Unity 5 is coming and more!

Adding/removing lights, light properties changes, albedo/emissive material properties and environment lighting changes are all taken into account at runtime.

Those changes influence lightmaps, light probes and cubemaps, so can affect both static and dynamic objects.

To some extent the new Standard shader will be able to be used on particles. Not sure it will cover all the blend modes the current particle shaders use, as that is not the core focus of this shader.
That will allow the particles to receive realtime direct lighting (without shadows) and lighting from light probes and cubemaps.

Longer term we will most likely look into particle lighting in more depth.

BTW nice portfolio Florian.

 

Sounds good

How hard will it be to implement audio ducking based on groups?
Would that have to be monitored and implemented via script at runtime, or could it be set up in the editor?

 

I'm sure "2" seemed like a good number at some point.
We'll see what we can do without causing too much pain.

 

Great new features !
But, what about nested prefabs ? I think this is a big lack in Unity, even if we can deal with it, it turns projects hierarchy and object organisation into a non-flexible mess.

 

Do you plan to support something like VST someday?

 

Can we use parts of the new basic shader with cginc?

 

The Enlighten integration is really nice and interesting feature!
Is it possible to bake lighting into vertex data, or it is "Light maps only" again?

 

I don't like to ask these kinda of things but... when 4.5 is coming out to public?

 

The thing I want to know is the Unity indie model going to continue or is unity 5 going pro only with no free indie version?

 

How would that work though? When you build your game it would have to somehow pack that VST with it, right? I doubt most of the available VSTs allow to be redistributed.

 

They mentioned that they haven't decided the feature set for the free version, so that strongly implies that it's going to continue existing

 

What about Unity Graphic Renderer? UDK has the best graphics by far... i think you first should try to increase your graphic quality and then add feautres like "GUI" "AUDIO".

I like Unity but because of suck graphic renderer make me feel suck :-s

In other way, UDK has the best graphics but for me is to far for programmers, i prefer to write code and not diagrams. (for that i like unity)

 

You'd have to offline bounce when the audio had been mixed. Just like you do in every DAW, bar pro tools obviously because they like to be the odd exception.

 

You can do that in Pro Tools since ages - I'm using Pro Tools since 1995. (ouch almost 20 years! I feel old now)

Darn, that's a good point

 

What about PVRTC2 Compression? Will we finally get it with 5? PVRTC3 is already there…

 

Any new information about "Level Streaming" mentioned on the Unity 5 page?

 

Very valid points.

I've been heads down on Unity for so long that I did not have a chance to investigate other options. Looks like the market is becoming more Indie oriented. I didn't realize that Crytek now doesn't charge a royalty.Their subscription deal is very cheap. Also seems like they have a lot more features built-in so that we don't have to spend a bundle on the asset store to get Unity to become Unreal or Crytek. Times are changing all for the good.

 

I have a question about the global illumination,
If i have objects enabled and disabled and i switch between enabled and disabled objects, will they be accounted for global illumination? Some examples are destruction of buildings / structures.
It might also be a problem with moving objects like big doors.

Can you explain what are the limitations / requirements of the global illumination in Unity 5?

Edit:
What i meant was, are those disabled objects going to affect the global illumination once i enable them and will the enabled objects not affect the global illumination once i disable them?
I think i'm asking that correctly

 

Some very good point. With Unity now being more expensive than the other option especially for newer indie dev comers who have no published yet/made money they will surely think twice before touching Unity when they can see how much more affordable Crytek and Unreal can be which include (if I am right) iOS/Android deployment

 

these werent here yet?

http://blog.speedtree.com/2014/03/1357/

http://blogs.unity3d.com/2014/03/20/physically-based-shading-upcoming-in-unity-5-0/

 

SpeedTree for Unity Modeler licenses will be sold for Windows and Mac via the SpeedTree store. Finally, if you want to sell your creations on the asset store, the license supports that as well.

great

 

Will the new shader be able to use vertex colors.
Or be changeable in code like the current system.

I was able to create the shader I needed in the current system by mixing existing shader code.

It looks like the new system is sealed and not changeable, but that's just my first impression and hopefully wrong.

 

If you have to bounce the audio, you might as well do it in your DAW. The cool thing would be if you could run it in real time and manipulate parameters in real-time. I just don't think it's feasible.

 

I do not understand why you assume that the shader will be closed.
Take a look at http://aras-p.info/texts/files/201403-GDC_UnityPhysicallyBasedShading_notes.pdf where you can find more info.
It is cleared in page 52, "You can write your own shaders like you always could".
The new shader structure seems much more robust, feature rich and the frame debugger seems a useful addition.

 

Hi Wayne,

Many thanks for the heads up, much appreciated!

What about per track mixing callbacks? It's be great to have a callback that allows injecting audio data directly in tracks, OnAudioFilterRead style.

 

I don't believe I said I was losing money or that I couldn't cover it. But in a business, money out and money in are two different things. You want to keep your money out (payables) as low as possible and your money in (receivables) as high as possible. I didn't lose money on my Unity purchases. I made all of that money back and then some.

But we're talking about price per pound here. I think it's silly to assume that CryEngine 3 and Unreal Engine 4 are somehow sub-par in comparison to Unity. I'm a huge Unity fan...but that doesn't mean I'm going to be blind to what's happening in the field.

 

The full quote would be:
"What if I don’t need all this?
• You can write your own shaders like you always could."

Which I think means:
What if I dont need the new system?
answer: You can write your own shaders using the old system.

