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NGUI: Free Edition

Discussion in 'Assets and Asset Store' started by ArenMook, Feb 19, 2012.

  1. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Have you been tempted to give NGUI a try, but just don't want to commit to spending money on something that you may not use? Well, you're in luck. You can now download the full version of NGUI for free.

    Click the logo to download the Unity Package. :cool:



    What's in the package? The last version of NGUI 2 cycle -- NGUI 2.7.0.

    What's the catch? NGUI 2 has been deprecated in September 2013 when NGUI 3 came out, so it's an older version that won't have all the latest features and optimizations of the current one. It also doesn't come with support. The last restriction is that if used for commercial purposes, it falls under the same restrictions as Unity Free: "free version may not be licensed by a commercial entity with annual gross revenues (based on fiscal year) in excess of US$100,000, or by an educational, non-profit or government entity with an annual budget of over US$100,000"

    But hey, it's free!









     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2014
  2. zlabs

    zlabs

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    I was waiting for this! :D

    Thanks man!!!
     
  3. Mishaps

    Mishaps

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    Nice Work!
     
  4. hjupter

    hjupter

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    Nice logo :D!
     
  5. chi

    chi

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    Nice GUI :D!
     
  6. Morning

    Morning

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    How easy/hard is it to update free to commercial when the project is close to finishing?
     
  7. goat

    goat

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    Too kind.
     
  8. NomadKing

    NomadKing

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    Great news. Really looking forward to trying this out :)
     
  9. jc_lvngstn

    jc_lvngstn

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    Perfect timing...thanks!
     
  10. WolfGames

    WolfGames

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    Awesome!! :)
     
  11. norby

    norby

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    Thanks a lot

    Norby
     
  12. OMG!Yeti's

    OMG!Yeti's

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    Thanks for this Aren.

    Gives me the chance to try out your system until I have the money for the full package sometime next month.
     
  13. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Trivial -- delete the NGUI folder, import from the full version package. Done!
     
  14. Demigiant

    Demigiant

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    Great Aren. I always thought that every package should come with a trial, so this is awesome. Still didn't get it, but will probably grab it for my next project.

    By the way, I never put anything on the Asset Store, but from what I understand it is quite complicated to develop "Trial" versions: how did you achieve it? I'd love for other developers to follow your steps :)
     
  15. DavidB

    DavidB

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    Wow this is definitely a great idea, and from the looks of it a great package. I'll definitely be checking it out. Though I would like to ask for some clarification regarding:

    If you package NGUI on a commercial asset I presume:

    1) The developer must own a commercial license for NGUI (only makes sense)
    2) Stipulate that their package is only for non-commercial uses unless the purchasing user also purchases NGUI?

    #2 is what I'm confused about. If you use NGUI in a commercial asset, are customers of such an asset also obliged to purchase the commercial NGUI package prior to using their purchased asset commercially?

    Thanks!
     
  16. Morning

    Morning

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    Allowing NGUI inclusion with your asset store projects is a clever marketing idea. The buyer needs to buy the license for NGUI to use it for commercial stuff.
    Oh you clever man.
     
  17. WooSpringBreak

    WooSpringBreak

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    I want to undergo horrific genetic modification so I can have your babies
     
  18. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    @DavidB: The Free Edition can be distributed, the Standard / Pro editions can't. This is mainly targeted at other content developers producing something for the Asset Store. For example -- this lets anyone create custom fancy skins for the UI, complete with a full UI layout and setup, or create a much more interesting looking UI for their Starter Game Kit than they would with Unity's GUI.

    The buyers of this "combo package" may already own a standard copy of NGUI, so upgrading for them would be a simple matter of replacing the NGUI folder within. Or maybe they won't want the UI part of it at all, and bought it for some other purpose (game mechanics for example) -- in which case they can just stay with the free version, provided the UI won't be used in their own final product.

    @Morning: :D

    @WooSpringBreak: I'll be waiting! *bow chica bow wow*
     
  19. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    All I did was put a part of NGUI into a managed C# DLL, and created a new package with a price of $0. It was fairly easy with how NGUI was designed -- most things were already compartmentalized nicely.

    Bottom line is -- the less spaghetti code you have, the easier it is.

    P.S. This entire "free edition" endevour has a very high chance of blowing up in my face by hurting my own sales, so I am taking a pretty big risk here... Either the sales will stay solid and I will continue development of NGUI, or they will slow down, which will cause me to go work on something else. So if you like what you see, consider investing in future features, and let me know! :) I'll happily share the results of this semi-experiment with the rest of the community.
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2012
  20. minevr

    minevr

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    Good job!! Bump~~
     
  21. chwu

    chwu

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    顶一个黑黑
     
  22. Morning

    Morning

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    I personally love free noncommercial edition of assets. More assets should have similar model. Free to use while developing, buy license for commercial use.
     
