Unity3D Review in German magazine c't

Hi there,

today, I received the new issue of "c't computer magazine", and to my surprise (interesing coincidence, as I just found out about Unity3D about a week ago ;-) ), there's a 3 page review of Unity. For any people who speak German, that might be an interesting article (I think c't is THE computer magazine for anybody who speaks German):

Christian Hochstatter (se)
3D-Puzzle
Unity erzeugt Spiele und 3D-Anwendungen f?r Browser, Mac und Windows
Pr?fstand,Spieleprogrammierung,Computerspiele, Programmierung, Entwicklungssystem,Entwicklungs-Tools,OverTheEdge Unity
c't 7/07, Seite 74

I'll try to give a little overview of the keypoints in the article (I haven't actually seen Unity3D myself, yet, as I still don't own a Mac, but I'm quite enthusiastic about it, and even more through that article). As I believe there's only a few people here who can actually read the article in German, I'll try to summerize it for you:

The author's a little critical about the fact that Unity does not really support modelling (which I think Unity is explicitely not made for), however, he points out that there's a mesh interface (which I find is very cool ;-) ). The multitude of supported formats for textures and sounds is mentioned (PSD, TIFF, PNG, JPB, OGG, WAV, AIFF). Also, that assets are automatically reloaded when changed from an external software. The project-list, game view and scene view are explained a little, as well as the inspector.

The author describes two approaches that Unity makes possible: a more "IDE-based" one, using the graphical interface and the possibility of visually connecting objects. In that context, the object-oriented approach of Unity3D is praised and it is said that this is both newbie-friendly and efficient. He also writes that the tutorial is really helpful ;-)

The possibility to create scripts with the script editor (keywords: Mono, C#, Javascript and Boo which is said to be somewhat similar to Python) is described as the second approach, and using both approaches in combination is said to be the ideal process.

The editor Unitron and how it is used to develop scripts is described in some detail (including debugging, which is said to be somewhat limited to what one is used from other IDEs). Also the author criticises that a profiler is lacking, as well as a grid/snap-to-grid function, improved project/hierarchy-organization (e.g. filtering or search), but it is said that in general, the IDE creates a very positive impression and is nicely configurable to the needs of the user.

The GameEngine is said to be "smart", and that quite a few problems that occur with other Game engines don't occur in Unity 3D (examples are also given). The graphical output of Unity's graphics engine is said to be state-of-the-art, the shaders that come with Unity3D are mentioned, so is the particle engine which is considered to be flexible enough for many different kinds of effects.

The render-to-texture function of the pro version is mentioned (as well as the post-processing image effects).

Argh... when I think about this, I get really excited getting my hands on Unity... Btw, I think it'll be a Mac pro, even though I'm now also considering the MacBooks pro ;-)

On with the article: lacking general shadow support in the graphics engine is criticized, and ShaderLab is said to be somewhat unintuitive, since working with it requires an understanding of modern graphics boards. The author says that support for DirectX would be nice due to the fact that OpenGL is quite often not ideally supported under Windows, especially Vista.

Concerning the sound engine, they say a tracker would be nice, especially for browser games (hehe, reminds me of the 3MB/8MB discussion we just had concerning the Web-player and .NET 1.1/2.0-support ;-) ).

The integration of Ageias PhysX into Unity3D is praised (and the engine itself is praised for also working fine on older systems), but the lack of support of all of PhysX's current features is criticized. So is the lack of networking support in the game engine (the possibility of using sockets is mentioned, though... and I guess they'll write again once 2.0 is out ;-) ).

Finally, the possibilities of publishing are described as well the fact that there already are quite a few good titles based on this engine are out.

Unity3D is compared with Director MX 2004 and Virtools 4, as well as with using a "mix" of open source components. Generally, the author favors Unity to all of these solutions, for different reasons.

OTEE is praised for developing the product in a responsible manner and keeping their promises. Compared to previous versions (they have now reviewed 1.6.1, and I think 1.5 in a previous review comparing many different Game "tools"), Unity3D is said to have leaped forward quite a bit in various areas.

Unity is not recommended in the review, for people primarily interested in 2D. Also, it is said that people using high-end kits like Unreal 3 or the Cry Engine 2 might not be particularly interested. But "for the rest" (well, it's more specific in the article, of course), Unity3D is highly recommended.

Hehe, they also mention the very active and friendly community, and that some people actually bought a Mac to get Unity (like I might do ;-) ).

In the last paragraph, the author says a port to Windows and Linux would be greatly appreciated. Well, I guess we've heard that before in here, haven't we?

Personally, I really liked the review. It seemed very balanced and friendly towards Unity3D. To me, it definitely adds some extra points to Unity3D reading about it in an independent magazine... even though I think the decision's made, and I'm just waiting until I can get my hands on a nice Mac ;-)

Kind regards,
Jashan

 

sweet - thanks so much for the translation ; )

 

Agreed, thanks for the update!

 

Thats pretty cool and a good read. I agree mostly.

 

Oh, the c't.
I read it for several years. It's nice to hear they report about Unity.

I'll have a look at the article on Monday.

 

If you've paid what it costs for an Unreal 3 license, I bet you don't look at ANYTHING else If on the other hand you use a bog-name commercial engine license for modding and hobbying but cannot acually SELL a game, it may be time to take those skills to Unity.