So that doesnt really answer my question about the new system.

And yes, it does look nice.

Edit:
Page 5 in pdf
"Built-in could cover 80% of use cases
• Still possible to write your own, like always"

So my question is: Write my own version in the new system?
Or the old system?

Its just not clear.

 

I really just want to add support to this post. It *feels like* the v4.x cycle has been short and the amount of money I personally, as an individual and not a studio, have handed to Unity since 2010 is quite high. Especially as I'm paying +25% VAT each time as an individual...

I know it's a free market I can choose not to buy. I know someone will ask why I'm not selling my output or why I need Pro at all.

The truth is I *like* Unity, I *want* the Pro features (inc Oculus Rift support, for me), I want to support the company and for now I can technically afford it. But for me it's becoming an unsustainably expensive hobby.

To offer some constructive feedback, I'd quite like to see a license somewhere between today's free pro, perhaps based on what happens with the output. But the relatively expensive subscription model certainly isn't that...

 

If it costs 600 to upgrade and upgrades are every 2 years, why isn't the subscription cost 25 dollars? 600/24

 

This part was my favourite in the Unity 5 upgrade faqs

"The new GUI system will be in Unity 4.6, which will be released this Summer."

YESSSSS!!!

 

Summer?!?
It said Spring yesterday!!! EVERYBODY RAGE!!!!!!!!

just kidding

 

I think it makes sense if we can guarantee someone keeps using it. Either by making pro so damn good, or gimping free to the extent that developing in free is a chore.

As others have pointed out - your model of making people buy pro essentially drives you into a new feature upgrade mindset. That can't be good long term.

 

Wow... no, I think I actually am going to rage a bit. That's a pretty crappy trick to pull, Unity. :|

 

So... putting that ninja FAQ update into context, I'm assuming it means they just realized they're way behind schedule on the gui YET AGAIN, and 4.6 won't be out for at least another four months, which will push the release of 5 back further as well. Hmm. I wonder if they are going to delay 5 until they actually have the GUI working or if they will decide to give up on a GUI in this version yet again and push it back into 5.

 

I'm a new costumer and I have no Pro license.

1. If I will preorder now Unity 5.0 pro for 1500$ i will have Unity 4 and Unity 5 license ??? (I will be able to use both later ?)

2. If I will preorder now Unity 5.0 pro with Android Pro 5.0 and IOS Pro 5.0 I will have Andoid 4 pro and IOS 4 pro license too ?

Please , answer.

 

One of the devs said that 4.6 may come after 5.0 release. Which is one of the reasons why they showed it on the Unity 5 video. That is why 4.6 timeframe is on summer.

 

That's... ridiculous. DON'T THEY KNOW HOW NUMBERS WORK?!?!?!

Edit: In reality though, that's probably for the best. It means they are holding to their promise that they'd get the GUI out for version 4 users... even if it does take longer than releasing an entire new version of Unity with a ton of different features.

 

Subscribing to Unreal Engine 4's updates for one month also give you the right to use that software forever.

from their FAQ:

To be fair, their license also includes the obligation to pay 5% of gross revenue in royalties. But still: the initial investment for Untiy is suddenly much higher than that for Unreal and CryEngine.

 

Bold, because it should be noted: Can we give Unity a nod of respect that they didn't try to crush or quell our discussions about other engines? It is a move of confidence on Unity's part and a gesture of democracy. For that, surely respect must be given

Not sure such a thing would be allowed on the other forums. Just saying.

 

A clarification on this subject from Unity stuff would be very useful.
As well as an answer regarding if Unity 5 to Unity 6 transition is supposed to last 2 years or not.

My thoughts on the other engines subject : http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/235141-Unreal-Engine-4?p=1563548&viewfull=1#post1563548

 

Yeah, this. It's one thing I really hated about the old Epic forums (it's probably still true of the new forums). That Unity allows comparisons with other engines is awesome.

 

Definitely a good thing that no one tried to crush or quell the discussions. Because that would be silly and wouldn't help anyone
But yes, they deserve respect for that, I can imagine that it might not be a very pleasant subject.

 

If anything discussions about other engines is good. No one would be here if we didn't like Unity, and keeping an eye on what's out there is always a good thing...

 

4.6 is already built. It is just not public; because some small fixes are missing.
And most people will stick to NGUI or DFGUI anyways. The new GUI is nothing amazing, the Ngui guy also stole many of the concepts from the new gui and added to Ngui after he left Unity so many ppl kind of already have the new gui in the Ngui package.

 

Its not like Epic is self righteous, I made a comparison of Unity to UE4s CPU utilization and battery performance (which is vastly better in Unity) and someone from Epic replied and apologized it wasnt optimized yet...they are cool as hell too! (https://forums.unrealengine.com/showthread.php?153-Editor-CPU-utilization-and-energy-impact-in-OSX)

 

Apparently these "small fixes" require another three to four months to fix.

 

Thanks ! And thanks for the info as well

As "bac9-flcl" has suggested, I've tried to write my own but because the shader needs input from the particle editor, I failed to get features like fading or color changes over time get to work properly. ...and I suck at shader coding So a unity version of it would indeed be highly appreciated and could add a lot of depth to dynamic scenes.

 

No, the schedule to release updates are fine. 4.x sounds late now simply because Unity had to rush and announce Unity 5 duo to UE4 going 19$ bucks.
If not for that we would still thinking that Unity 5 would be years away.

 

Yes, yes

Again, yes and yes.