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Unity Survey

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Joachim_Ante, Jun 28, 2005.

  1. Joachim_Ante

    Joachim_Ante

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2005
    Posts:
    5,203
    We need your help to make unity better where it really matters.
    We have compiled a few questions which will help us focus development on what our users really care about.

    You can e-mail me your answers privately: joe@otee.dk or post here.


    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    2) What's the worst part of our website?

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?

    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    5) If you didn't buy unity yet, what made you not to buy it?

    6) If you didn't buy unity, what do we need to change to make you buy it?

    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    8) Where did you find out about Unity?
     
  2. taumel

    taumel

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2005
    Posts:
    5,292
    Hello Joachim,

    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    Well as i don't use Macs and there isn't a PC-Version so far i wasn't able to do one single step in Unity.

    But from a interested curious person i would say that it would be great if you have much more material which shows how the workflow works and what can be done with unity online.

    If you have the bandwith it would be great if there would be videos which show the complete chain of doing a simple game. Additional to this you could offer seperate videos which show further keyfeatures.
    If you don't have the bandwidth pdfs would also help.

    Beside of the demo-version you're offering it woud be a great oppotunity for people who don't use Macs to see what and how unity works. Maybe others want to swap to Mac then...


    2) What's the worst part of our website?

    The stuff you're offering in your gallery is of no real use - see above. Videos don't really explain anything...

    The site also lacks content which playable material which is done with unity.

    A forum section "working-log" where you show what you are working on and users could also show their work if they're interested.

    The forum design is a little bit overcrowded for my taste.

    When you know these facts it would be great if they would be written on the site/working log as well:

    a) Pricing policy (updates, crossplattfrom, early adaptor rebate duration)
    b) Roadmap of new versions (estimated times of what could when be expected, what is planned with version 1, what with version 2 and when...)


    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?

    That it's not downloadable online beside of the testversion.


    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    PC-Version.


    5) If you didn't buy unity yet, what made you not to buy it?

    No PC-Version.


    6) If you didn't buy unity, what do we need to change to make you buy it?

    I don't want to bug but i guess you already know the answer. Or someone who donates a reasonable Mac... ;O)


    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    -


    8) Where did you find out about Unity?

    It was stated on a director 3d-channel (dirgames or dir-3d). Was it Marty?! :O)



    Greetings,

    taumel
     
  3. jamie

    jamie

    Joined:
    May 25, 2005
    Posts:
    178
    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    My lack of scripting knowledge and any idea of how and what the script examples do. Being a graphic designer I find the artistic side of Unity wonderful, it's easy to import models and textures and build simple particle effects to get a project rolling, but once I get into specifics of game mechanics it becomes very difficult for me.

    One of the great strengths of Unity I think is its ease of use, but I fear what originally brings in a lot of users could eventually scare some users away from Unity as well. It is so easy at first to pull the elements together, but once I get to wanting to do something specific I end up lost. I know its a short coming on my part because I have a lack of knowledge of scripting and even really how a 'true 3D' game works, I plan on learning more as time allows.

    I guess to make a long story short, it's not your responsibility as a software publisher to teach your users programing concepts but I get the feeling from my experiences with Unity that it would certainly be appreciated by other users like myself if you had some resources available that did just that. Can this already be found on the internet by goggling? Yes I'm certain it can. But really it would be to show your commitment to your users to provide such information specifically in the context of Unity since I feel the ease of use of Unity will be brining in a lot of inexperienced people like myself to the world of 3D game design.


    2) What's the worst part of our website?

    It does not have a 'profession feel' to me. If I am going to make a long term commitment to a company and purchase their product I like to feel that they will be there to stand behind their product. Now I know from being here from the beginning that you have every intention of doing that, but to those who just 'pop by' to see what's going on they may not get that feeling.

    Content:

    It has been mentioned on the board many times that people would like to know exactly what they are going to get for their money, the license agreements in detail and the exact abilities of the two versions of the software, yet that is nowhere to be found. Last time I looked anyway. The 'buy unity' page would be a great place to put such detailed information as well as they 'FAQ' page.

