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MERGED - all splash screen discussion

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by R-Lindsay, Mar 3, 2015.

?

What would you have 'Unity Personal' changed to?

  1. Unity Sandwich Edition

    15 vote(s)
    9.3%
  2. Unity Indie Edition

    33 vote(s)
    20.4%
  3. Unity Personal Edition

    12 vote(s)
    7.4%
  4. Other - Reply

    22 vote(s)
    13.6%
  5. No text at all

    80 vote(s)
    49.4%
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  1. Moonjump

    Moonjump

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    "Powered By Unity" was fine in Unity 4. "Made With Unity" is also OK. "Democratizing Game Development" as subtitle to replace "Personal Edition" is good, but would also be no problem without that label.

    If the message is about Unity, and advertising for them, I have no problem. If it labels the developer, then I don't like it.
     
  2. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    I think the splash screen servers two very different purposes, and Unity needs to decide which purpose is paramount.

    1) If the purpose is "Free advertising for Unity", then it should be a cool-looking splash screen like all the other famous splash screens we've all seen (NVidia, Unreal, etc) and should say something like "Made with the power of Unity" or just "Made with unity".

    2) If the purpose is "Shame small-time mobile developers into paying $4500 just to get rid of the splash screen because it's so embarrassing", then the current one is serving its purpose perfectly, and complaining about how embarrassing it is is just proof of its success.

    I know the second option sounds a little sketchy, but honestly I think it's fine. Unity needs to make money somehow, and the current system is ideal for hobbyists and new devs because you get the full engine all through development where you don't care what the splash screen looks like, and you only have to make the decision about whether or not to buy a license when development is done and you're about to release, and at that point, you should know whether or not the game you've made is potentially profitable enough to pay to get rid of the splash screen.
     
    R-Lindsay likes this.
  3. Ostwind

    Ostwind

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    Even of their vision is "Democratizing Game Development" I don't think everyone wants to have such a statement on their launch screen depending where in the world they are deploying. Something more neutral or no tagline at all.
     
    Moonjump and Deleted User like this.
  4. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    Sure only the Unity logo would be the best solution at all, it doesn't need words just the logo. Unity says it all
     
  5. Deleted User

    Deleted User

    Guest

    You're right Ostwind, some words could have a negative effect in some countries. Didn't think about that.
     
  6. Teila

    Teila

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    You are right, of course. :) However, the point of the income limit for the free version is that we buy it when we make over that limit. I can live with the splash screen but I would like that word replaced. Free or Limited would be fine by me. I am not afraid of looking like a "freeloader" but am concerned about how potential investors might react to a "personal" label to a game that will be sold to the masses.

    Hmm, and if I could get Unity 5 to work at the moment, I honestly would be done here on the forums for today, but bored enough to post while it loads and loads and whatever else it does before it freezes. :)
     
    Ony and R-Lindsay like this.
  7. Marionette

    Marionette

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    We're not complaining about the splash screen. We're complaining about the completely unnecessary text denoting what something was made with, when both versions are supposedly functionally identical.

    Made with unity is fine. The version used is silly..
     
    Ony likes this.
  8. hippocoder

    hippocoder

    Digital Ape

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    Unity Whine Edition
     
  9. Marionette

    Marionette

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    Lol. Seriously tho hippo, why make them the same but call out the very folks they just gave all the cool stuff to? I don't get it ; (
     
  10. Teila

    Teila

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    Over 1010 whiners. When that many people whine about one simple thing, that becomes an issue. That is how consumerism works. :)

    You don't think there is a better word that would still worthy enough for the peasants but not too important sounding to make the Patricians feel we are stepping out of our place? Just not one that could be misconstrued as illegally shared software. I think that would be a win for Unity as well.

    And I say this in kindest, most sincere tone. :) I honestly would like to see the attention here turn to something less trivial.

    P.S. It is now 1030!
     
