Will Unity Free 5 have better lighting and graphics than Unity 4 free?

Just wondering because Unity 4 free looks really terrible when it comes to graphics vs Unity Pro.

Also whats your thoughts on Unreal Engine 4 and its Android ability?

 

Last I was aware support for Android was lacking. Their list of officially tested devices doesn't seem to have changed from when I checked a month or two ago.

 

I think Unity 5 free probably will look better if indirectly as a few things are improving there. As for UE4 and it's 'android ability' - I would guess this all depends on you. Both Unity and UE4 don't really restrict mobile much, it's up to the developer to decide how much to optimise for respective platforms.

 

Yes.

 

ok so unity Free works for android without paying right?

Any drawbacks to unity free for android vs pro?

 

Same as any of the other platforms.

 

ow so it won't have the nice lighting effects etc I see. hmmmm

One last thing if android games are made in Java, how then does Unity work? you develop unity games in C# right? so how exactly would this work for android if you are not using java?

 

They can be made in Java, doesn't mean they have to be.

http://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/ndk/index.html

 

Read Unity 5 new features.

And you will notice that Graphics are much better there.

Program is simple enough to make Android games but powerful enough to achieve good graphics.

 

wow thomas was alone looks pretty good for a game made in Unity Free.

I guess we can then say Unity 5 free would probably match the graphics of Unity PRO 4

 

Unity 5 free features are yet to be decided.

 

@UP, WalkingDead

exactly, this doesnt mean that Unity 5 free will be better than Unity 4 PRo in graphic case. Unity 5 free will be definitely better but than Unity 4 free and overall. We could expect that audio will be better (was overhauled and this will impact on free users too), maybe static GI too since this will be handled by Enlighten, we will have PBR workflow in free but this could be burned by lacking of linear space in free (we have only gamma space) and thus be completely useless, Mecanim probably will better and more complete too while other things are huge ? (reflection, dynamic GI, other improvements) if we consider splitting features between PRO and free. As you can see there is only one sure feature for free related to graphic which could heavily impact in that case - PBR shading which isnt sure if this will be useable in Unity free.....

 

Thanks for the reply Breyer this is good to know. I won't be using any Engine until next year because I just started University so still learning programming.

 

^ thanks man. I was going to learn JAVA but realized that I could instead learn C# and create games in Unity and let it do all the conversion etc. Well I don't know how Unity does the automatic APK file if its in C++ or JAVA, but whatever it is, seems like killing 2 birds with 1 stone if I just learn C# instead of both C# and JAVA

 

With Unity you know what? It's not all that different. PBR obviously adds a fair amount to the game, but that was available with LUX, IBL is nice but I tend not to use it.. You have reflection probes which also adds a little bit, majority of it comes down to art / vfx / shaders and post..

UE4's lightmass looks fantastic but has always been a pain to use, luckily they have added an automatic lightmap generator. UE4 also changes like the wind (hundreds if not thousands of changes every release) and the amount of amazing out the box graphical items like ray traced distance filled soft shadows / screen space sub surface scattering etc. (latest additions) means you really don't have to faff around doing it yourself which even in a decent sized team could take months.

As for mobile, in the earlier stages I won't lie it's horrible the engine was just too demanding. It's only just now starting to come together, although powerful and flexible if performance is your key factor than Unity by far still has the edge. That being said UE4 does improve quickly in short amounts of time, they have heavily focused on mobile in 4.5 so lets see huh.. It still has issues with transparency, they have only just sorted out the UI system but it didn't take them that long in all fairness.

There are still a lot of issues with UE4 that need addressing that Unity has sorted, but it is light years ahead of the curve in many areas. Comes down to what you need for your project..

 

^ I will just need it for school projects really. So Unity would be fine, but you know people often tell you if learning a Engine its best to use the best one thats future proof such as the case of UE4 and its blueprint scripting. But the thing is UE4 is very demanding, I think its better to use an Engine that can run on even the crappy intel HD IGP in those celeron laptops etc. After all Valve and Blizzard makes the best PC games in the world and they are hardly graphically impressive.

 

You will either be one of those people who endlessly dither, doomed to be a witless bystander in life, or you will decide to just do something. What will it be?

 

unity auto-generates java boilerplate that's needed when it builds the apk, java knowledge is necessary only if you want to modify or extend the boilerplate. the project isn't converted java or C++. PM me if you'd like to chat.

