Visual Scripting Roundup? Universe vs. Playmaker?

Has anyone done a roundup of the various visual scripting addons that are available for Unity?

As a non-scripter I am considering investing some time in learning one of these but am having a hard time analyzing their respective pros and cons. I am also planning to continue learning the scripting basics with Javascript/Unityscript but I think as a non-programmer who's actually worked with these kind of graphic programming environments (using Max/MSP for music) this might be a good fit for me.

I have read about Antares Universe and Playmaker a bit. Are there others that I should consider? Has anyone done an in-depth comparison? I know that this is a little sensitive, not trying to find out which is 'better' I'm sure both have good points, just trying to figure out what their uniquenesses are.

If not maybe I'll do one at my blog (in sig), might take a while though as I'll have to learn the basics of each first

Thanks in advance!

 

Love the topic, and I'm interested in the responses you get!

I've been evaluating Unity3D Pro for iOS development and I'm close to pulling the trigger. With all the MarchMadness stuff going on, timing seems fitting to also pick up some crucial add-ons.

uScript and Playmaker look like powerful offerings that bring convenience to the table. I've read a few posts that they aren't mutually exclusive though. My curiosity is about how these visual tools could benefit a text-based developer such as myself.

For example, while I've been programming for [many] years in C, C++, C#, and Obj-C, I spent some time in a visual programming environment called LabVIEW. LabVIEW allows engineers/technicians put together data acquisition programs using a drag-n-drop and wire-it-up approach. While I built many useful tools in LabVIEW, I found using C# (Windows) or Obj-C (Mac) more comfortable when developing similar tools. I found a younger tech that was just getting started in the world of C was more comfortable in LabVIEW.

I'm wondering if these visual tools for Unity3D can help a text-coder like me to quickly prototype an idea, then allow re-using something when the project gets more complex.

Thanks!

 

I've been using universe for about a year, from a lot of work in similar nodal environments. It is powerful, and you can do everything in it that you can do with script. If you are anything like me, and find the sterility of a page of regular scripting offputting, the workflow is fun and very interactive, plus the bonus that you have an interactive view of the flow of your script, and you can script at runtime. There are a growing list of Vizio logic blocks, as well as every type and function in Unity, as well as a capacity to work efficiently with regular c# or .js scripts, and you can access system functions with Wizards. Wheras playmaker has a great FSM, FSM is but a little bit of universe. The down side is that is takes a bit longer to get up and running, but when that bit is over (and it is getting much easier with tutorials now), then get going you do. The developer is very responsive and is continually making updates.

 

As a Vizio universe user, I can speak only about it. Other user will give you their opinion. I have been programming for about 10 years. Mostly object oriented languages. What I don't like about programming with code is that You have to know syntax or you will get a bunch of errors.
What I care about is semantics !!! Real programmer should draw an algorithm first and after that his/her job is to implement that algorithm with any computer language.
With Visual scripting tools like VIZIO universe you don't need to do the implementation. You just need to create an algorithm with it !!!
So Vizio is not just for non-scripters and designers !!!

Benefits for non-coders and designers are that they don't need to know correct names of the functions, how many parameters they accept and what type of return value they have. But they do need to know what they want to achieve. No tool will make you cool game in one button click !

Material shaders tools are becoming more and more node based. UDK has one, here on the forum you can find free visual shader tool.
Maya has Hypershader. So this concept is appealing to designers.
So if you grasp this node connecting tools, VIZIO is a tool for you.

Why?

It has every single Unity function enclosed in a node. You pick the node from a list of nodes. You just need to know vague name of the function to find it. It has a lot of non Unity function nodes to help you manipulate flow of the program ( graph ). You have FSM ( Final State Machine ) build in. You can see you program ruining in real time. You can make changes and save them in run time. There you have an ability to visually debug your program. You can interact with third party scripted code easily. So every plugin you bought) is there for you. You can easily mix VIZIO with other code. You can sometimes easily persuade the creator of the VIZIO to make some changes that are convenient to your needs Other user are creating video tutorials for beginners and for advanced users.