Hello, this is my first post and I’d like to propose following idea:
How about making Unity PRO free for non-commercial usage (e.g. you can make freeware games with it but you cannot make money out of it)? To ensure that you wouldn’t be able to sell game, it may show in splash “Made with non-commercial version of Unity PRO” or something like that. So some kind of “unlimited trial”, I think.
Reason behind this is to allow people play with full-fledged version of Unity for as long as they want, then if they want to make money out of their games they’d would move onto Unity Free (you can sell games made with it as long as your company doesn’t make more than $100,000 per year out of it as far as I understand) or buy Unity Pro commercial license.
Timed trials are bad in software like that - once I’ve downloaded 30-day trial of RPG Maker XP (don’t judge me!), then had to move. When I finally was able to sit down to computer after unpacking and everything the trial period was over.
On the other hand, feature-crippled demos aren’t good too for that. They may work for games, but not for game-making software as they doesn’t present full state of a product.
So making clear in license of (unlimited) trial of Unity Pro that it can be used only for non-commercial games plus consecutive suing people who are using it for games for sale would be best thing.
At present, if a team wants to use Unity Pro, everyone on the team has to buy a license (not just legally, but practically - once you start using Unity Pro features, it’s difficult to do so in a way that doesn’t start causing errors for anyone without them).
Under your proposal, the team would only need to buy one license, at the end of the project, to get rid of the watermark. So sales of Unity Pro would go way down, forcing UT to either
A) raise the price of the pro license to make up for it
B) fire a bunch of their engineers to reduce their costs, which would down the rate at which Unity gets better
C) switch a bunch of their staff over to doing something else to make money, like developing actual games, which would slow down the rate at which Unity gets better
D) spend a huge amount of money and time suing people to make revenue, instead of spending it developing the product, which would slow down the rate at which Unity gets better
none of which are desirable.
This sort of thing has been discussed to death in the past (particularly in the Gossip forum) and ultimately it comes down to: if you think such an idea were good for Unity, don’t you think they would already have done it? And if it /weren’t/ good for Unity, why on earth would they do it?
If you personally have run into problems with your trial license expiring, contact sales and ask if you can get an extension. If you’re an actual, credible potential sale in the future then it’s in their interests to help you out.
What if they just made pathfinding for non pro version? That’s the only major thing I think I wanted from the pro version =/ gotta shell out 1,500$ for pathfinding? :-()
Why don’t you consider, purchasing the Pro License for 1 computer, and when you build the game for release / patching / whatever, build it on the pro machine, and just have people work on Assets on the Non Pro machines, then bundle the assets up and send them to the Pro Machine for Positioning and what not.
That way, Only Pro Features are being used on 1 single machine.
This is very true, I am currently in the stages of launching my game online, built in unity free version (for now) and if it goes well I will definatly upgrade!
There is not much that you cannot do with the free version of unity, some time and a willingness to learn.
Unity is a very capable Engine. The problem with the advertising that Unity does is make it look like anyone can make any game. This is a myth that you just have to deal with. If your Passion and Drive is strong enough you really can do it. But I will share some of my Experience on you.
The Free version of Unity is Great for honing your skills until you do have enough money to buy a license.
If you cannot afford $1500 dollar’ than your probably not in a position to buy it anyway.
Learn to program - this is mandatory. You cannot expect to get far without coding and I think you know that.
Also for your first game MAKE AN ORIGINAL GAME that is small, preferably has no story - but is fun. And for the next game go harder step by step.
I love RPG Maker Xp - that engine beats Unity for me. But still 3D is 3D.
Think outside the box. Get Income OR …
Meet people who are like minded and agree to make a game - sometimes you should just go with the flow and do the work so you can accumulate, if you keep this up your portfolio will expand, you should also Polish your work, by this time you will be able to have great rep and get a good job.
Even if this post means nothing to you. Unity has one of best licensing ever - the Basic Version is Free and Customizable. Unity will come around to changing the licensing at some point but as long as money is needed limits will be placed.
Also making a carbon copy of another game is something you should avoid. Make something for yourself that is totally yours. If you go around yelling that your going to make this game …and then you fail or get bored…guess what…you gotta declare it…Game Development takes an average of 3 years + to hit it big. So if your going to really make any game even a Minecraft clone - expect to take a lot of time to master the process and lose some hairs along the way. Is it worth it in the end…maybe.
I got an insane idea! Let’s make everything in the world free, and then people only need to pay if they feel like it? How soon before we all die? I give it about 4 weeks before all the food runs out.