5 ms·

"We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is d

"We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed." This reads as something insane. If a player replays a game on steam, redownloads it, the developer still pays for the installation? I know people who redownload games all the time, like tens of times over the span of several years. I hope it's imprecise language and only the initial install/download is counted. I hope these changes (whatever they actually are) won't push game developers towards developing games that milk users more, with loot boxes, in-game currency, cosmetics etc, and away from stand alone you-pay-once games, single player or multiplayer, only to be able to pay for the ongoing engine fees.

larsiusprime 3y ago
Reading this on the face of it... - What about pirated copies? - What about maliciously installed copies? (4chan: "alright frens, time to install-bomb <gamewehate.exe>! Remember to click the IP address rotation button each time!"
- teraflop 3y ago
  And even if you assume they only charge for legitimate, authorized installations -- what about free demos? This seems to create a massive disincentive to make those available.
  - gs17 3y ago
    I think demos would be fine, if you create a separate project for the demo. It's effectively a separate game with no revenue. Development builds, on the other hand, would be the same game.
    - Karliss 3y ago
      Information provided by Unity says that they can merge numbers for multiple games if they decided that they are sufficiently similar. So clever tricks of making separate game will not work. It depends on how greedy they are whether Unity will apply this rule to demos.
- danjoredd 3y ago
  I posted this update in a discord server and that was the first thing a friend of mine said. Said "Great, lets reinstall [game they don't like but I won't name here] over and over again!" There is a real risk of this happening.
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    I have spare SSD drives I'm willing to burn out. Fuck review bombing, this is definitely the way to go to disincentivize bad game publisher behavior.
    - hightrix 3y ago
      You probably wouldn't need to install the entire game, possibly just install the first bits and then cancel. I'm sure our wonderful friends over at 4chan and other places full of honorable, upstanding citizens will come up with some interesting ideas.
      - mrguyorama 3y ago
        I cannot wait. Allowing us to directly punish game devs and ruin their business is the most consumer friendly thing anyone has done in this space!
        dang 3y ago
        Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments and flamebait? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
justinclift 3y ago
Yeah, there are definitely games on Steam I've played and deleted many, many times over the years. Eufloria is a good example (for me), as I've played that one on several different machines over a few years. Probably played and deleted it more then 20 or 30 times overall. And will likely keep on doing more too.
- strictnein 3y ago
  Easily reinstalled Stellaris 15-20 times, because otherwise I'll keep playing just a little bit more until the sun comes up.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
ncr100 3y ago
Yeah the core problem with that billing logic is that there is no value to the developer. Unity is assuming that there is "success" due to an installation. That's a inconsistent assertion. And so, there are flaws with this billing approach.
- nullifidian 3y ago
  Yup, it makes free-to-play games with high installation numbers and less exploitative mechanics that result in $200k (or over $1mil with the pro subscription iiuc) yearly income either non-viable, or much less viable using this engine. They are also seemingly making Unity games online-only for the DRM/accounting purposes.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

larsiusprime 3y ago

Reading this on the face of it... - What about pirated copies? - What about maliciously installed copies? (4chan: "alright frens, time to install-bomb <gamewehate.exe>! Remember to click the IP address rotation button each time!"

teraflop 3y ago
And even if you assume they only charge for legitimate, authorized installations -- what about free demos? This seems to create a massive disincentive to make those available.
- gs17 3y ago
  I think demos would be fine, if you create a separate project for the demo. It's effectively a separate game with no revenue. Development builds, on the other hand, would be the same game.
  - Karliss 3y ago
    Information provided by Unity says that they can merge numbers for multiple games if they decided that they are sufficiently similar. So clever tricks of making separate game will not work. It depends on how greedy they are whether Unity will apply this rule to demos.
danjoredd 3y ago
I posted this update in a discord server and that was the first thing a friend of mine said. Said "Great, lets reinstall [game they don't like but I won't name here] over and over again!" There is a real risk of this happening.
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  I have spare SSD drives I'm willing to burn out. Fuck review bombing, this is definitely the way to go to disincentivize bad game publisher behavior.
  - hightrix 3y ago
    You probably wouldn't need to install the entire game, possibly just install the first bits and then cancel. I'm sure our wonderful friends over at 4chan and other places full of honorable, upstanding citizens will come up with some interesting ideas.
    - mrguyorama 3y ago
      I cannot wait. Allowing us to directly punish game devs and ruin their business is the most consumer friendly thing anyone has done in this space!
      - dang 3y ago
        Could you please stop posting unsubstantive comments and flamebait? You've unfortunately been doing it repeatedly. It's not what this site is for, and destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.

justinclift 3y ago

Yeah, there are definitely games on Steam I've played and deleted many, many times over the years. Eufloria is a good example (for me), as I've played that one on several different machines over a few years. Probably played and deleted it more then 20 or 30 times overall. And will likely keep on doing more too.

strictnein 3y ago
Easily reinstalled Stellaris 15-20 times, because otherwise I'll keep playing just a little bit more until the sun comes up.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

ncr100 3y ago

Yeah the core problem with that billing logic is that there is no value to the developer. Unity is assuming that there is "success" due to an installation. That's a inconsistent assertion. And so, there are flaws with this billing approach.

nullifidian 3y ago
Yup, it makes free-to-play games with high installation numbers and less exploitative mechanics that result in $200k (or over $1mil with the pro subscription iiuc) yearly income either non-viable, or much less viable using this engine. They are also seemingly making Unity games online-only for the DRM/accounting purposes.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]