Thank you, Unity!

Sorry to put this in it's own thread but didn't want to derail discussion and I figured more folks might want to share how this has affected them.

Today, at 11:30, my team, which includes myself, my college age son, and my two teen daughters gathered around my computer to watch the live stream. My husband, also a member of the team was not there but instead is in Arkansas testing big weapons for his job. He is a mechanical engineer.

Anyway, the presentation was very well done. The girls and I oo'ed and awed over all the cute geeky guys. My 14 year old has a new crush on David. We loved the videos and trailers. Awesome job, Unity. My kids were inspired and are already planning to make their own games!

Of course the price change was a big deal for us. Since we have a family team, the cost of all the pro licenses were going to come out of our personal income. We saved and scrimped and were ready to jump but I told my husband to hold off until the announcement. I was cautiously optimistic. Now I am extremely happy. Our family can build our game together. My daughters can have copies of Unity as well and can even help with level design rather than just their artwork. We can add new team members! Unity's generosity has made us very happy.

My husband and I both have experience working for indie developers so not new to the process. We had Torque 3d licenses for ourselves and multiple team members, purchases just before they went free. We moved to Unity because we decided it was a better match for the game we wanted to build. We never regretted the move. But today, the limitations that we were bumping up against with free are gone. Our game will be better than ever. Even if it never makes a penny, it will still be a family project that we can be proud of.

As for the money we saved, most of it will be spent on the asset store, I am sure. I love reading about the people who are using their refund to publish a novel or to purchase other tools. My daughter has been asking for a new drawing pad for her computer and now maybe she can have it.

Thank you, Unity!!

 

I wonder how much revenue will be made on the asset store from pro pre-order cancellations. It's definitely an interesting angle to consider for unity. What I hear praised the most about unity at school is the asset store. Unity has put a lot of people now in the position to not need pro, cancel their pre-order and then have a pocket full of gratitude and $600-800 to spend... or $1,500 for newcomers.

A small sacrifice for the company for the benefit of the community. Admirable business practice

 

So true! I have a LOT of items on my wish list and now I will start going through them and actually buying them. It is exciting, to say the least, and will probably speed up our development.

Thrilling day to be a Unity developer.

 

I'm excited about it as well, very generous move by UT. The last 24 hours has been awesome for game development. Now I've got two great, free engines to not finish my game in.

Also: Ralph4Lyfe

 

Haha, I agree. But hey, one day we'll have enough puzzle pieces to fit together into a great proof of concept game demo

 

True that!

 

Big hugs to Hippocoder! Sorry if I made your life difficult.

 

You've never made my life difficult, someone speaking from the heart could never do that *hugs*

 

Awwww...you are sweet. Thank you.

 

Thanks Unity. The realtime rendering is better than Cinema4D R12. I can''t wait to see the looks on my industrial design clients face when I give them interactive designs. Older personal projects that I just could not release because of lighting BS and the surfaces not quite being right to my artists eye will now get dragged out of the archives as I get spare time. I am wondering if I can just open the mobile game I finished last night for a client and upgrade it with a simple compile to get the skybox lighting features. Anybody tried yet?

 

UNITY 5 IS AWESOME!!!!!

THANK YOU UNITY!!!!

lol this guy WOO HOO!! YEE HAA!!!

 

I missed what I think was about the second half of the presentation... hopefully available in some archived or regular format soon?

 

Yeah thanks. Although 4.6 free works fine for me because I am focusing on 2d games with the emphasis on above average interaction & game play while having the presentation of pre-NES games... I know a lot of people want to have awesome looking games and I am happy for them. Also my next game or the one after will be in 3D and it will be cool to download U5 at that time and check it out. Every Unity dev should be happy I think.

 

Unity is life, Unity is Love ...

 

the video is up!! starts at like 55:20 or so

 

Its on the blog.

edit.. @CaoMengde777 beat me to it with grand service indeed

 

It was a fantastic presentation. Not too long, not too short.

 

Not to nit pick, but the presentation style left a lot to be desired. Look at Apple. They kill it. Every Single Time. I don't understand why these unity guys can't put more of their souls out there when they announce new features. What they have created is impressive, no doubt about it, but they seem to be almost embarrassed when they're presenting. That doesn't fly in the US. They should take some speech courses imo haha.

 

Would you rather have some marketing guy saying loads of buzzwords or actual developers who've slogged away at the product and know their stuff? We're developers speaking to developers We do the talking in the Engine

 

They seemed like programmers, more comfortable at a computer console than in front of people. I find that endearing, to be honest. I definitely like that better than the blustery salesman personalities I see in most presentations. I don't watch Apple presentations so have no comparison but these guys did well.