    Gigiwoo, Grafos, wetcircuit and 4 others like this.
  11. Moonjump

    Moonjump

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    Yes you are right, never thought of that. I wonder what the reaction around the world is to Unity having that as their mission statement.
     
  12. Breyer

    Breyer

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    Teila likes this.
  13. tiggus

    tiggus

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    It's a testament to what a good deal it is that this is the biggest complaint so far. It's hard to judge tone on the internet, I imagine if you could you would see most people are about as concerned about this as people discussing the weather in the coffee room at work. Aside from the crazy guy wearing bermuda shorts and sandals in the middle of winter who everyone doesn't want to make eye contact with.
     
  14. sphericPrawn

    sphericPrawn

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    The community seems a little divided on this topic, I'd be interested to see the numbers for what the community thinks about having "Personal Edition" on the splash-screen with the following categories:
    • Pro-owners who think the text is stupid
    • Pro-owners who think it's much ado about nothing
    • Personal-users who think the text stupid
    • Personal-users who think it's much ado about nothing
    Not going to make a poll because there are already waaaay too many threads discussing this topic, but it would be interesting nonetheless.
     
  15. Whippets

    Whippets

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  16. Dunkelheit

    Dunkelheit

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    +1

    Agree!!! "Indie" sounds much better than "Personal".
     
  17. GoesTo11

    GoesTo11

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    I can't be to upset since I'm going to be able to save $75 a month and I got Playmaker, a tree and some grenades for free but I agree that personal version is a poor choice of words.

    I may be some creepy guy developing games in my basement but I don't want people playing my games to think that I'm some creepy guy developing games in my basement.
     
    quantumsheep and Ony like this.
  18. darkhog

    darkhog

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    Of course it is a good idea, Dunkelheit. But since Unity's CEO is a former EA executive, very same one responsible for SimCity 2k14 and all EA's "free2pay" games, I fear it's not gonna to change.
     
  19. Teila

    Teila

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    Really? I see very very little division here. Even a number of current pro users have voted to rebrand. Seems like the most consensus I have ever seen here. Kind of uplifting! Should we join hands and sing?
     
  20. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    The text on the splash screen is what I was talking about. The splash screen is just a line of text and the Unity logo, and obviously no one really cares about the Unity logo being there.
     
  21. Breyer

    Breyer

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    i agree seems that noone care or are against this inaccurate word. Practically noone defend this choice except Unity of course... but this is expected and not bad, this would be stupid if they change that thing on small pressure, they should reconsider this though when pressure increase and become noticeable...
     
  22. Woodlauncher

    Woodlauncher

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    Inaccurate, people have multiple votes :)
     
  23. orb

    orb

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    Better check the forum ToS on singing first.
     
  24. R-Lindsay

    R-Lindsay

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    Make that 1,077 (and counting!) ;)

    I understand that @hippocoder is probably taking a friendly jab, but please note this is absolutely not whining. We love the offer of Unity and we don't mind a splash screen. There have been great reasons put forth about why the wording is problematic and it has nothing to do with being ungrateful. Please listen to what people are saying.

    Especially Telia, because she says things much nicer than I do. Actually it was a post of hers (and one of Gigiwoo's earlier) that I read that sparked the creation of this request. A lot of people have joined together to respectfully raise this issue to the Unity boffins. But don't let fact that we are asking for a change deceive you. We are most certainly grateful for the recent offer.

    R
     
    Gigiwoo, UnityKen, Ony and 1 other person like this.
  25. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    How about Unity just put any random Unity ad there as the splash screen? Then everyone earns revenue. LOL

    They were extra whiney. :p
     
    Woodlauncher likes this.
  26. cakeslice

    cakeslice

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    "Made by an Amateur on his Mum's Computer at home in his parents house"

    Exactly how it sounds. Please Unity, change this. This is bad for the developers and bad for Unity's brand since people will think Unity is an engine for amateurs!

    If we make any money using Unity we will upgrade to Pro anyway...

