Why should I use Unity?

Hey guys! I am the dev of Norega and Naxos on Steam...

This is what I wanna ask you...
I always wanted to use Unity and start coding for real like the pros.
Anyways what are the great benefits for me to use Unity over any other engine?

Lets supose I am using a more beginner friendly engine..

Is it true that they are limited on what they can do?

I wanna make 3d in the future too... But I am afraid I may get overwhelmed with the amount of content Unty has to offer =/

Any suggestions?

 

I mean its free, why not actually try it out and see for yourself?

Start with this: https://learn.unity.com/course/create-with-code

By the end of those videos you should know enough to get going

Good Luck!

 

Depends what kind of games you want to do..

Some benefits:
- publish to multiple platforms https://support.unity.com/hc/en-us/articles/206336795-What-platforms-are-supported-by-Unity-
- Personally c# is huge bonus, its simple enough, has plenty of help/materials available for pretty much anything
- asset store has lots of ready to use packages (saves time initially, but can also cause issues in long run if they are no longer updated or break down in new unity versions)

But nothing wrong with GameMaker or similar engines, can probably get games released faster/easier.
(in Unity you'd have to build that framework yourself, dialogs, quest, character systems movements etc.. or of course can buy from asset store - if available, sometimes can find free opensource alternatives)

 

Is that RPGmaker you were using for your games?
In that case yes as that imposes the gameplay and design fairly tightly.
Comparatively open and allowing some entry level 3D would be Game Maker Studio.

True, Unity can be overwhelming, but it can be broken down into chewable bits. Already having brought a project all the way to publishing, you have knowledge a large number of people joining here lack. So don't worry. Grab some tutorials from Unity learn or from some popular youtuber (as long as they use Unity 2017 and newer) and get going
It's also possible to do 2D or 2.5D in Unity btw.

As to why you should use Unity: Either if you feel your previous engines limited your abity to create certain gameplay mechanics (about anything goes in Unity) or because you want higher visual quality and 3D since it comes with solid PBR shaders.
As others mentioned, the Asset store is also a great bonus. 100 bucks like what I believe you gotta spend to publish on Steam gives you a good headstart in the store (though familarize yourself with what you need first, before buying).

 

I learned programming from early years of my life.
But some of my first my attempt of game dev, was using Macromedia Flash with action scripts, then Quest3D, which was visual scripting based. Then Unity.

I have tried various of tools for making games. Your journey when learning will benefit from trying different software.
You are in stage of learning and experimenting. Use that time.

Eiher way, no matter which engine you going to use, you will learn quickly thier posobilities and limitations. You will be spending quite of the time, troubleshooting. Some are lesser, or more chalanging. The point is, learning curve is either way, regardless of used tool.

Major question is, do you willing to learn programming. This will consume major part of your time.
Now, you can split programming between visual scripting and writing code directly. Either way. You will need to understand and learn logic of programming.

I.e. Unreal has easy to use blueprint.
While Unity main focus is on C#. But also has visual scripting tools.

Choices, choices. I would say, just learn about different tools.

 

It provides a fairly clean API, and implementing all of that yourself will take much longer.

Things that are easy to use are less flexible, which means you can do less with them. For example, you won't be making any first person shooters in RpgMaker.

 

I think you'll be best served by writing out the plan for your next project. Just write out your ideal version of it, don't take into account current technical limitations.

Then you can identify which parts of it you already know how to do. You can identify which parts that oyu know how to do, but you'd like to figure out if there is an easier way to do them. You can identify parts that you don't know how to do.

That may take you a few weeks. But at the end, you'll have a very focused list of questions, and then it will be easier to figure out if unity is the right tool for you and the project.

 

Thank you very much for the tips! I am not using RPGmaker btw... I am using a slightly more advanced one... that can do all types of 2D games but is limited on doing 3D...

That why I wanted to change... I have very basic coding skills... I made one or 2 games in GMS... but that is also not my main engine... I usually always end up in trouble when using GMS tough...

Yes I am very intrested in learning programming...

What are the best tips for me?? Should I just learn C# first? Where should I satrt? Can I just start with Unity?

