Dev Update (19/09/2023)
Added 2023-09-19 16:17:07 +0000 UTCHi!
Here's a quick development update.
A lot of things is going on behind the scenes. Like mentioned in the previous post, I spent few days on making prototypes with different engines (Unreal / Godot) and testing the modularity of my code and assets outside of Unity.
This testing was absolutely necessary and time critical since if things would get worse with Unity, there must be a clear plan on how to get away from the situation and return back to good development rhythm as quick as possible.
In total, I spent ~20h with Unreal Engine 5.3 and ~30h with Godot 4.1.1, so not much sleeping but bunch of tutorials, prototypes and reading the documentations. There's major differences between these engines like code languages, performance, usability, communities and I really tried to stay objective when I was analysing these elements for Road to Vostok.
I think I have now found that "safe haven" for this project if the situation comes to that. Unity will tell their new policy update this week (probably tonight or tomorrow) and those will set the tone for this upcoming phase.
Personally I'm not interested about the pricing structure changes, I'm interested about the actions that will start rebuilding trust and making sure that the platform will provide stability and healthy community for years to come, since that's the big problem to solve because of this massive brand damage and broken trust.
As soon as that Unity update comes, I will react right away and either start Public Demo 2 release preparations or engine switch. I have to mention that this decision is really important for me personally since I'm willing to put my whole professional career to this project, so I'm not going to take any more uncertainty or "good enough" answers from Unity.
Basically the whole decision will be based on three simple questions:
1. Which engine is the most trustworthy in a long-term timeframe?
2. Which engine can provide the features that this project needs?
3. Which engine is more fun to work with on a daily basis?
On top of these things, I have spent huge amount of time of doing multiple precautions for the company side of things and making sure that I have all the time resources for getting back to productive development really quickly if I decide to switch engines. In other words, this means that I have removed all "extra topics" from my calendar and maximized the development time for the upcoming months.
For some studios, the engine switch might cost years of extra work but with these actions that I have taken lately and testing the modularity, I'm pretty sure that I could transfer most of the core features within 2-3 months to another engine.
To summarize this development update, I think I'm now on top of this whole situation and I have the "control" to return back to the normal development rhythm really soon. This has been unfortunate roadbump but I think eventually this was a good thing to happen now and not later.
I will keep you updated once those Unity news will come and I already have a new roadmap ready for nearby and future content if the engine switch happens.
Either way things are going to get really interesting soon and this event has kind of switched my attitude and problem solving motivation to whole another level :)
ps. Here's a small screenshot from one of those Godot prototypes that I made, this was mostly to test the procedural nature elements and rendering performance.
- Antti (Developer)
Comments
good luck to you!
Юрий Су
2023-09-21 07:46:31 +0000 UTCI'm sure whichever choice you make for an engine will be a calculated one as you've proved time and time again.
Dimitris Kalyvas
2023-09-20 06:34:55 +0000 UTCIt is incredibly impressive to see not just the product, but the amount of skill and experience in the production process. The ability to have that flexibility comes only from time in the industry. Regardless of how this turns out, I appreciate the transparency.
dilydaly
2023-09-20 03:04:54 +0000 UTCThanks for the update Antti, this has been an interesting week for you and RTV, and so many other devs along with their projects. This will be hard to say, but this is just my 2 cents. If unity doesn't fire the people who were involved with this despicable move, I would not stay. Who's to say what the true intentions here were. Could be an uncalculated mistake, could be a well crafted plan. All i know is that they can't be trusted if they don't send some people packing. I totally get your reluctance to move to an alternate dev engine, with all of the years you've poured into knowing Unity very closely, but this may be time to adapt and survive bud. Which ever way you choose to go here in these coming days, you'll always have my support. Stay focused, and stay motivated friend!
M1XED_BAG
2023-09-19 22:31:47 +0000 UTCI can't imagine the amount of effort required to completely switch engines. I am so impressed that you have the ability to do that if necessary. I could easily see this situation with Unity becoming a "Game Over" scenario. Whatever you decide, you'll still have my continued support.
BluFalconActual
2023-09-19 22:07:19 +0000 UTCI don't think that Unity can be trusted at all. As You have said this is your dream project that You wish to work on for a long time; and today's mega-corps just cannot be trusted, now Unity tried it and failed, but be assured they will try it again as soon as people move onto an other topic, and if they will do it Epic will do it sooner rather than later, nor are any other company any different. So I think since Godot even if not the best as far as engine goes, but since it's opensource it is safe to use (for now at least). Furthermore, I consider that Unity must be destroyed.
Davoda 1
2023-09-19 20:12:21 +0000 UTCGood luck to you, it must have been stresfull for you <3
Shamnolya
2023-09-19 18:25:36 +0000 UTCDefinitely. Hopefully unity gives you something positive to work with. Sorry that this is happening, but either way you'll know what's best for the future of the game.
Jay Willingham
2023-09-19 17:56:25 +0000 UTCThanks for the update Antti, as always your determination exceeds expectations. Looking forward to whatever is next for Road to Vostok. :)
Fonzi
2023-09-19 17:51:53 +0000 UTCAs a player who sees this stuff from a non-dev perspective, either one of the other engine options would be better than using Unity again despite all the techniques and experience you've made/obtained over the years. If what i heard from the potential Godot is gonna add in the future and that they announced in all this, Godot is a good potential option. Both engine environments are great though.
Lobotomite Teddy Bear
2023-09-19 17:39:06 +0000 UTCYes, it would be better but having +11 years of experience with Unity is a really valuable asset, so I want to see this new update first, what actions Unity will take and the community response to that before making that decision to switch.
Road to Vostok
2023-09-19 17:14:21 +0000 UTCWould it be better to go with an engine that's going to be around for the long haul, and offer support? If Unity is in a state of decline, maybe it's best to part ways now, before you're so far invested that it would take more years to switch over? Unreal engine is fantastic with their graphics, and I feel your game would benefit greatly. Just my opinion though. I may be way off base. Either way I love what you're doing, not just with the game development, but with the transparency.
Jay Willingham
2023-09-19 16:54:38 +0000 UTC