They are real people. I got the impression that they care about their products, love their jobs, and really get a kick out of seeing what people make. Sincere....and that is much better than "killing it".

My opinion, of course. My kids like them too and my son could identify with them so that is a good thing.

Edit: Ha, Josh! I think we said the same thing. The guy did well!

 

Thankyou @Teila for your kind words, looking forward to see what you and your family can produce with All the features available

 

meh .. "wowing the audience" is actually a weakness ... they have no reason to wow the audience... to make money, sure i guess... but i can tell they are passionate about the goal of helping people create their dreams... supporting success creates success

(wow the audience with false/superficial appearance)

MASSIVE respect for Unity!!!

 

Exactly, our CTO rocked up in his reindeer jumper, he's a developer there to talk about what he's made. And he looked dashing doing it

 

Thank YOU, Josh. We wouldn't have this opportunity without Unity.

 

Oh he did. My girls and I were talking about how cute he is, with that curly hair and sleepy eyes. And a CTO as well!

 

What? Computer people being afraid of live people? say it isn't so...
They did what they had to do in a comfortable environment as best as they can. Not easy to speak to the masses on a stage. It isn't fun.
They did great! Showed the stuff. Talked about the tech. Couldn't ask for more.

 

Haha, what did they call John Riccitiello at the beginning? I thought they did a pretty good job. Nice to see techies getting over their fear of public speaking by being passionate. A few technical issues here and there, but whatever.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to give this "3D" thing a shot one of these days. I hear it's all the rage with the kids these days.

 

No, definitely not, but once again, look at Apple – Tim cook, Jonny Ive, Craig Federigi – they make the products and sell them just as well. So much of selling stuff is about the presentation, its how you make viewers feel. I'm not sure if you've watched the 2008 iPhone announcement by Steve Jobs, but literally, he made it seem as if the piece of aluminum he had in his hand was produced by a series of magic spells. Its mesmerizing. Watch it and tell me if this isn't the case .

Imo, the reason UE (not to pull them in here) seems to (by some senses) be winning this battle is simply because they can make you think that what they've produced is the coolest thing since sliced bread. You guys, not to be too overt, don't have that skill (yet I hope!). But its super important, devs are consumers, you need to work on making us – every single person who ever watches that presentation – want to run up and hug you after the presentation (even if we already know whats coming!) Just my two cents.

 

You are most welcome, Aurore. I am sure the last few days were crazy for you. Thanks for hanging in there and dealing with all our panic and fear, and doing it with such grace.

Forgive us for our craziness...I would say it will get better, but probably not.

 

Honestly, I think the did this. We are consumers, yes, but we are buying tools to make something for us. We are not buying shiny IPhones or IPads to impress people.

Apple is selling status, shiny stuff, keep up with the Joneses....they are selling glitter and beauty. People buy because they want to show everyone their IPad. Or talk about their Apple computer and how much better it is than a PC. Didn't they even have commercials like that at one time? The geeky PC and the charming, handsome Mac?

Unity is selling grit, power, tools...Anyone can do it. When we see those guys up there, we see guys like us. I see my son in them and I even turned to my son and told him, That could be you someday. He is studying programming and according to his professors is a gifted programmer. He can see those guys and see himself in 10-15 years.

The Apple guys? I wonder where they hide all the awkward un-beautiful guys and gals that must work in their massive company's basement.

PS. I wanted to hug the Unity guys! lol

 

But the thing is, Unity is doing exactly that. They, like Apple, are selling a consumer product, what is realtime GI and PBS, but chamfered edges and retina display? Perhaps, when only big studios were developing games, they would be more interested in the actual specs and whatnot. But the fact is, that time has passed. With the whole "democratization" movement that Unity and UE are going through, presentation matters more than it ever has. And Unity is seriously lacking in that department.

In addition, I'd argue it's not every game developer's dream to be seen as a an awkward, geeky person. At least I don't, but perhaps I'm an outlier (which I highly doubt is the case). Perhaps those who were unattractive and awkward are currently being inspired by their leaders to change themselves?

I'm just saying, these are things to think about. In my opinion, the only thing keeping Unity from soaring past UE is presentation. Its not like UE doesn't have many of the same problems Unity has (nor Apple for that matter), its simply that these two companies are able to get into your mind and persuade you those things don't exist or aren't problems and instead smother you with everything that is working correctly.

 

Seem UT has breaking the Internet today.
Many Thanks Guys.

 

I think this is all down to how Americans and Europeans differ .

 

Oh, but I am an American, Josh. Maybe I am the outlier, but based on my experience I don't think so. I am sure it has more to do with personal preferences and personality.

I have never been fond of the salesman type. They seem untrustworthy to me. I prefer sincere people who seem honest and hard-working. I don't think that is a cultural thing since I believe many Americans feel the same way. Of course, we do have a bit of a consumerism mentality but not all of us fall prey.