    "Powered by Unity" is perfect
     
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  27. Ony

    Ony

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    Long time Pro owner here, from the days before free when Unity Indie cost $100. I'm in the slow but steady process of removing myself from the game developer world, as a few people here know. I won't be buying Unity 5 Pro (as far as I can foresee) and I actually haven't even tried Unity 5 yet since my latest game is made in 4.x Pro.

    I may find myself playing around with hobby projects without a goal of making a living from it (there's a car combat game I've wanted to make for a long time now, just never had time). Since I currently fall under the income requirements where I must own Pro if I release anything with Unity, I'm not entirely sure how that will play out. I've given a lot of thought to switching engines if I want to do the car game, and I think I might actually have to do that. Paying royalties is no fun but I also don't know if I want to shell out an additional $1500-$3000 just to make a hobby project game that might never make a dime.

    Anyway, that's going slightly off topic but still related...

    If I was able to use the free version to release games with, I would most certainly be bothered by the "Personal Edition" text. It just screams amateur hour to me. Not to mention the other connotations of the word "Personal" that have been brought up.

    So, as a Pro owner, I wouldn't have to deal with that splash of weird word choice, but I do really think it's a bad thing that will subtly make people think your game is not up to par with other "professional" games.

    People are weird. No matter how it's rationalized, no matter how much the general population might not give a crap, the fact is there are a bunch of developers in here saying that they don't like the "Personal Edition" wording, and if I'm not mistaken, Unity is for developers. The developers are speaking here, not the players.
     
  28. zenGarden

    zenGarden

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    Bue we hope that will change.

    Indeed, why did they put this amateur words ?
    Don't they know many users of Free version makes great games ?
    That's really strange, for a desktop game i think i'll go for UE4 while UT for mobile. At lest the desktop game will look Pro using a Pro unique logo.
     
    Ony likes this.
  29. Teila

    Teila

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    Yup and they cared enough to give more votes! Or they were like me and didn't even know a vote thing existed so just figured, why not! I am sure I will forget it exists again in a few days anyway. :)
     
    wetcircuit likes this.
  30. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    I think my point was kind of missed. My point is: there's a very good chance that the whole point of the splash screen is to make you hate it enough that you pay to get rid of it. In which case, changing it so that everyone loves it and doesn't feel the need to pay to get rid of it is not at all in Unity's interest.
     
  31. tiggus

    tiggus

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    I would replace "very good chance" with *tinfoil hat*
     
    Teila likes this.
  32. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I think withholding features like rendertextures, shadows, IK, and a dozen other features was a better strategy to force upgrades than psychological shaming.

    And since no one has invoked Godwin yet, making Jews wear gold stars didn't encourage them to stop being Jewish. It was just intended to label them.
     
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  33. Teila

    Teila

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    Thanks, R.

    Funny thing is, I so overwhelmed by the generosity of Unity at this moment, that I feel terribly guilty posting about this. While I would like to see it changed, I am more concerned with having to explain to investors, publishers, Kickstarter folks, and fans that we are NOT using a personal version only for our own personal use and violating Unity's rules.

    I don't mind if people think I am programming in my basement...which is impossible because in Florida, you would be underwater in a basement if they existed. :) Apartment over the garage, or in the garage maybe, but son already lives there. lol Oh, and he is a programmer!

    I don't think this is a big enough deal to make people pay $1500. Maybe for some but for me, it is just an annoyance that I might have to deal with that seems so easy to fix.
     
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  34. Woodlauncher

    Woodlauncher

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    Just in case you didn't know this (I didn't until just now)
     
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  35. Neoku

    Neoku

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    Well, possibly this happens because this is a new Unity and the secret presentation, I hope that common sense win and the text in the splash screen says "Unity Indie" or "Powered by Unity" in the next version, the branding of "Personal" is not important.
     
  36. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    It's not particularly conspiratorial. It's actually standard software procedure. That's the whole point of watermarks, "personal learning editions", etc.
     
  37. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I did not know that either...
     
  38. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    Well, unfortunately, 95% of the users disagreed and wanted all the pro features in the free version. You can't have it both ways; Unity needs some way to make money.