  23. sandolkakos

    sandolkakos

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    Me too think as you.

    @ArenMook
    Thanks for release.
     
  24. Sir-Tiddlesworth

    Sir-Tiddlesworth

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    This does not seem to work for me.
    Whenever I import the package I get an error and when I fix that error I get two errors, and so on.

    Looks good from the pictures though :(
     
  25. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Errors like what? It may or may not work in 3.5, I've only compiled it for 3.4.2. The standard version of NGUI supports both 3.4.2 and 3.5.
     
  26. U7Games

    U7Games

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    atlas maker? that sounds like a was looking for ;D
    Thanks!
     
  27. Sir-Tiddlesworth

    Sir-Tiddlesworth

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    I will post the errors when I get home.

    P.S. I am using Unity 3.3.
     
  28. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Unity 3.3 is not supported. You need 3.4.2 or higher.
     
  29. S0ULART

    S0ULART

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    does or will NGUI support starting a menu with a mouse scroll?
     
  30. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Not sure what you mean.
     
  31. S0ULART

    S0ULART

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    turning the mouse wheel opens and closes the menu. It's a "new method" for more intuitive accessing the interface/menu in point click games :)

    edit: never-mind got it to work
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2012
  32. ProtonOne

    ProtonOne

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    It seems like the ortho 2D GUI doesn't with with Deferred Lighting for some reason.

    "Example 0 - UIAnchor" - shows up as pure black when set to deferred.
    "Example 1 - Interaction" - works fine with deferred
     
  33. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    The UI doesn't use lighting there. The UI camera must use forward rendering.
     
  34. petero181

    petero181

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    Thanks for this great package :)
     
  35. rocket5tim

    rocket5tim

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    Hi I was wondering if there are any issues I need to be aware of when upgrading from the Free version of NGUI to the paid version. My assumption is that I can just open my project in Unity (which has an elaborate UI setup using the free version of NGUI) and then download and unpack the paid version from the unity asset store right into this project. My hope is that all connections will be maintained in the project.
     
  36. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    The upgrade process is exactly the same as updating NGUI:

    1. File -> New Scene
    2. Delete the NGUI folder
    3. Import NGUI from the full version package.
     
  37. rocket5tim

    rocket5tim

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    Thanks for the fast reply. Upgrade was smooth.
     
  38. luanostra

    luanostra

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    Can I use NGUI free edition with unity3d to make free app on android market?
     
  39. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    No, because that would be commercial use.
     
  40. Trinda

    Trinda

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    I'm not sure I understand.

    If it's a free app (Assuming free also means no revenue from advertising), there's no money involved, so I wouldn't think of it as commercial use.
     
  41. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Yes but free app or not, and the free version of NGUI is limited to "development, evaluational, educational and/or internal use". Only asset store-bound products are exempt from this limitation.
     
  42. CorruptScanline

    CorruptScanline

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    Is the free version supposed to completely hide the UI and just show a watermark when playing or just show the watermark and trial message on top of the UI? I'm getting no UI rendering in the game view while playing but it does show up in the editor view while playing. In edit mode it shows up everywhere as expected.
     
  43. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Game and editor should both work fine. Free version isn't compatible with flash or deferred rendering, but everything else should work.
     
  44. CorruptScanline

    CorruptScanline

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    Deferred rendering was the problem, but why does it work in edit mode with deferred rendering then? Also shouldn't I just be able to force the UI camera to use forward rendering instead of changing it for the entire project?
     
  45. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    I don't know why it doesn't work there to be honest. The full version of NGUI works as expected.
     
  46. Trinda

    Trinda

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    Ahh, now I get you. The commercial use bit threw me off a little

    On another note, Tried the free version, and I'm now looking at buying the full one tomorrow, it's just that awesome.
     
  47. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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  48. Trinda

    Trinda

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    Looks like I won't be able to for a little while, bank decided to hit me with some fees that leave me short until the middle of next month
     
  49. crocodile5

    crocodile5

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    Great stuff :). I have one question tho my UI textures seems to be very very blurry when I follow the tutorial. How can I fix this?

    Thanks.
     
  50. ArenMook

    ArenMook

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    Please use the NGUI's support forum to ask support related questions, and provide more information to go by than just that. :p Screenshots of the problem, of your atlas, stuff like that.