Unity

[skaianDestiny]

Sooo if anyone's been paying attention to game development or gaming in general for the past few days, I'm pretty sure you'd know the bullshit that Unity is pulling regarding payment and purchasing. If you haven't, the tl;dr is that the Unity company is planning to change their licensing so that game developers have to pay them for each and every install of a game developed in Unity above a threshold of 200,000 installs. In some cases, especially with free or very cheap games, this can end up with developers owing more than they actually made with the game. If that wasn't bad enough, Unity wants to make this apply retroactively, and if someone reinstalls a game, they're counting the original and new install as separate installs for pricing.

Needless, this is causing an uproar in the indie game development sphere and gaming sphere in general, with many devs making plans to migrate to other engines such as Godot or Unreal.

Given that Xenonauts 2 is being created in Unity, I'm wondering what @Chris's plans are regarding this in the worst case that Unity goes forward with these plans regarding not only Xenonauts 2 but any future games Goldhawk develops.

Edited September 16, 2023 by skaianDestiny

[Pietje666]

So basically Unity would be (eventually) a no-go...

[SoulFilcher]

Hopefully it will not be implemented like that, but having an escape plan might be a good idea.

[Senteliks]

Yeah escape plan ... they spent 3 years for building a framework for their future games including X2 which was in development since 2015 (8 years), atop of Unity. ... The alternative is just to drop the project and any future project.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Senteliks

[Alienkiller]

Yeah, the Unity-Engine-Issue is well known. The big runs in the Mind from the Chiefs there get an big Shitstorm from the Gamers, Developers and Game-Magazines already. And one thing is clear: the Gamers don´t pay the more costs and the EU will file a lawsuit agains Unity about protection of data privacy.

Unity have only 1 Options to avoid that: to make an 180° degree and cancel that runs in the Mind from te Chiefs there. If not it will be six feet under.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Alienkiller

[Xeferah]

I would like to hear the developers opinion on this too.

I heard from other game devs that it would be cheaper to spend 2-3 months switching to a different engine, than continuing with Unity. I don't love a delay, but I prefer a good game where the devs get a good pay, than a faster delivery where it's the end of the series due to lack of funds.

[Alienkiller]

The Problem is like other Game-Devs say in Interviews, Talks and Podcasts the following: You can´t switch to other Game-Engines when an Product is in big Alpha-, Beta or Early Access-Stadium. Then you have to End the Product incl. all Add-Ons / DLCs with that Game-Engine.

Complete new Projects are not the Problem. If they aren´t begunn or still in an beginning minimum Stadium can without Problems changed to an other Game-Engine like Unreal, Clausewitz, Quake or similar.

In an GameStar-Talk (Youtube) 2 German Game-Devloper-Chiefs explained exactly that Problem, that begunn Projects with Unity can´t be changed to an other Game-Engine. They have to be finished. As well as Unity don´t hear to the Game-Developers anymore what they need and what not.

I can´t say how much Experiance Goldhawk have with Unity, but Dev Studios which use it longer combined it with their Programming-Contents / Programming-Features will bring out new Games with an worser Quality, if they have to change to an other Game-Engine. That the 2 German Game-Developer-Chiefs don´t say giddy. 

Means that the Unity-Game-Engine-Company only have 2 Options, to get from an dickhead-Company back to the Trust-Company they were:

1. To reduce their demands to an acceptable level [the EU-Gouvernment have about the data privacy protection & other Parts there an strong importance; there so many Tech-Gigiant like Microsoft, Twitter & Co. were get pluk] and something similar the Unity-Game-Engine-Company will get the same fate

2. To make themselfs an 180° Degree and say sorry, that wasn´t thought-out and give the Game-Developers / Modders what they need

[SoulFilcher]

On 9/20/2023 at 5:40 AM, Xeferah said:

I would like to hear the developers opinion on this too.

I heard from other game devs that it would be cheaper to spend 2-3 months switching to a different engine, than continuing with Unity. I don't love a delay, but I prefer a good game where the devs get a good pay, than a faster delivery where it's the end of the series due to lack of funds.

Exactly, it may sound like a drastic decision to switch at this point, but it all comes to what each option holds for the future. If staying with Unity proves to be a highway to hell, then parting ways may be a good decision.

With all the backlash they're still trying to figure out what to do, I'm curious to see the news for the next weeks.

[SoulFilcher]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhttLexTDiM 

I follow is channel for gaming news and this is very relevant to this topic. It looks like they decided to take steps back. What a relief, they may not get people's trust back, but at least it is enough to keep existing projects going I guess.

 

[ooey]

As usual, mass protesting will get companies to realise that if they go down an unpopular path then they will die at some point (look at what's happening to a 'wokeafied' Disney/Marvel at the minute - making films no one wanted which are destroying franchises etc...). Also, look at how all soft drinks (apart from Coca-Cola) taste rubbish now that they have had the sugar taken out of them (I'd rather drink water thanks). Mind you, with coke, people told them they wouldn't be buying it anymore when they changed the taste of it in the 1980's, and they had to bring the original recipe back (thank goodness).

Edited November 18, 2023 by ooey