Why is it such a struggle downloading a package from the Asset Store?

So, I saw a tweet about an Asset Store package that is currently free - but not for much longer. Steps required to get it before it goes back on sale:

1. Clicked seller's link which took me to Asset Store on web.
2. Clicked 'open in unity'.
3. Asked to launch Unity.
4. Had to choose a project (don't want one that has some imports to do).
5. Asset Store window in Unity auto opened after slight connection delay.
6. Clicked 'dowload'.
7. After downloading cancelled import package window.
8. Closed Unity.
9. Searched for folder where packages are downloaded to, then for sub-folder with seller's package.

Why can't we just download package like any normal download?

 

Probably for safety purposes. Even download goes through Unity Editor not through browser so it should be because of that.

 

I sense sarcasm there. What I'm getting at is that the process is a bit of a hassle, do you disagree? - once I'm at the Unity Asset Store in my browser and I'm logged in, why do I have to open Unity, load a project, cancel the import window, and find the package. If I'm logged in why can't I buy/get and download to my standard download location if I want?

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't know if I've ever wanted to get a package and import it right there and then.

 

You have to be logged in to purchase the asset, so I don't know what extra security downloading through the editor is supposed to provide. It was probably a user experience decision that sounds good on paper and works most of the time. But the option to just download the package in the browser would be handy too.

On windows the editor just downloads to

Code (CSharp):

1. %Appdata%\Unity\Asset Store

which doesn't provide versioning, so I end up copying it out of there and into a separate folder to keep old versions (just in case), making the process even longer, though this is hardly a frequent problem and unlikely to give me RSI.

 

We can already purchase assets through the website. Isn't the same account I log into the website with aware of my licenses? Not that I understand why it needs to know my license in order to access the assets purchased by my account.

 

You could have just said this in the first place.

If that's the way it has to work and the user experience cannot be improved then let's not say any more on the subject.

Although an option to view package in finder/explorer would be handy.

 

I also can't see any reasoning for the downloads being allowed in Unity only at the moment or past. I do most of my purchases with normal browser because the integrated asset store is dead slow to use. To buy stuff I'm already required to login so should not be anything related to licensing and Unity does not do nothing more than place it in proper location with its download button. To filter out other engine users as shopper wouldn't be that much of a deal either as they could download free version anyways if they wanted something.

However for future I can understand it cause of the upcoming version detection (blog).

 

I think just speeding up the integrated asset store window will reduce the 'pain' that comes with this a lot already. It just takes way too long to navigate through the store, which is the major reason to use the internet browser instead

 

The problem with your example is that while Unity and iTunes may both require you to go through their specific software to make the final purchase, the actual experience of using the store in the Unity editor and in iTunes is radically different. The iTunes store may be a bit slow sometimes, but even on its worst day it is blazingly fast in comparison to accessing the Asset Store through the Unity editor. The Unity Asset Store runs like I am using a dial-up connection, making shopping through the Unity editor an exercise in time-wasting frustration. There are also multiple known issues, some of which require completely closing the Unity editor in order to get the Asset Store working again.

Ultimately, this makes any comparison between iTunes and Unity ring a bit false.

Unity has produced an excellent engine, does great training materials, does a bang up job on marketing, and their customer service seems top notch, yet Unity for some reason cannot bring the Asset Store up to anything near the quality of the rest of their tools. The Asset Store seems to be the red-headed stepchild of the company.


As a side note: Yes, I have done all the various troubleshooting and turning off firewalls and so on and so forth that are recommended for speeding up the Asset Store.

 

I can't honestly say that the asset store in Unity is any slower than a web browser for me; if anything it seems slightly faster. Clearly there must be a bug that results in slow behavior in specific cases, not that the store itself is inherently slow.

--Eric

 

But we need to be logged in, so you know what license(s) we have from our account details. (And, the one time I accidentally purchased a Pro-only asset on my hobby free account nothing stopped, warned or informed me of the potential error).