    The gallery seems mostly useless, while there are some interesting things to see, I think it would much more useful to a first timer to find some sample projects to download and play. Not a Unity project but a built, self running game. A one room example of an fps, a simple top down game, maybe a side scroller example, and on and on. I think you could really use this to show the diversity of Unity. I imagine this will build in time as projects grow, but my fear would be if you loose someone in the early days of development that they may not return to see what is new six months from now.

    On a related note, maybe consider adding a 'user gallery' section similar to http://www.garagegames.com/mg/whatsnew/, where people can see what other users are doing. You can find this in the forums I know, but it should be 'out front' where you don't have to search for it.

    I know the documentation exists online because I read about it in the forums, but a direct link to that from your website should exist for those interested users who come for the first time and do not dig through the forum.

    Spotlight GooBall more. It's a great game built with a great engine and you can barely find a link to it on your site. Play it up for all it's worth!!!!!

    Look of site:

    Navigation is not clear, all the option are hidden in the far right corner. I find this very 'out of the way' when really that should be the focus of a well designed site. Make it ultra easy for the user to quickly find the detailed information they need to make their decisions. Same comment would apply to your docs.

    The 'buttons' on the right side of the screen under the main navigation are very 'disjointed' they do not have a common feel that could certainly be used to strengthen your corporate ID and build a feeling of confidence in the company. While on that subject, I love your logo and that could and should be used to help build your brand ID.

    I would suspect by looking at the site that you have built it yourself, in your spare time, while your building the engine. Just like the few 'programer art' samples. While I am understanding of this because I deal with it all the time, I would again fear that other customers may not be and that you could quickly loose them.

    In general:

    I would strongly suggest you consider hiring a professional graphic studio to help with your branding and corporate ID. You have a great product and it deserves the best attention it can get.

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?

    The general lack of it. I know it's being added as you go and also that I have gotten in 'on the ground floor' so there is certainly forgiveness there. I'm sure that people who come on board later will not have the same feeling.

    Also I'd love to see some real specific examples with ultra detailed descriptions. Being an artist with no real game building knowledge its hard for me to even understand the posts on the board sometimes. Those with programing knowledge talk about concepts I have not idea even what they mean. I know its not fair to ask you to teach us programing, but I think that would be a great and helpful addition to others like me who have always had the desire to build games but never felt confident with any tools before. Unity seems to hold such power, I'd love to have the opportunity to grasp just a small portion of it, that would feel to me like a big accomplishment.

    The tutorial that was put together by DavidJJ is a great step in that direction, I found that extremely helpful. More specific examples like that would be great. Perhaps 'building a first person shooter', 'a driving game', 'an rpg', and on and on.

    For me scripting is currently and will continue to be the biggest challenge I'm sure.


    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    I don't feel I have enough knowledge of game building in general to say yet...


    5) If you didn't buy unity yet, what made you not to buy it?

    The price point for the Indie version


    6) If you didn't buy unity, what do we need to change to make you buy it?

    I'm more of a hobbyist than an Indie developer. I would love to see the price point more in line with Torque ($100). This may be asking too much but if it were it would be more of an impulse buy for me and not something I felt I had to justify to myself. While $250 is a great deal for the power of Unity, its hard to justify spending that 'just for fun'.

    Perhaps consider a third option for a hobbyist that only exports one type of file, Macintosh or Windows?

    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    -


    8) Where did you find out about Unity?

    From iDevGames.com


    Note: all criticism is meant to be constructive. your product is wonderful and I think has the real potential to open up game development on the macintosh. It should be treated with the professionalism and respect that it deserves. kudos to you for building such a great piece of software, I really hope to see it flourish in the months and years to come.
     