 

Anyone who is telling you to use an engine that is "future-proof" is a complete moron. Disregard any advice from people saying something that ignorant.

Ditto what @hippocoder said. If you haven't started, and don't know how to code, then there is no point in worrying about things you can't possibly understand yet. (Unity doesn't convert to JAVA or anything like that, there is a bigger picture to in than that and how these things work). You simply won't understand until you actually do it. Using an engine is one way, spinning your own code is also an approach. Pick an tool/method and build. Don't worry about graphics, your first attempt(s) probably won't be shippable anyway. Once you have a knocked out a couple of prototypes or simple games, THEN you will be in a position to really understand and make informed decisions. You will undstand the tools a 1000 times more than you do now, you will know how YOU work and learn, and you will discover what works best for you and what you like. (who knows, maybe you are Python geek and just don't know it yet).

In the end languages/tools are trivial, you need the practical experience and skills to know how to apply any of them. If you want to make games, then make games. Planning and researching means nothing until start writing code. The rest work itself out and make much more sense later down the road.

 

@zombiegorilla

I actually disagree with that, I was very impressed with a game being developed by a guy called hourences called Solus. Sure he's been at it 15 years so one would expect he's pretty good by now, but In three months the man made something out of reach of some AAA developers previously, it just looks that good and in an interview he said it's mainly down to the tools supplied with UE4 that made it all possible.

It's all about automating nowadays, procedural this and that. Things like blueprints for quick additions, I made a TOD system in about 15 minutes, which would of taken ages to code.

 

No, I wager you probably do agree. I worded it overly broadly and assumed context was clear, but realize it wasn't really.

Let me rephrase.
If someone has no understanding of how all the parts work together, because they have zero experience in practical application (just to be clear, not in implying the OP doesn't have the potential, but he did admit to not having experience, and his question reinforce that), then langs/tools are trivial, because they would have equal skill and experience in all of them. None. If you haven't don't how to program in any language, then your programing skills in C++/C#/Java/AS3/Python are exactly the same.

And on the other end, if you are a very experienced/knowledgeable/skilled developer, you know multiple languages and tools already. And you have the knowledge to make an informed tool choice. Ramping up to a new tool (if needed), or new language is trivial in comparison to learning to program in general.

Oh yea, tools are insanely more productive than even a few years ago. Even prototyping complex interactions/concepts are measured in hours instead of days only a couple of years back. But still, someone who has never used UE, but has 15 years building games in another tool/lang at a professional level of skill, can be up and flying with UE (or whatever) fairly quickly, leveraging those advances. Someone who is never built a game, not so much. There is a still a baseline understanding required.

My point to the op was that baseline practical experience can only come from practical experience. And learning and get that experience from a tool/lang that you change away from in the future, is still experience and progression. And that will help him understand the question he is asking.

 

Well yeah, I get you.. Someone once said to me you need to know what's involved to ask the right questions, there is so much out there to learn it's best just to sit down and crack on. Make your own mind up..

 

Precisely. If one person says "X engine is better because of its better out-of-the-box graphics effects" and someone else says "Y engine is better because of its more efficient workflow" how on Earth are you meant to understand how either of those help you or the value they provide when you don't have any experience to base a comparison on? Better graphical effects than what? More efficient than what? How do they effect your life? Why do they matter to you? In practical terms what do they even mean?

 

Well we all know the terminology is personal, because I'm pretty sure state of the art shadows, SSS and all that amazing lighting isn't going to help in terms of a 2D side scroller.

If you're doing 3D games, then I wouldn't bother wasting potentially years of development playing catch up with engine X. Or hoping some third party will fill in for it to eventually be dropped or full of bugs, I'm sorry but if you're doing 3D games in any sort of commercial capacity it's not a hard choice IMO obviously. I'm not too sure about mobile, I've messed around with it but it's not the industry I personally have any capacity in.

 

It might not be a hard choice, but it's still a choice, and it still has multiple factors. And, in any case, I think zombie's point was that you don't fully understand the choice that you're making until you've given it a go at least once. So for your first time, just pick something and give it a go. Then, based on the experience you gained, research that you do can have practical meaning rather than just be numbers and words.

 

Perfectly illustrated. Your opinions are based on practical experience and deep understanding of needs and concept. Obvious for you, because you know what is involved. The OP basically asked "is it better" and "how do you make android games" Maybe it is a 2d scroller, maybe it is sudoku, sounds like he doesn't have a game specifically. Honestly, once he tries he'll be able to answer the "how" question, and that will inform the "better" question.