On the other hand, because Americans might be stereotyped this way, that might be why Apple presents in this manner. Who knows.

 

Ugh...I don't like that. Based on lies and sleight of hand? No wonder.

 

BTW is the new pricing policy is an John Riccitiello's effect ?. I mean, that some (including me) was not really happy with his arrival. That said, very good move.

 

You can't be serious. The nice guy does not always win. In fact he usually get shoved to the side from my experience. I'm just saying, if you're in it to win it, you do everything within your means. From what I've seen, that's not Unity's goal at the moment. Which is fine, it just seems, occasionally, like they do want to overtake UE. But, given what they have demonstrated so far, I can guarantee you this will not happen. Which may not matter at all one bit in the grand scheme of things, I just hope Unity isn't deluding itself at the moment, because that can bring around major harm if left unchecked for too long.

Again, just my two cents.

 

And thanks for those guarantees. Unfortunately, I can't give any. I do trust the Unity folks, who seem to be doing well and have been for a while. Plus, they have John now. My guess is he can rumble with the best of them. Time will tell.

Anyway, let's agree to disagree on this matter.

 

Without a doubt, nail on the head! I just hope you guys know that without an American businessman's attitude (ie. that of Steve Jobs or Elon Musk) you will never be in the spotlight, UE will always take it. As long as you and everyone in your company is aware of and complacent with this fact, all is good. Perhaps its just simply me (an American appreciative of inspiring American leaders) who is just reading a different tone into Unity guys' posts!

 

Yeah let's not make it an American / European thing. lol I think this most likely comes down to how older and younger folks differ. Younger likes things all shiny and fancy and you know "all that glitters must be gold". Older (or maybe simply more experienced) sees it as "what a bunch of BEEP! Get rid of the smoke and mirrors and what I am really getting here Mr. Slickster? Oh I see a hunk of aluminum I can make calls with and so forth." And yes I have never cared for the sales person type either. As soon as they start presenting my BS detector rings so loud it drowns out everything they say. Actually I never cared for that crap when I was a kid either so maybe is just a personal thing regardless of age. But I think I would have been more likely to get distracted by all the shiny stuff back then.

I thought it was great to see real people presenting. Much more genuine. Much more informative. Much more trustworthy.

 

Maybe that is it, GarBenjamin.

Although, my 24 year old son, 17 and 14 year old daughters were wow'ed by that presentation. I do have another daughter who loves her IPhones, with pink sparkly rhinestones and zebra stripes.

Please do not make this about Americans vs. Europeans. This is a nice community with people from all sorts of places. To say Americans are better is so ethnocentric and so wrong. Have you ever been outside the U.S.? I have and I have met some amazing people, not so different from us. Sadly, I have also had to prove myself to some of those folks because as an American, I was stigmatized before opening my mouth. I even remember pretending to be Canadian when in the Ukraine as a young college student.

Let us not go there. I didn't start this thread to insult people. And as a fellow American, I beg you not to perpetuate the stereotype.

 

I very much enjoyed his joke about people thinking the price would go up upon his arrival.

 

It looks like you've got who wants to overtake whom backwards. And yeah, you're not speaking for Americans, sorry.

--Eric

 

I, too, would like to chime in and say thanks to everyone involved with the Unity 5 release.

I haven't tested it yet and propably won't until the first minor updates. But things look promising. For my main project I won't need the render upgrades, but surely the asset bundle stuff. For my arch viz side stuff, I very welcome the new graphical features. I kinda wonder why the Asset Store doesn't offer some ready made PBR materials though?

I am kinda glad that Unity Tech seems to agree to my thinking expressed here, whereas you end the Pro/Free paywall in terms of engine features and offer asset store benefits for a monthly fee.

 

Is people choosing a game development tool based on how the presenters look during a live stream event really a thing? UT better pony up for a fog machine next time.

I thought he would be taller.

 

Ok, interesting, perhaps I've simply been deluding myself then (being an American obsessed with shiny things and all! ).

 

I have to admit..I was not happy when John game on board. I was surprised when I was cheering for him this morning, even stopped for a moment, surprised by my own behavior. LOL

But I sincerely hope this move is good for Unity. I know it is good for us, and I believe it will be good for Unity but of course, these guys know better than me.

 

Okay, guy, you are speaking for yourself. You are no more American than I am and neither us speak for anyone but ourselves. And neither of us are being paid big bucks by Unity to give them financial or marketing advice. So let's get back to the purpose of this thread.

Go start your own thread with your personal advice to Unity. I am sure you will get lots of responses and be more noticed than in my tiny personal thread.

 

If David says John's cool, then he's cool. In David we trust