Is it time to go 3D?

[runthis]

So i am way balls deep into my game to try and start over in c++ or java. I was checking out Unity, been checking it out for a while and a game like mine that does not require walking around, but instead a futuristic hud where things can float in free space seems like a great idea. The great thing about unity is that it can play in the browser with a plugin. Anyone had any experience with unity? Alan?

[Danny696]

Ive looked at unity aswell, Its a nice little tool. (/me sees many people going and checking it out :P) but I dont think it's needed in browers yet. Some people are still using dial-up connections, many people have poor connections, giving them hours of fun loading screens to look at.

[a_bertrand]

Well going 3D is by itself a complete different world, and unless you have a lot of skills, I would avoid it. Skills you will need:

- Math (and quiet a lot)

- 3D art

- Texture

- Lights

- Animations

Now for things which are not directly 3D related you will have also to deal about protocols to allow communication between the client and the server, and more so if you want real time information shared across your game, like players seeing each others. You will need also to develop your own server code and think that the load on the server will not be small, so forget shared hosting or even VPS, and even small dedicated server may not do the trick anymore!

I did tried Unity myself, tried to make a couple of models and import them into their engine, but stopped there, simply put I will never have the time to do the art, the code and the 3D code (even if unity offer most pre-made for you), without talking about the client / server issues.

[Spudinski]

I've heard about Unity, but never dug around to find out what it really does(besides being a 3D engine).

Some time ago, when I started to ask myself this exact question I found Allegro.

It's also an 3D engine, or rather more 2D. For a long time it was dead, but seems they picked up a bit.

I have to agree with a_b, going 3D vs. 2D web development is a whole other ball game. It takes a lot more time, and different skill set.

If you are going to write a game, even 2D, expect to be doing it for months on end. C/C++ isn't as patchidy as PHP, everything needs to be well planned out and revised.

There's nothing like quickly changing one or two outputs, you will have to recompile the whole thing. And if it get's big, you can count on having a lot of patience.

I can safely say 3D isn't for me: I can make a few shapes do things, and that's about it.

But, if you feel you have what it takes(it's a good learning curve anyways), I'd suggest you speak to the nice people at gamedev.net. I don't think you'll find many 3D programmers over here.

[Lilith]

I have been toying with 3d in Unity for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it! I cant say if it better than another thing as because I haven't used anything else, but honestly, with unity offering a free version, and the growing (albet crappy) support of pozer models after some massive decimation and conversion (there are some vaguely acceptable tools to do this with), its something you should try if you have the interest. Everyone is right about the months on end programming, but every now and again a girl like me gets lucky enough to team up with someone who already knows how to do it and this speeds up the process. Plus there are some promising coding packs available in the unity asset store that may help the learning curve too. Here is what I was able to do after about 6 weeks of playing with it.

[runthis]

Lilith, thats awesome! Also, Moose!

[bineye]

I have been toying with 3d in Unity for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it! I cant say if it better than another thing as because I haven't used anything else, but honestly, with unity offering a free version, and the growing (albet crappy) support of pozer models after some massive decimation and conversion (there are some vaguely acceptable tools to do this with), its something you should try if you have the interest. Everyone is right about the months on end programming, but every now and again a girl like me gets lucky enough to team up with someone who already knows how to do it and this speeds up the process. Plus there are some promising coding packs available in the unity asset store that may help the learning curve too. Here is what I was able to do after about 6 weeks of playing with it.

WOW. Nice work. Really awesome. This map reminds me a lot of Nintendo 64 maps and graphics. Just think, you achieved in 6 weeks what it took them 1-2 years to do (albeit technology now is more advanced and they did storylines and expanded maps...meh) but damn! This is great work. Well done.

[Lilith]

Now that I have peaked your interest in 3d, I think I better take the time to back up Danny, Bert, and Spud on this.

Danny's pointed out that running something like this in a browser is "not needed yet" and points toward internet speeds. He is absolutely correct on that! Time and time again people in the unity forums have griped about games crashing in the unity web player or not working at all. The only way to safely develop a game like in unity this for web use is to have a massive download and installation that makes the player's computer run all the scripts and house the graphics while you connect to servers that feed you networking information. (info on other players present) I seriously doubt that even if they get the web player stable, that you can have a huge networked game run through it anytime soon.

Bert has pointed out a lot of what has to go into the development of the 3d. to me this is no big deal as I have spent thousands of dollars on 3d models and indie licences for them for other projects. I have done very little modeling on my own, (those models are recycled from other projects) and still have 2-3 years worth of development time and thousands of $ into the 3d models you saw in the you tube video. (and still have a few licences to obtain) and if you look close, you will see that most of the models still need massive "paint jobs" all 6 weeks got me was the ability to import a few scripts and objects so they appear on the same screen ... they don't even interact yet. Then there are the server issues I face if I ever plan to do more than make movies or a downloadable game.

Spud has touched on the C/C++ programming, well, everything I have had done (not done myself) has been in js and C#. Yeah Id tell you about this, but its WAY beyond my ability levels. (Hense my comment about getting lucky enough to find someone who was a few steps ahead on the scripting and was willing to learn more about it. not to mention that we bought some base script to work off of.)

The Unity asset store is a credit to the unity engine. You can get a lot of stuff you need to use as examples, but there is not any kind of guarantee it will work. I tend to think of it as the free mods section for mccodes except I still have to pay for the information.

All in all, when making the decision to go 3d or not go 3d, if it is just to see if you like it / can do it / or gauge how practical it may be, I say check it out, DL the free version of Unity and give it a whirl. But, do not think you are going to have a marketable game anytime in the next 3 years and not without the investment of at least $50,000.00. Even then you will be lucky to produce a game like Champions of Norath, so forget playing ball with WoW, EQ, Oblivion, or runescape.

Edited September 10, 2011 by Lilith