Unity 3D Engine Is Receiving A New UI System

[kpedersen]

A Unity3D license is still cheaper than UE4 and covers all platforms. Leadwerks isn't worth considering unless you think you can make a profit off Ubuntu users.

A Unity3D Pro license (so FBOs are enabled) is quite expensive. I would certainly advise a free of open-source project to choose UE4 over Unity here (Difference between $20 and a couple of hundred (each developer) could soon mount up). I believe a Pro license still does not actually provide FBO (RenderTarget) support for certain platforms like Windows Phone or Blackberry, so more cost is required here.

That said, (and without breaking any potential NDA I am sure), the UE4 you get as a subscription isnt... quite... what you would get as a commercial source license (the most obvious difference being (among other "premium" things) that the PS4 / XBone console support has been stripped out).

Either way though, for an open-source project (there is no reason why you still wouldn't use professional quality tools), I still think UE4 has a better price to power ratio.

(I wonder if Microsoft is pressurising Unity to not port the tool to Linux. The two companies seem close these days. </conspiracy>)

[Kristian Joensen]

"(the most obvious difference being (among other "premium" things) that the PS4 / XBone console support has been stripped out)."

Epic recently enabled licensed Xbox One / PS4 developers to get access to the UE4 version for those platforms(including source code) for no extra charge if they are UE4 subscribers.

[kpedersen]

Epic recently enabled licensed Xbox One / PS4 developers to get access to the UE4 version for those platforms(including source code) for no extra charge if they are UE4 subscribers.

Oh, nice. I was not aware of this. So I guess one of the last remaining things that is premium is the support channel for AAA companies. Or maybe that is all changing too. Epic Games has really spiced things up

I would certainly advise a free of open-source project

That was meant to read "a free or open-source project". Otherwise it would pretty much be a typical commercial release :/

[yogi_berra]

I believe a Pro license still does not actually provide FBO (RenderTarget) support for certain platforms like Windows Phone or Blackberry, so more cost is required here.

I'm sure the two people using those platforms are heartbroken, but if you want to make money with your game, you target platforms people actually use.

[kpedersen]

I'm sure the two people using those platforms are heartbroken, but if you want to make money with your game, you target platforms people actually use.

This statement is the reason why open-source operating systems have no games!

Realistically though, the engine we use at work is trivial to port to pretty much any OS (obviously directly using C++* and OpenGL then) and found for the ~20 man hours of porting work, the return on both Blackberry and Windows phone was enough to pay for the beer at the end of year party

In other words, no matter how "uncool" a platform is, if Unity puts up these kind of arbitary restrictions, it can GTFO.

* minus stl (helps with certain Android ports).

[yogi_berra]

This statement is the reason why open-source operating systems have no games!

No, open source operating systems have no games because the lizard people that control the illuminati have blocked any and all production of games for those platforms. Or maybe it's just that no one wants to put forth that much effort for so little gain.

Realistically though, the engine we use at work is trivial to port to pretty much any OS (obviously directly using C++* and OpenGL then) and found for the ~20 man hours of porting work, the return on both Blackberry and Windows phone was enough to pay for the beer at the end of year party

In other words, no matter how "uncool" a platform is, if Unity puts up these kind of arbitary restrictions, it can GTFO.

* minus stl (helps with certain Android ports).

Except the only arbitrary restriction Unity places on it's licenses is the amount of seats you can install it on. You can even support crackberry and the three people that bought a windows phone.