Oh btw I made 2 simple non serious projects in Unity ... I implemented audio buttons animations and some text on screen changing values... But I know Unity is way more then that...

Everytime I use Unity I get stuck at some point.

Thank your everyone for all of the friendly feedback.. this is hughe to me since I am learning and trying to master my skills!

 

Start with Unity, study some of the free template projects and tutorials like Roll-a-Ball. Don't expect to write your dream game immediately. Break stuff by experimenting. Learn by doing. You'll learn C# and Unity's specific quirks in C# as you go.

 

Pros:

1. It's straightforward.
2. Free starting out.
3. Simple yet powerful APIs.
4. Easily extensible.
5. Best documentation in industry.
6. Great compatibility with external software.
7. Largest amount of assets & resources available.
8. Deploy to anything.
9. No royalties.

Cons:

1. Still lagging behind some others in visual fidelity.
2. Basic features missing or underwhelming (and having to rely on 3rd party assets to make up for it).
3. First & third party features/assets suddenly being deprecated which can royally mess up your project.
4. Questionable decisions & priorities at management level is cause for concern.
5. Scales poorly with larger teams in terms of costs.

 

Do not get discouraged by that. On their respective level, that happens to the "pros" too and that in every advanced software framework. It's just that at some point you begin to recognize that actual blockers are very rare. For everything else there is a solution which you can find either from experience or with patience and research. The certainty that you will find that solution and then you will not have the same issue again in the future, shall be your motivation

 

This is very encouraging thank you sooo much!!
I always wanted to make my dream 3D game =)

 

Every game engine is a compromise between (at least) two conflicting goals:

Ease of Use: If you want the Engine that's simplest and easiest to use- that means the engine does all the work for you and you can just relax and not have to do much. If that's what you want then you are stuck using the built-in features and then your game can only do what the engine allows you to do.

Versatility: On the other hand, you want an engine that can do anything and everything that you want exactly how you want. Then you are going to need to spell-out all of the details so that engine can follow them and know exactly what you want it to do. That would make the engine more complicated and more difficult to use.

3D Engines like Unity, Unreal, Godot, etc. are trying to find the perfect balance between ease-of-use and versatility so that you can enjoy both of these things to the greatest extent possible. The general rule is, though, that if you have more of one, then you have less of the other.

 

What one can also do is use a versatile engine but restrict yourself to a framework within it. For example Corgi Engine is a neat one for a Jump'n Run: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/templates/systems/corgi-engine-2d-2-5d-platformer-26617

Maybe start with what BIGTIMEMASTER said - make a plan on what the game shall be like. That helps seeing what the engine needs to be capable of and also gives you an overview over the complexity. It does not need to fill more than one or two pages though.

 

This explains a lot thanks a ton!! =)

 

Be advised that Unity is really inconsistent in that aspect. Some features are easy to use but very inflexible in a "F*** you, do it my way", while other features are just an API and even simple things take a lot of work. Some features are just an API and also inflexible (they said it couldn't be done, but Unity found a way!).

Also, things tend to fall apart when your use case goes beyond basic.

This is required viewing I think:

 

Well I would love to learn... Guess I have a long way to go...

 

This is a no brainer, use Unity to make cool games, simple

 

If a player hears your game was made with Unity, they're not gonna want to play it. Unity has a bad rep and it's definitely for a good reason; most bad games are made with Unity. I can't even lie when I see that default "Made with Unity" logo in the beginning of a game it just screams "unprofessional" to me.

I'd say choose Unity if you want to focus on the programming part, and if you just think of game development as a hobby, choose Unreal if you want to focus on the game development part and want to make a more professional looking game (as a beginner, if you have lots of experience you can definitely make a professional looking game with Unity or any engine and get people to play it). It has way more tools, it's a lot more fleshed out, and Epic is pumping cash into it.

 

Wow. I can't remember the last time this was suggested but it's been at least a few years. At one point there was a lot of discussion on this topic including by multiple YouTube personalities and the concensus was that it's a heavily exaggerated issue and that it's a very small number that actually care.

 

You need to learn about basics statistics, with solid comparison number and rations, before parroting such nonsense.

