with undefined state. Until race condition take place

 

This situation is not unique to Unity. We always have this complexity regardless of whether we choose an existing engine or create our own. I can't even think of a situation where an engine made to hold your hand didn't have at least some of this complexity. This is part of being a game developer.

 

Ugh, thank you @Lurking-Ninja , gotta consume greater quantities of caffeine before replying in a haze. (slaps own face to wake up)
"he'd do so much better if he only tried" - kindergarten teachers

 

There's always a trade off.! You want power and flexibility? It comes at the cost of complexity. You were one of many (myself included) that whined about how bare bones Unity was compared to Unreal engine. Constantly mentioning all the features that needed to be added to compete.

Now we've got them (or it's in the pipeline) we take complexity head on, if you need such features chances are the complexity of Unity is right at the bottom of the concern list. Navigating? It's called Unity docs, then you decide what packages are best for your project.

 

Well Unity has a project style selection in the HUB e.g. 2D/3D could that not be extended a bit to be more game genre specific?

Giving developers a fast start to the type of game they want to make.

Actually could the HUD be made smarter to run you through the decision tree process and advise you of the available options?

 

Once more, with feeling!

Stop expecting Unity to do all your work for you.

 

I have some experience with Unity so it's not so much for me, think of anyone relatively new to Unity...

You see them often enough posting on the forum 'I want to make this game _insert genre_ where do I start'

Or the next level 'I started making this game then got stuck, can you help?'

What if Unity aimed to reduce this problem by 90% for new users and old, what form would it take?

Actually with all the analytics that can be gathered for games could those analytics* be used by Unity to improve the development experience?

*If developers choose to opt into this, it should not be an option you have to opt out of.

 

Cool, and then what? Oh, you end up with something like UE4 where, gasp, it turns out that there's only really three different genres and none of these questions are answered because now people are more confused, because they have to pigeonhole their ideas into a select few genres.

What you are describing is better solved by a forum thread, not a genre selection.

You are doing what you always do: you've invented/exaggerated a problem that doesn't exist in any significant capacity and have decided that the best way to solve this nonexistent problem is to throw technology at it until it goes away.

 

Good point are genres the best way to break down the requirements of a game?

 

The best way to break down the requirements of a game are by its technical requirements, and it turns out that those technical requirements already have options in the hub.

 

Kind of limited with only 5 rendering options, what other features could streamline the development of common game types?

 

There... aren't other rendering options. That's the thing. If you need other rendering options, you're going to be using SRP, which is not the sort of thing you need help with in a menu.

 

"Is Unity getting to the point where we need a project to unity version decision chart?"
vs.
"only 5 rendering options"

So you will need a decision chart to use the options in the create project menu?

Besides, what else do you want here? "Make a platformer", "Make a FPS RPG"? Or what else? You have these rendering options which are generally usable for many genres and type of games.

Also it is very bad I think to provide those kind of templates because they encourage the cookie-cutter asset flips. Having only basic options provided for you encourages to think through what you want to do and what you need to do it. After all it encourages to do things on your way. I see this as a good thing.

 

My point is there are more than just rendering features that are needed for games.

 

You mean like errm? I swear down you're using the wrong engine.

 

And none of those features are components of the base engine because, and I can not believe I have to keep saying this because it's something nobody else but you seems to have trouble with, Unity is a kitchen sink game engine. It is not designed to make 1 to 5 different things, but many different things across many different disciplines.