Unigine Keeps Tuning Its Beautiful Renderer

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Unigine Keeps Tuning Its Beautiful Renderer

Unigine Corp has issued another status update concerning their cross-platform, visually amazing, and very advanced engine. Sadly while the Unigine Engine continues picking up more features that makes it further in front of the open-source game engine alternatives, it's still not widely powering many titles...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTQ3NDc

[uid313]

Nobody uses it

Nobody uses it anyways.

Its only used in their tech demo benchmark, oh and that game Oilrush which they had to make themselves.

They should open source it, or parts of it, some components to make it more attractive.
Because right now, nobody cares about Unigine, and people rather go with other engines.

[migizi]

Great potential, great company

I've worked with Unigine for awhile when I was evaluating game engines. They do get a lot of interest but there are a few things their engine lacks. Exposure and "fancy" tools. They aren't as widely known as other engines. From talking with many people who want to or are already making a game, they go with what is popular without doing research. What holds Unigine back is that it doesn't have the fancy tools like Unity has, but it very powerful in turn. It gives you much greater control over what you can get the engine to do. Unity kind of sticks you with their tools and if it doesn't do what you want, you either find a hack or don't do it. Unigine does have quite a few big customers but they are in the simulation/VR sector. They are working to improve their game tools and the tools in general.

Given their great support, consistent updates, powerful engine, and cross platform support. I don't see a reason not to use them. The only thing that holds many back is the initial cost. Unity lets you get started for free, but the cost can add up rather fast in the long run. My cost analysis came up saying that Unigine was cheaper in the long run with a team of 5 or more, if your team needed the Unity Pro and asset server stuff. This was based on my own specific needs so mileage may vary.

Remember that Unigine is a developers engine, not an artists engine as I hear many people refer to Unity.

[IanS]

Remember that Unigine is a developers engine, not an artists engine as I hear many people refer to Unity.

This here I think is the driving force behind why Unity use is only going to continue to go up. So few people actually know how to code at the systems level, specifically among those who want to go from just playing games to making them. Plus artists with a bit of scripting knowledge are a lot cheaper than actual programmers. Then there is the fact that starting with an established and mature toolchain with most of the parts already in place means you can drastically cut back on the amount of resources you have to spend on QA. Their licensing is also far more attractive up front than just about any other commercial solution out there - considering that many indie studios, students and newcomers can all use it commercially for free until their games start making a decent annual profit or they find themselves needing the pro features.

Just to clarify though - I don't use Unity and I don't think it is necessarily better than Unigine (at least not on the technical capabilities side). I just think that Unity has played their cards right and are reaping the benefits. Unigine seem stuck in a traditional business model that just doesn't attract new developers who can get started faster and with less upfront expense with Unity. It is also not of much interest to established studios who are already invested in other solutions. They would have to work to drastically reform their business if they ever want to be relevant in the gaming industry.

[curaga]

...or they find themselves needing the pro features.

Which is just about everything in a serious release. Want per-pixel lighting? Pay 1500. Want shadows? $$$. Want path-finding? Ka-ching.

Last I checked, Unity Free had less features than any open-source 3d engine, for more lock-in. Certainly it could make sense if you were an artist without any programming ability, but otherwise Unity is a really bad deal.