  4. marty

    marty

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2005
    Posts:
    1,170
    1. What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    I found getting started with Unity to be very easy. More code examples, especially smaller, more foundational ones, in JavaScript would helpful. Also, a simple, example project or script file for each entry in the online Help (like VirTools does) would be a boon. Still though, overall, I think Unity has a very low entry learning curve.


    2. What's the worst part of our website?

    The site is missing some important content. First off, it is critical that you post the complete license agreement and all terms of use for the Indie and Pro versions of the product. Also, you should have a download page online for the web players (Mac and Windows), even if they aren't available yet - just so Google (et al) can start picking them up, if nothing else.


    3. What's the worst part of our documentation?

    See #1 above. Also, it is only available in online form - why can't you make a PDF version? Also, please add forward/back buttons to the Help reader.


    4. What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    A multiuser server, multitexturing support and soft-body/liquid physics. More important though, I'd love to see Unity support plug-in development (a'la Photoshop) with a plug-in SDK so that the community can expand its capabilities.


    7. If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    Unity's being Mac-based had a lot to do with it. Unity's use of Maya MB files (without the use of an exporter) was also very attractive. Easy solid-body physics is a huge plus. And export to Web/Mac/Win from one source file is very sweet. Other than Macromedia (now Adobe) Director, no other RT3D authoring tool does all of that.


    8. Where did you find out about Unity?

    Gooball. Making Gooball was the smartest thing you guys could have done. For one, it's promoting Unity. For two, and maybe even more important, it demonstrates Unity's power and effectiveness to anyone who might doubt it is mature enough yet to use in development.
     
  5. pdrummond

    pdrummond

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    Posts:
    185
    Answers to the survey questions:

    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?
    The lack of documentation and tutorials. I feel we need a good overview, general manual and reference. Tutorials which focus on real world examples would put this information into context.

    2) What's the worst part of our website?
    Just the lack of content. Information such as system requirements and more examples of how Unity can be used would be good.

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?
    The fact that it's incomplete. See question 1.

    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?
    Terrain generation. The ability to generate huge terrains that let the player wander for what feels like kilometres is one of the great things about Torque. The terrain functions in Torque are definitely one of it's strong points. However, Unity beats it hands down when it comes to workflow and ease of use.
    More prebuilt scripts, especially in the area of AI (bots) would be good.

    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?
    The ability to easily get content into Unity. Being able to use Cinema 4D for modelling and Photoshop for my texturing is wonderful. No more messing around with Blender and trying to get Radiant to export .DIF files for Torque. The price was a touch above my impulse buy threshold, but still good value.

    8 Where did you find out about Unity?
    Umm, not sure. Probably Inside Mac Games (www.insidemacgames.com).
     
  6. pdrummond

    pdrummond

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2005
    Posts:
    185
    Ooops. Forgot to say that the ability to publish for Windows is important too.
     
  7. sleepyCat

    sleepyCat

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2005
    Posts:
    39
    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    Another voice for lack of documentation. I would love to see more examples for:

    A) Scripts - preferably for me in C#, but I can understand that most people would like to have JavaScript, and i can cope with that :)

    B) Tutorial's HowTo's - like mentioned before videos of that would be great (if they contain more advanced stuff, i would even pay a modes amount for a CD containing them in case bandwith would be a problem)

    I am still somewhat confused about the .Net runtime, e.g. can we use the complete Mono API from Unity?

    C) A bit more variety on example models (e.g. am simple humanoid ragdoll), textures etc. delivered for artistically challenged coders like me.

    I can't wait to see the WWDC demos, and transcripts of the WWDC sessions on Unity.

    2) What's the worst part of our website?

    It is a bit sparse on information, the documentation should be available there, also the Gallery "lacks useful content". I think your web page is pretty nice, but I second the thoughts of those saying it has not enough of a professional feel. In my eyes Unity is a high value, professional tool in the same league as Final Cut or Photoshop (maybe a bit rough around the edges, but it is close)... you should show that.

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?

    There is practically never (or very short) a "discussion part" in your Scripting Reference. Some hints on on typical use, short example code for most functions/methods etc. (somehow like Suns Java API reference or Apples Foundation/AppKit reference) would be fantastic.