Players don't care what game engine was was ued for creating a game.
No average Joe gamer searches, which game engine was used for game A or B.
Specially not turning off the game, in the middle of the startu up, when game logo shows up.

If game is good, players will download it regardless of logo, brand, or company that made it.

 

The above started with a load or prevaricating hogwash that violates local and international hogwashing regulations.. The poster has ,drank the ten cent kool aid, has no real clue about actual interactive realtime 3D development. He should personally consider his above post a besmirchment upon himself.

 

...if you do not plan out your code architecture and keep refactoring it as you build up complexity..amazingly just like every other large API that exists.

 

I am late to this party but... experiment with it for the sake of experimentation and learning. I can't count how many web-app frameworks I tried when starting out. You see if it feels right for you and you judge whether you think it will survive among all the other choices. Most of what you learn will be transferrable to other tools you might use.

 

Rather silly thing to be saying, it is the developer that makes a bad game, not the engine... there are lots of good Unity games out there.

 

Definitely agree, but mainly my point is that Unity is great for simple stuff, but for more complex things it starts to be much harder compared to something like Unreal where it has built in tools for things like rope physics and physical animations etc. If you want to make a very polished and very complicated game to me it seems like Unreal has more tools to do so, but that's just my take.

If you're good at making games you can use any engine it really doesn't matter. If you want to use Unity by all means use Unity, I think it might just take a bit longer to learn. I like this AcidArrows reply, it sums up a lot of my thoughts.

 

Yeah man nobody ever made a massively successful game in Unity. Anyway, time to take a big sip from my mug that says "Genshin Impact Doesn't Exist"

 

Arguing about tools is waste of effort. The original poster asked a question. A number of us suggest it is worthwhile to learn Unity a few people suggest it isn't. Hard to tell but I think they are suggesting that he learn Unreal but those folks seem to be using Unity. The poster can join an Unreal support group and see if anyone there has issues or if everything is a piece of cake.

 

I disagree, Unity is much quicker to learn. I think Unity does a good job to start off easier than unreal if you are a newbie. Unreal has a bigger learning curve IMO. Plus you need a pretty powerful PC for and lots disk space..
Plus, you can make very complex assets/games, e.g. look at breakwaters the game, the water in that game is incredible, just an example. Also look at the forest game, quite old now, at the time the graphics were really good, look how popular that game even to this day
I feel Unreal does give you the option to make better quality looking game, but Unity is catching up/has done with visuals, more easily, but that is not always the "secret sauce" to a game, gameplay, the idea, story, it all adds up. I am sure you all know that.

 

Biggest downside with unity is the world building part and the workflow surrounding it. It get unnecessary complicated fast because lack of good tools and workflow. It's fine for POCs or smaller games. But when you try to scale to a larger scale, doesn't even have to be open world just mid sized rich worlds it gets complicated because absolut everyrhing is manual.

 

Keep in mind though that aiming for an open world RPG style of game or a large FPS aren't the only way to scale a game. You can have intricate mechanics, fascinating effects, large numbers of levels etc.
Everyone acts like they wanna create a Witcher or WoW - and for those you "just" use some of the proven tools in the Asset Store xP

 

Albion Online does alright for a Unity mmo, they have a really good game design, graphics are meh but the systems in the game are why people play, it was built with unity back in 2013, mobile release in 2017, still successful today.

 

I said it doesn't have to be open world, just rich (as in detailed and populated) mid size worlds.

 

Depends on your game.
This video breaks it down the pros and cons nicely when and why you should use Unity over Unreal.
All the pros and cons are very legit.

 

Only reason to use unity for 3D games in 2022 and future is if u are making a mobile game, switch game, a webgl game, AR, low end VR or games which need to be procedurally generated at runtime based on seeds like minecraft or no man's sky... Other than that i recommend unreal for 3d

 

While there are people thinking this way, they are id.... a tiny minority that is not worth listening to.

Subnautica was made with Unity, for example. Blade and Sorcery, Beatsaber, Cuphead, Genshin Impact. People are playing the heck out of them.

 

Why, I'm making a 3d game in Unity just fine..