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> The question has already been "Why aren't you using Unreal?" and that's just going to get harder. Lack of Web and Mobile support

fidotron 3y ago
It really isn't the lack of mobile support, as Fortnite shows, it is the fact Unity devs are cheaper and iteration speed from code changes is faster, which in hypercasual type stuff proves to be essential. I tend to think the dev iteration speed is the core Unreal weakness. The problem Unity have created is if something can be made with Unity it will get crowded out with clones in five minutes.
- CSMastermind 3y ago
  I did an evaluation earlier this year between the two. We needed the 3d engine but also needed native phone features. Meaning some screens of the app would be Unreal/Unity and some would be native iOS. We couldn't even get Unreal to build as an embeddable library for a mobile app nor could we get it to build into anything that would run in a web browser despite more than a week of effort. We had Unity working for both use cases in under a day.
  - Vt71fcAqt7 3y ago
    >We needed the 3d engine but also needed native phone features. PUBG mobile, which is in unreal, uses flutter for exactly this case.[0] [0] https://flutter.dev/showcase/pubg-mobile https://flutter.dev/showcase/pubg-mobile
    - CSMastermind 3y ago
      Interesting! Thank you for sharing.
- wokwokwok 3y ago
  > in hypercasual type stuff… Yes. Well. The idea that developer iteration speed is actually an indicator of project-completion-at-scale speed is really only true at a trivial scale; you know, when you only have developers. Maybe a handful of them. ..and like, one does-everything artist. When you have multiple different teams including non developers working on actually building a significant game, crafting levels, assets, etc. the iteration speed of your handful of devs is really really a drop in the ocean. There are a lot of very powerful tools in unreal for teams, and they have consistently invested in tooling (eg. File per actor) and real life production needs (eg. LED stage support) with their customers. Unity has invested in different areas, with a lot of effort, and bluntly, nothing to show for it.
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    >Unity has invested in different areas, with a lot of effort, and bluntly, nothing to show for it. Aren't they making shitloads on advertising?
  - Jensson 3y ago
    > at a trivial scale; you know, when you only have developers. Maybe a handful of them. ..and like, one does-everything artist. And that includes most games.
  - ido 3y ago
    really only true at a trivial scale You seem to suggest this means it doesn't really matter? I run a startup with 4 employees (only 2 of us are developers). I care about stuff in this "trivial scale" and a lot of other developers are like me. It's not just hobbyists and students.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  How do you square what you say here with your prior comment that unity is driving devs away?
- sha90 3y ago
  > The problem Unity have created is if something can be made with Unity it will get crowded out with clones in five minutes. This really has nothing to do with Unity. Flappy Bird could have been built on any platform and you would still have a million clones of it. Because it takes a day to make it. It's just as easy to clone that game in Unreal Engine, fwiw. Unity didn't create the concept of the quickly built game, nor is Unity responsible for society incentivizing this type of game dev. If anything, the new runtime fees will disincentivize this type of game, so maybe that's a good thing?
mthoms 3y ago
Is Unreal known for having poor web and mobile support? Genuinely curious.
- starburst 3y ago
  Compared to unity, yes (especially for 2D stuff which is more the norm on those platforms). Unity is already imho pretty bloated but at least useable and a sensible choice for both, Unreal is just too massive and more suited for console 3D type of games.

fidotron 3y ago

It really isn't the lack of mobile support, as Fortnite shows, it is the fact Unity devs are cheaper and iteration speed from code changes is faster, which in hypercasual type stuff proves to be essential. I tend to think the dev iteration speed is the core Unreal weakness. The problem Unity have created is if something can be made with Unity it will get crowded out with clones in five minutes.

CSMastermind 3y ago
I did an evaluation earlier this year between the two. We needed the 3d engine but also needed native phone features. Meaning some screens of the app would be Unreal/Unity and some would be native iOS. We couldn't even get Unreal to build as an embeddable library for a mobile app nor could we get it to build into anything that would run in a web browser despite more than a week of effort. We had Unity working for both use cases in under a day.
- Vt71fcAqt7 3y ago
  >We needed the 3d engine but also needed native phone features. PUBG mobile, which is in unreal, uses flutter for exactly this case.[0] [0] https://flutter.dev/showcase/pubg-mobile https://flutter.dev/showcase/pubg-mobile
  - CSMastermind 3y ago
    Interesting! Thank you for sharing.
wokwokwok 3y ago
> in hypercasual type stuff… Yes. Well. The idea that developer iteration speed is actually an indicator of project-completion-at-scale speed is really only true at a trivial scale; you know, when you only have developers. Maybe a handful of them. ..and like, one does-everything artist. When you have multiple different teams including non developers working on actually building a significant game, crafting levels, assets, etc. the iteration speed of your handful of devs is really really a drop in the ocean. There are a lot of very powerful tools in unreal for teams, and they have consistently invested in tooling (eg. File per actor) and real life production needs (eg. LED stage support) with their customers. Unity has invested in different areas, with a lot of effort, and bluntly, nothing to show for it.
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  >Unity has invested in different areas, with a lot of effort, and bluntly, nothing to show for it. Aren't they making shitloads on advertising?
- Jensson 3y ago
  > at a trivial scale; you know, when you only have developers. Maybe a handful of them. ..and like, one does-everything artist. And that includes most games.
- ido 3y ago
  really only true at a trivial scale You seem to suggest this means it doesn't really matter? I run a startup with 4 employees (only 2 of us are developers). I care about stuff in this "trivial scale" and a lot of other developers are like me. It's not just hobbyists and students.
andsoitis 3y ago
How do you square what you say here with your prior comment that unity is driving devs away?
sha90 3y ago
> The problem Unity have created is if something can be made with Unity it will get crowded out with clones in five minutes. This really has nothing to do with Unity. Flappy Bird could have been built on any platform and you would still have a million clones of it. Because it takes a day to make it. It's just as easy to clone that game in Unreal Engine, fwiw. Unity didn't create the concept of the quickly built game, nor is Unity responsible for society incentivizing this type of game dev. If anything, the new runtime fees will disincentivize this type of game, so maybe that's a good thing?

mthoms 3y ago

Is Unreal known for having poor web and mobile support? Genuinely curious.

starburst 3y ago
Compared to unity, yes (especially for 2D stuff which is more the norm on those platforms). Unity is already imho pretty bloated but at least useable and a sensible choice for both, Unreal is just too massive and more suited for console 3D type of games.