    Also, I agree, software watermarks and splash screens are literally exactly the same as the holocaust.
     
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  39. Teila

    Teila

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    Oh, you just supported my point! Personal Learning Additions and Watermarks are usually for software that you are not supposed to distribute commercially. Games we make with Unity will have "Personal" marked on them and we will distribute them. Some of us will make money will them. Some will show them to publishers or use them for crowdfunding.

    That is the problem. Had they given us a Personal Learning Addition that we could use but not publish with, I would have completely understood this label. But it makes no sense since we can use it commercially.
     
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  40. Breyer

    Breyer

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    Problem is that personal edition is supposed to use on commercial projects - do you know any software company which label loudly via splash screen their product as 'personal' which is supposed to use on commercial projects? I'm not. If unity would just remove or replace this tag on splash screen or explicity say that personal version is non-commercial only then i wouldnt care
     
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  41. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    Yeah, I agree, but I also think that it fits in line with making people want to pay to get rid of the splash screen to avoid looking unprofessional.
     
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  42. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I assume they are making money hand over fist on ads and assets stores.... but I don't presume to know their accounting. No one on stage yesterday looked particularly hungry or wearing tattered clothing...

    If they hadn't ALREADY taken my money then changed the deal I would perhaps see them as the victims here, but they appear to be the industry leader squashing out their competition. I don't confuse that as a gift FOR me...
     
  43. Balla33225

    Balla33225

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    Unity "Personal" is now the EXACT same set of engine tools as Unity Pro...the only difference being Pro's dark UI and a few extra services and perks...yet they tacked on the "made with unity personal edition" as if there's a major difference in how the game was "made" compared to using the Pro version. Such divisive wording is a bit ironic for a game engine named "Unity". On a side note, it's become really hard to justify investing $1500 for Pro...I had actually managed to scrape up the cash the day before the big announcement. Now I'm hesitant...even moreso because even with a Pro license, I'd still get slapped with the "made with unity personal edition" splash screen on my mobile deployments anyway.
     
  44. makeshiftwings

    makeshiftwings

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    But they're giving you back your money if you want it, which is WAY more generous than most corporations would ever be.
     
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  45. Ony

    Ony

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    Yup, my company is a Partnership with my wife, so that puts me in there.
     
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  46. Teila

    Teila

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    I just don't think that is going to pan out for them. If people do have problems with the confusion between personal and commercial, it is only going to look bad for Unity...or us as Unity users. It seems very odd to me that they are using this to get money out of us. Like I said, why would one pay $1500 for that one little thing?

    I think they were being nice, thinking that Personal would be more accepted than Free. I want to believe this. Let me live in my bubble. :)
     
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  47. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I have a friend on facebook loudly complaining that Unity5 being "free" is some sort of freemium scam.... She is tinfoil hat, but she is posting that the Valve software which doesn't even exist yet is a serious contender for her before she would consider Unity. lolol She teaches computer graphics at a University too. I even tried to lure her with the moustache guy, but she is convinced. Hahaha

    I know the freemium thing sounds awesome for teenagers in basements, but I'm thinking the store and the ads-pushing is just going to get bigger, and we will hear more about how so-and-so made another $1.4Million on his ads in a free game last month.... It's cool, but I don't need so many zombie sets, and my corporate clients probably don't ads for Bubble Jumper 2 at the beginning of their apps.

    It *does* all sound like a pyramid scheme sometimes.
     
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  48. bigdaddy

    bigdaddy

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    Ony, Teila and wetcircuit like this.
  49. Teila

    Teila

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    OMG, the mustache guy didn't work?? My kids and I have been walking around the house all day saying randomly, "Unity: Personal Edition" in a sexy voice. lol

    If nothing else, we are so easily entertained. I want to make a wav file! ;) My daughter is creating a gif.
     
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  50. Ony

    Ony

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    Yes I am actually stunned that "Mustache Guy" didn't work. What kind of a world are we living in?
     
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