Hi guys, long time programmer but a bit of a Unity newbie looking to get working on my first game. Problem is that I can’t seem to figure out what is the best resolution size to work to when working inside Unity? Because Unity is multi-platform I understand I can export the same game to windows and to mobile devices right? Does this mean I need 2 sets of artwork/scenes or can it “magically” figure out the downsizing in a way that will work for mobile low memory devices?
Also, specifically for 2D games, say you want a background that will always be covering the entire scene view of the camera - how big do you make it and what shape? If you make it too narrow for example, on high resolution PC’s you’ll probably see the edges right?
I guess what I’m trying to figure out is how to make assets and craft scenes that will work for multiple resolutions correctly?
Yes, Unity can automatically scale down your art assets on a per-platform basis. It’s all part of the import settings on each texture.
And you’re right, for mobile in particular you need to test with various image sizes, and make sure your camera settings, UI locks, etc. all do the right thing regardless of resolution and aspect ratio.
Thanks Joe. Say for example I was just making a PC game, do I want to target a specific resolution when developing? Are there any guidelines out there that for example say it is best to set your development resolution to 4k and allow Unity to auto-scale it down for smaller screens? Or is it better to work at a reference resolution somewhere in the mid-range of what people tend to have on PC, say 1920x1080?
The trouble I’m having is the initial setting up of everything really. What do I set the main camera width/height to? How big do I make the background image so that you’ll never see past the edges regardless of resolution? And so on.
I don’t want to pick an option and get started only to find later on I have to re-do everything because I made the wrong choice.
(Just IMHO a simple approach ideal for small dev shops, ignoring game type)
3D:
Texture Assets:
Work on 2048 assets if you have a medium computer and 4096 assets if you have something that requires a dyson sphere to function. Let Unity scale it to target platform.
Resolution:
Work from a base of 1080p, but ensure game is functional at all other resolutions.
2D:
Texture Assets:
Work on native res asset sizes if pixel perfect otherwise see 3D section.
Resolution:
Work from the lowest supported resolution if pixel perfect, then scale it up 2x each time, changing borders. Assets which do pixel perfect cameras are common (some free) and many blog posts/forum posts about the subject. Otherwise see 3D section.