It's like asking which is better? Pie or Cake.

 

^ Hey guys want to thank you very much for the guidance. I decided on using Unity Free, my current task involves learning programming and I will be working on a 2D side scroller I assume unity free would be more than perfect for a 2D side scroller. I think it would be in my best interest to learn programming and do things the hard way first instead of just learning blueprint scripting.

Because for starters my school made me start off learning the old 1980's C language and after this we must learn C++ in January, right now we are mostly doing mathematics and physics examples in C programming. So I believe I owe it to myself to learn things the long way to have a solid understanding. Because someone told me if you don't understand the logic of programming then blueprint scripting would be of little use.

I read up about Unity and Unreal in my free time when I am taking a break from studies and play around with both. I find it much better than spending time playing counter strike etc. I know my school allows us to use Unity for our projects because this here was an example of a project a guy did with unity free

 

Don't look down on C. Take the time to learn it. I have been programming for over 30 years, and I still find uses for C. I use C when programming microcontrollers in embedded environments. In certain situations (like 8 bit MCU with 2KB of RAM), even C++ is a bit too bloated.

Similarly, take the time to learn C++. It is perfect for many uses. For example, Unity and Unreal Engine are both written in C++. C++ is extremely useful.

Also, take the time to learn C#. Most people can get more done in C#. This is true when building games in Unity, and it is also true when building applications in Visual Studio.

BluePrint in UE4 is a fantastic way for designers to do simple scripting tasks that would normally be done by programmers. For example, BluePrint is great for handling opening a door in a level. It is still a type of programming, but it is designed so level designers can easily use it for simple tasks. BluePrint should not be used as a replacement for all programming, though. Building the complex code logic sections in BluePrint can actually be significantly harder (and more bloated) than in C++ or C#.

So pay attention in class/school. Don't view C, C++, or C# as a waste of time. These languages are extremely useful. People that learn to code well in C, C++, and C# will get a lot more done than people who only learn a visual tool like BluePrint.

 

I learned a subset of C for programming microcontrollers for an invention for percussion based musicians and studio/performance I recently patented and it was basically a subset of the Unity SDK as far as math and string functions and the constant looping in scripts. I used Unity for the interface that allowed users to configure the product and the 3D engine part to display the sensors output magnitudes so the user had a visual representation of the ongoing outputs.

 

Thanks for the wise words ShilohGames
Will definitely put your advice to good use I didn't realize C was so important, its a Computer Engineering degree so I suppose thats one of the reasons they started us of learning C. It has a number electrical and electronic engineering in this course like circuits and logic gates etc. I suppose its for what you said programming microcontrollers etc.

 

It also helps that they are similar enough that you're effectively learning two languages for slightly more than the investment of one. They also cover two different programming paradigms - procedural and object-oriented.

 

^ ooh I see, well I suddenly have a lot more respect for what I am doing now

 

Is almost a fact that Unity 5 free have same limitations of version 4, then in relation to lighting with only one light that can project shadows the games in night time without shadows still look unrealistic, I am not sure if Unity 5 free can be export to WebGL but if can is possibly editing the WebGL code to activate shadows in all lights, for example with Three.js you can project shadows with this code "light.castShadow = true;".

 

Unity 5 Free will let you export to WebGL; we announced this a while back.

The feature split between free/pro for 5 hasn't been decided yet; but I would probably predict that alot of the core new features/updates (PBR, Reflection Probes, Lighting, Audio Mixer, 2D Physics Areas, PhysX Upgrade, UI, Mecanim etc) will have a fair amount of access from free users.

 

That's not necessarily true, as the Free/Pro split hasn't been announced and it's not clear where the line will be drawn. Also, "the nice lighting effects" encompasses a lot of different features, not just one thing.

- PBR has been announced to be in Free
- Skybox reflection & skybox ambient lighting (which are the same thing) - if PBR is in free, these must be in Free, I don't see any way around it
- Reflection probes (in some ways, this is an improved, more versatile equivalent to the above) - unknown
- Real-time GI - likely Pro-only

 

It's funny @WalkingDead because last time you got a student license for UE4 and showed demo videos, which ended up in thread being locked.

I thought you chose UE4?

 

Any idea of some date anouncement or some more precise infos ? I don't say release, just infos ?