Why we chose Unity for Wasteland 2 (+Linux Support)
Why we chose Unity for Wasteland 2 (+Linux Support)
Development Info - posted by DarkUnderlord on Thu 17 May 2012, 05:19:52
Tags: inXile Entertainment; John Alvarado; Kickstarter; Wasteland 2There's been a lot of talk about inXile's Engine choice for Wasteland 2, so in their #16 KickStarter project update, InXile talk about why they chose Unity as their game engine:
As a sub-note, they have: Technology inXile has used: Snowblind Engine, RadTools, UE3 Engine, Gamebryo Engine, RKEngine, and various smaller third-party tools for game sub systems such as, path-finding, physics, character animation and lip-synching, etc
So there you go, the mystery has been solved. Cue forum quarter-backing in 3... 2...
There was a broad enough offering just from the vendors that came to us that we prioritized our evaluations to these products first, hoping to find our solution amongst the ones making generous offers and hence help devote more resources to the game. [...] We came up with a list of engine requirements that looked like this:
1. Ease of use by artists and designers
2. Targets Windows, Mac and Linux
3. Support and expertise available from vendor and in community
4. Adaptability for player modding
5. 3D rendering, pathing, AI, physics, character animation tools
[...] [The Unity] engine stood out as an early front-runner on point 1 of our requirements. [...] At first it seemed to be missing a leg on point 2 (support for Linux platform), but I knew that we could get source code and therefore could provide the Linux port ourselves. [...] Where Unity really bowled us over was on point 3. Besides generous support available from Unity staff, the Unity Asset Store is a treasure trove of assets (3D models and code) provided by the large and growing community of Unity users.
[...] I think the fact that Unity provides their basic engine/editor for free is a big plus as a starting point for providing the tools necessary for supporting modding of Wasteland 2 [...] Finally, from looking at Unity demos, other games developed with Unity, and conducting our own art and coding tests, we are convinced that Unity delivers on the game system that we need to build Wasteland 2 in style. This includes advanced 3D rendering, pathing, physics (PhysX), multiple options for scripting language, advanced 3D level editor that is customizable with scripted components, and much more.
[...] It has been my experience over decades of game development that no engine or tool is ever perfect for the game you want to build. Any engine or tool will have points of weaker comparison to other options, but you have to evaluate how the whole offering matches up with your resources and skills to make a good choice for the project at hand. Unity is an excellent choice that will allow us to deliver the great game we’ve promised in Wasteland 2.
1. Ease of use by artists and designers
2. Targets Windows, Mac and Linux
3. Support and expertise available from vendor and in community
4. Adaptability for player modding
5. 3D rendering, pathing, AI, physics, character animation tools
[...] [The Unity] engine stood out as an early front-runner on point 1 of our requirements. [...] At first it seemed to be missing a leg on point 2 (support for Linux platform), but I knew that we could get source code and therefore could provide the Linux port ourselves. [...] Where Unity really bowled us over was on point 3. Besides generous support available from Unity staff, the Unity Asset Store is a treasure trove of assets (3D models and code) provided by the large and growing community of Unity users.
[...] I think the fact that Unity provides their basic engine/editor for free is a big plus as a starting point for providing the tools necessary for supporting modding of Wasteland 2 [...] Finally, from looking at Unity demos, other games developed with Unity, and conducting our own art and coding tests, we are convinced that Unity delivers on the game system that we need to build Wasteland 2 in style. This includes advanced 3D rendering, pathing, physics (PhysX), multiple options for scripting language, advanced 3D level editor that is customizable with scripted components, and much more.
[...] It has been my experience over decades of game development that no engine or tool is ever perfect for the game you want to build. Any engine or tool will have points of weaker comparison to other options, but you have to evaluate how the whole offering matches up with your resources and skills to make a good choice for the project at hand. Unity is an excellent choice that will allow us to deliver the great game we’ve promised in Wasteland 2.
As a sub-note, they have: Technology inXile has used: Snowblind Engine, RadTools, UE3 Engine, Gamebryo Engine, RKEngine, and various smaller third-party tools for game sub systems such as, path-finding, physics, character animation and lip-synching, etc
So there you go, the mystery has been solved. Cue forum quarter-backing in 3... 2...
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