I love the Asset Store, and this post is by no means a complaint, just a requested feature. My apologies if this belongs in the ‘Asset Store’ forum, but it seemed that was more for promoting products and I don’t want to get in the way of that. Anyway:
I use the Asset Store on a weekly basis. Whether it’s to grab the latest 75% off deal or I need some scripts that I’d prefer to not have to write myself, it’s priceless. What I’m finding as I gain more experience with Unity is that there is a gap that seems like it could be addressed, in that not all Assets are compatible with all the porting options Unity has to offer.
Case and point (and this is by no means a complaint about the asset itself what-so-ever) A* Pathfinding does not work out of the box for Windows Store. It states in the documentation that it will not pass WACK, but there is potential to miss that footnote. There is also the potential for users creating Assets that cannot/have not tested the Asset on all platforms.
My suggestion is just a quick set of icons at the top of the page that either lists platforms that the asset is known to work with, or at least ones that it is known to have problems with. If this feature existed in the past, I’d have saved a lot of time browsing the asset store in recent months. If others agree, perhaps it’s a feature we can look forward to in the future… as if Unity 5 isn’t doing that enough already
It seems generally like a good idea to me. It also opens a can of worms. Does it work on iOS 6 or just iOS 7? does it work on this android device and this other android device? Hell, does it even work correctly in Unity 4+? There are a lot of compatibility requirements that start to become unfeasible to list, and would this require also vetting by Unity? The asset store team seem hard-pressed as it is.
Again, it seems like a good idea, the more info the better! I guess I just wish there were other aspects to the store that get more attention first. (email notifications, tracking and analytics for sellers etc.)
Perhaps a “Tested And Works On _____” list or something
This can even be provided by the developer if the asset store team is too pressed (it can be like a field next to the description/name when you submit)
it can include specific iOS versions, Unity3d versions, etc
The goal wasn’t to solve every problem that could arise. I don’t expect someone to test everything for me, but it would be nice to know if a) others have already tried it and succeeded/failed and b) to make that info easy to find, rather than hidden amongst the reviews or docs.
iTween works, but not out of the box for Windows Store. Unity ports to windows store. This missing link could be made clear at the time of purchase (I know iTween is free, this is just one example), not after downloading, importing, and failing to port to the desired platform. The community is full of users who have already attempted the same thing. I’m just suggesting that we provide some way for their experience to assist the community, just as other users experience with other platforms could assist them in the future. The feature could be integrated into search queries, making finding assets that cover all of your projects platforms a bit easier.
I am still trying to find a pathfinding solution for Windows Store. Short of buying every asset that looks like it could work and crossing my fingers that it will work, my only other option is to continue dredging through forum posts, reviews, etc. in the hopes someone has tried it and shared their experience somewhere.
My issue with this is that you would increase the cost of assets, probably significantly, to cover all the testing for the packages.
If a company releases a game that plays on a device, I expect they have tested it on the device. I would not, however, expect every person who releases a package on the Asset Store to have to own every single type of device just to release a helpful script. Your demo image included both Apple and Android. That’s a ton of money invested in hardware to test on for script packages that may never earn anywhere near that much money. (Many games released on multiple devices never earn enough money back to pay for the testing devices.)
I understand where your issue is coming from. You’re trying to get your game out through very specific hoops and the packages you have won’t fit through them. Still, I think a better way to handle it would be for a potential customer to contact the package provider to see if the code has been tested on those specific hoops rather than require every provider to test against every set of hoops.
They wouldn’t be required to test on all platforms. It just means that they can’t let you assume that the asset works on those platforms.
List all the platforms.
-Highlight the platforms that the product has been tested on and verified to work on.
-Cross out the platforms on which the asset doesn’t work, or is thought to be incompatible or inappropriate.
-Grey out or leave a question mark over the platforms on which it has not been tested (Perhaps people can even vote on whether the asset works on these platforms to give an indication of compatibility where testing by the author has not been done?).
People should know if they are taking a risk, and some people will choose to take risks.
If it doesn’t say “tested on mobile”, personally I just assume that it may not work there. There are too many fiddly bits to programming for various devices, various operating systems, and even just various versions of the same platform.
I know that some package authors will state that they know it works on X, Y, and Z, but overall I don’t think a system with checkboxes or little icons will do anything but hurt because due to human nature, people will start assuming that if it doesn’t specifically have that check, it won’t work there, rather than where it’s at now, where it’s up to the buyer to either make it work or talk to the package creator to see if they can help. This can only hurt sales for the Asset Store and end up lowering the number of quality offerings available.
Ultimately, my perspective on any code package is that it’s not something that’s perfect out of the box. I expect to have to make modifications and/or just extract the bits I did not know how to make or didn’t want to spend the time trying to solve.
Yeah, a list of platforms / devices / OS versions that testing has been performed on would rock. I don’t want people to do more work than they already do, I just want to know what it was so I can make better decisions.
Of course it’s still a grey area as to what “tested” actually means. Does it just mean it works? Or does it mean that it’s performant/doesn’t allocate/behaves appropriately to the platform? This is a separate issue, though, insofar as it doesn’t actually have anything to do with cross-platform.
I’d imagine I’d be pretty pissed if I bought an asset and found out later that the Dev KNEW it didn’t work on a particular platform.
You can’t know everything, but if something is known not to work (mobile, Windows shop), it should be posted as a help to potential and existing customers. That’s just good business.
But no, I don’t think that’s on the Asset Store’s plate.