    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    As said before, terrain design... a dream would be something like a iBryce in Unity to generate landscapes "algorithmically" ... just using a few sliders to tell it how rough, varied, large etc. it should be... and boom there it is :)

    Snapping and yes definitely a Plug-In SDK (at least mid term).

    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    Being Mac based, the flexibility of it, you guys trying to keep in touch/create a community around it. The price (indie and pro... which i plan to update to after having finished my rpg system for unity...) both are a steal for that value, but I also see that the price is a bit steep for students, which you might want to get addicted early ;) I don't know if a time limited trial is a good idea... maybe instead disable the trials "build game" functionality (so only playing in Unity)? But thats just an idea and I am glad, that I do not have to make this decision.

    8) Where did you find out about Unity?

    insidemacgames.com
     
  8. guategeek_legacy

    guategeek_legacy

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2005
    Posts:
    659
    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?

    Haven't started yet but looking forward to it. I do know that the whole scripting side will be hard seeing as I'm a graphic artist and my partner is a musician.

    2) What's the worst part of our website?

    Not sure, I like its simplicity and neatness. You could spruce up the look a bit if you wanted, and show more examples of things but other than that looking good.

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?

    Haven't gotten that far yet.

    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?

    Snapping and other things that will make RPG creation easier.

    5) If you didn't buy unity yet, what made you not to buy it?

    Waiting for my pay check :p . Price is kind of high for someone who is just starting out in this sort of thing, but price is great if you already have game creation experience.

    6) If you didn't buy unity, what do we need to change to make you buy it?

    7) If you bought unity, what made you buy it?

    Well I haven't bought it yet but I will. Some of the main reasons are: The fact that its a Mac only development interface. This means it will be very simple to understand, that it will be in the Mac OS GUI. And most of all I know that it works well with this platform and no other tools I'll need (aka 3D modelers) will be unavailable to the platform. Unlike torque which is available for multiple platforms and some of the tools you need are not exactly there for Mac. Or your not always sure if the developers will be putting new features in the Mac version or if they will be lead away to the PC by the fact they can make more. Also the fact that I know your spending your time on Unity, your here to help us out, and that it implements great with 3D apps that I have like C4D and Maya.


    8) Where did you find out about Unity?

    Can't remember, it was so long ago. Been waiting for it patiently for quite a while :p. Possibly IMG or iDevgames or maybe even from my friends over at Ambrosias ColdStone forum who were looking for new options.

    Jeff
     
  9. rasmus

    rasmus

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2005
    Posts:
    17
    1) What made it hard for you to get started with Unity?
    More tutorials and documentation would be nice, but more importantly(for me), more examples.

    2) What's the worst part of our website?
    It's a bit hard to navigate, atleast I often go around in circles abit before I find what I want.
    And I think it would be nice if you had a Unity demo in the gallery, to showcase the browser plugin.

    3) What's the worst part of our documentation?
    Well, that it isn't complete yet. And it feels a bit empty, more script examples and perhaps more in-depht explanations would help.

    4) What features in unity do we lack and you need most?
    Some easy to use terrain creation would be nice, and the other thing that comes to mind is AI, but that has perhaps more to do with examples etc.

    5 6) If you didn't buy unity yet, what made you not to buy it? (If you didn't buy unity, what do we need to change to make you buy it?)
    I haven't got the money yet, and more examples etc would be very nice.

    8) Where did you find out about Unity?
    iDevgames
     
  10. Guest

    Heya Joe. Im not sure if you read the post after we edit them by default, so I just wanted to let you know that I've edited my earlier reply to this post to include several additions.
     
  11. marty

    marty

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2005
    Posts:
    1,170
    Oops - made that last post as a Guest.

    Anyway, this Marty saying that Im not sure if you normally read our replies to posts after we edit them, so I just wanted to let you know that I've edited my earlier reply to this post to include several additions.