The Editor pushes you back out to your browser to handle the actual transaction. The juggling there is at very least a mildly awkward user experience - after the transaction in your browser you just get redirected to a page that tells you to manually close it and task-switch back to Unity. (This used to be all in-Editor. I assume this is a partial solution moving towards a better system.)

And the files themselves aren't protected in any way once they're downloaded - they're not encrypted and linked to our accounts or anything.

So, all in all, I think it's fair enough for people to ask why Asset Store stuff can't be grabbed as normal downloads, since that would have plenty of benefits. My only guess is that you have future plans that don't fit with it.

How fast is your internet conenction? I wonder if it's anything to do with that. I've always had a slow experience on the Asset Store in the Editor, where it's fine in a browser. I'm in Australia, so a "great" connection here is a pretty mediocre one by many other countries' standards.

 

How fast is a snail? On a good day it's 5-6Mbps.

--Eric

 

Ok, my connection is at least in that ballpark. What about ping time to the Asset Store servers? 221ms for me, assuming that kharma.unity3d.com is it (it's certainly the one in the error messages that seem to be related to the Asset Store).

 

ping kharma.unity3d.com gives me results ranging from 150ms in the best case to 240ms in the worst; average probably around 190ms.

--Eric

 

Well, it's (probably) not that, then.

 

When is it going to be faster? Because I've filed bug reports more than once about the incredible slowness of asset management inside the Asset Store/List windows

 

I don't think anyone cares about decrypting the files. We simply wanted an alternative way to download them without having to involve the editor. It can help when making personal backups for all purchases.

 

I'm referring to a problem I've bug-reported a few times. When I start a download the whole editor becomes unresponsive, beachballing for sometimes minutes at a time. I'll probably send another for RC2 at the end of the week if it still happens - it's been a problem since 4.x for me. I simply can't set Unity to download and work on something else in it at the same time. Downloading time is twiddling thumbs time.

 

Still happening in RC1, but I'll wait for the RC2 hinted at later this week, since it's unlikely to help at all to report it for RC1

 

EDIT: Silly me. I stand corrected.

 

But you already can do this.

--Eric

 

.... You know, I swear I tried this once and was unable to do so. The only thing I can think of is that I attempted to buy a product that I already owned. Thus, the place where it would normally say "buy" said "open in Unity".

Well I look pretty silly right now, don't I?

 

I don't know, I can't see you. Please turn on your webcam and I'll let you know.

Edit: Gah! Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!!

--Eric

 

I'm curious about why that is, since once downloaded they're unprotected files.

 

When did Eric get a sense of humor?

 

My guess would be to protect content from:
A). Unauthorized access to the cdn. The files would still be useless even if you got them off the cdn.

B) prevention of man in the middle data s raping of the asset package data.

Only guessed though. There are likely other reasons.

 

They're the reasons I thought of, too. But anyone can download the Editor to decrypt the files and/or swipe them from people who've already downloaded them, and there are other fairly standard solutions to keeping data safe during transmission.

I agree there must be a reason, I just can't see it (which isn't a surprise, it's not my area of expertise).

I wonder if it's a liability thing. This way at least even if someone does start large scale piracy or whatnot Unity have genuinely done their level best to protect all data that's within their control, and in doing so have at least (largely) denied an easy central location to exploit.

 

When hasn't Eric had a sense of humor? I think you've been missing a lot of my posts if you somehow got that impression....

--Eric

 

Just giving you a hard time. .

Agreed. I tend to buy assets when they are on sale. I have a ton I've never even tried, but I import them into empty projects and then export them as .unitypackages so I always have access to them. I'm always worried about publishers yanking their assets off the store. I had actually considered trying to figure out how to write an app to allow you to login and download your assets... the protocol bits are easy but the encryption would not be and replicating it would be paramount to "reverse engineering" which would be bordering on illegal so I opted not to.

 

Pop over to NZ and I'll show you a fast connection . My biggest challenge with the store is interrupted downloads. Would love to be able to resume, rather then restart, if the connection drops out.