People Unaware of Latest Unity Versions!

Spending my days on the forum I realize many people do not build or realize that there is new Unity releases every so often, 4.6.1 went final and I think there was no indication on forum of this. Needs to be made more clear.Half the issues reported in the forums are fixed in greater versions then the user seems to be running. Example: there has been some serious issues with Android devices, the latest patch and release seem to have solved these but I do not thing majority of people even know.

Unity QA keep complaining of amount of bug reports, yet simple thing is to encourage users to use latest versions to minimize this.

Please someone make this more clear on the forums, of course its on the site but better notification is needed for customers.

Do you agree or not?

 

Yeah, I've somehow missed 4.6.1. Usually I get the news from the Anouncement forum section and from Facebook. This time I didn't see any anouncements at all.

 

i may say something silly, but what about that popup which appear everytime i open Unity telling me there is a new version with a changelog under it ?

 

Missed that too :] Forum alert for a new version would be nice feature.

 

Not silly, I have personally unticked this as I remember it was slower somewhat to notify me. Do not remember if its instant?

I think still forum is better as it needs alert the users when major bugs have been fixed especially for mobile platforms that keep changing all the time.

 

You can see how the update window looks like in Help > Check for Updates

I think you may want to watch this thread if you want an update throw the forum :
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/unity-patch-releases.246198/

 

also you can get a feed from here : http://unity3d.com/unity/qa/patch-releases

 

You actually re-open Unity?? I did this morning as the power went out last night. I think it was open for 10 straight days prior

 

I don't keep multiple instances of Unity open, switching project make Unity restart so yes i see that window

 

It is not simply an issue of whether or not people are aware of the latest version. Unity needs to simplify the management of multiple versions, so users can easily install the latest version along side their existing/previous version without additional manual steps by the user. The launcher for UE4 is one example of how this could be done. If it took less manual effort for the user to manage multiple Unity versions, I bet a lot more Unity users would already have the latest version installed.

 

Its not very difficult to install several Unity versions but not convenient either, and it's true that the UE4 launcher is really great.

 

Yes.
I guess the point is to be aware of the new releases without leaving "General" forum
What would work best for me is to have regular updates of the single thread to which i can subscribe so that forum alerts would notify me about releases.

 

+1 This is done for the patch releases http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/unity-patch-releases.246198/
So one can subscribe to it and this is what I have done, for full releases it be good also.

But I think this is good for us Unity regulars, this may not work well for Customers who come to the forum once in a blue moon to post there issues or who do not use the forum but send bug reports to QA (when some bugs could have already been solved if they upgrade there Unity versions). So there is more here to talk about.

 

Yeah I completely agree with you MrEsquire, I didn't even realise an update was available.

There must be a better way to keep the user up-to-date. I've only just seen the "Check for Updates" option under the help menu. Perhaps Unity should check automatically on launch, say once every week. That could be useful.

 

Awsome, thanks!

 

My comment was merely to bring up that point that I don't think people are sticking with old versions simply because they don't know about new releases. I'm guessing most of the people using a slightly older version of Unity are actually aware of newer releases, and are choosing to stay on an older version. Simply posting in more places about new releases does not mean those people will upgrade their installations. Even personally calling each of those people and telling them about the new release won't get them to upgrade, because the core issue was not a lack of awareness about new releases. Shouldn't the real question be "how to get more people to install the latest version"?

 

Exactly. Multiple version installations of Unity is not hard, but it is just inconvenient enough that a lot people choose not to do it. Then those same people choose not to upgrade their Unity installations for fear of breaking the project they are currently working on. No amount of additional awareness of new releases will turn that around, but a simple multi-version launcher for Unity would.

 

Unity could simply name the new version and folder with the version number...but..knowing the users here someone would complain that is doesn't automatically replace their old version and they manually have to remove it.

OK. I have 4.6.0f3 installed and I checked for updates just now and it says" The Unity Editor is up to date. Currently installed version is 4.6.0f3". Why am I not notified from within the editor?

 

The editor would tell you. A pop up, like just about every other app there is that self updates. "A new version is available. Would you like to download it now?" And this runs every time you run Unity. Can turn off in prefs.

 

Buy making the thread I was trying help reduce clutter and useless forum posts and bug reports in the long run. If customers choose to use old versions of Unity it is up to them but When they shout and moan sumfin not working its time wasting for all when a simple update can help, so we at least trying here taken the first step, to make them more aware...

I also agree with multiple version control, I had to install and unistall between 4.5.5 and 4.6 and 5.0 many times, at least now the 5.0 beta has seperate installer and does not overide my 4.6 install on Windows.

If Unity give customers more faith that each release is better then Im sure some people will not have fear of upgrading, for me its a must if your developing for mobile platforms.

 

It was always possible to have any number of versions of Unity installed at once without problems; you never had to uninstall/install anything unless you chose to.

--Eric

 

I have noticed this too. Not sure why but it goes along with whatever version they have for the main download on the main page.

 

Well... no. I'm not using the latest version, and if something was done to try and push me along I'd be annoyed by it. I'll upgrade when I'm ready, when it's appropriate for my project, and if the upgrade is useful.

Upgrading software isn't something to be done just 'cause it's cool, y'know.

 

That... really... hasn't been my experience. On both Windows and OS X I've had the installer remove the prior version without asking. I mean, sure, it's true that you don't have to uninstall the old one, but the fact that you have to (or had to) manually go and hide it before installing the new one is (or was) a bit silly.

Is it still like that?

 

Well, yes, but I mean it's your choice to let the installer overwrite or not. It's much, much less time and effort to take a moment to rename a folder before installing than it is to constantly install/uninstall whenever you want to change versions. Sure it would be better for the installer to handle that more automatically, but it was never a case that you were forced to uninstall anything.

--Eric

 

Sure, I have the choice to mess around with files on my HDD to hide things from an installer so that it can't find them when it attempts to automatically, and without prompt, remove something from my computer.



As far as I remember, if there's an existing install it assumes you want to overwrite, rather than asking you what folder you want to install in. That's the bit I found frustrating.

 

It would be much nicer if the installer just let you specify the folder that you want to put it in. If you forget to rename the folder before installing, it just wipes it out.

 

The documentation here seems to imply that's changed now:

If you're able to "not install here" that implies that you can now tell it where to install.

 

Let's not make it sound like you need advanced computer hacking here...renaming a folder from "Unity" to "Unity 4.6", while not 100% ideal, is hardly rocket science, and doesn't qualify as "messing around with files and hiding things".

--Eric

 

"Messing around with files and hiding things" is exactly what it is, and doesn't really sound like "advanced computer hacking" to me. Not given the target audience here, at any rate!

Anyway, the point was more to highlight the fact that the installer used to "automatically, and without prompt, remove something from my computer". I shouldn't have to go out of my way to avoid having something I still wish to use removed from my system. Thankfully, the docs imply that I won't have to do that anymore.

 

every time you boot up the editor it tells you

 

Unity usually tells me when I start theres an update

 

noticed here this morning: http://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/

 

They need to improve the update system. I started this:
http://feedback.unity3d.com/suggestions/better-update-system

You could upvote to bring attention to this. We shouldnt have to see update notices on reddit and the forums.