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MOBA Unity development

Discussion in 'Multiplayer' started by aburnier, Jun 24, 2012.

  1. aburnier

    aburnier

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2012
    Posts:
    2
    I am very new to Unity, but I have been searching for a while for an inexpensive/free game engine that could help me develop a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) type game which would function similarly to DOTA or League of Legends. Obviously I am inexperienced, and the project in question would be years in the making and require a team, but I was hoping someone with years of Unity experience could tell me if the desired functions below are possible to develop in Unity:

    I would need:

    1) Multiplayer/team-based play-style capabilities with matchmaking queues, friend lists, and chat rooms
    2) An aerial third-person game camera which could float freely around the map by moving the mouse cursor to the edge of the screen, but which could also snap back to and track a user's character on command.
    3) A highly-customizable user interface for features such as item slots, menus that allow the re-allocation of ability hotkeys, and a navigable minimap with live updates on character positions and other activity.
    4) A dynamic map which could change shape over the course of a game
    5) Efficient pathfinding for characters controlled by right-clicking on a desired location. This means the ability to navigate terrain and find the best path to a location based on the position of obstacles.
    6) Other MOBA-type elements such as health bars and levels with ability scaling, effects such as stuns, snares, fears, silences, etc...

    This is a fairly complex set of functions I want to include. If Unity is not the right software for this sort of thing, could someone let me know a better program I should get my hands on. Assume for the moment that I don't care about the cost.
     
  2. OmniverseProduct

    OmniverseProduct

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2012
    Posts:
    1,568
    This question is asked quite a bit and the answer is always the same. Anything is possibly with Unity or any other game engine out there, it just depends on your skill.
     
  3. aburnier

    aburnier

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2012
    Posts:
    2
    I suppose a better set of questions would be: Does Unity facilitate, in any way, the creation of the mentioned features? Because Unity appears to be used mainly for mobile game development and level-based games, are there any other game engines I should look at which would be a better tool to develop the desired results? Basically, even though anything is possible with enough skill and expertise, often times when a complex tool such as Unity is being used in non-standard ways the development process requires numerous work-arounds and loopholes which make the game less streamlined (at least this has been my experience). Although such issues are inevitable and a part of any development process, I would like to eliminate the need for them whenever possible, which is why I wanted to get an opinion on whether Unity is the right tool for me or not.

    If you could elaborate that would be helpful.
     
  4. theletter7

    theletter7

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2011
    Posts:
    14
    Yes Unity can cater for all those features if you know how to create/implement them. It won't be pre-made into unity already though it can be added.
     
  5. andorov

    andorov

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Posts:
    1,061
    For the pathfinding you're going to need Unity Pro (or a third-party add-on). For the User Interface, you're going to need a third-party add on or wait for Unity to build something better than the current solution. Other than that, everything is possible.

    Personally speaking, a "game engine" to me is something that has actual game-play elements built-in, such as the HeroEngine, or the proprietary tech that many companies utilize. Unity to me, is more like a bunch of disparate middleware packages (Physics, Animation, Importers, Sound, Renderer, Trees Foliage, etc) wrangled together into one more-or-less cohesive package.

    Shameless plug: If you check out my signature, you'll find my third-party solution with which you could build the "core" of a MOBA in less than 24 man hours :p
     
  6. fholm

    fholm

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2011
    Posts:
    2,052
    Everything you asked for is possible to build in Unity. What people fail to realize is that nothing inside Unity will hold you back, and you can even extend Unity with native tech not normally available (assuming you have Unity Pro). To answer your questions

    1) Yes, but for something robust you will need to use a third party networking solution (Photon, SlimNet, uLink, etc.)
    2) Yes
    3) Yes, but you will need to build your own UI system if you want it to be scriptable/highly customizable (like WoW, etc.)
    4) Yes, but it will put a heavy strain on your path finding solution, and you might need to build your own specialized solution if you do big changes in the environment
    5) Yes, there are several solutions (including one built into Unity Pro) which uses the Nav Meshes or Grids to navigate your actors around on screen, but for complex cases with a lot of destructibility you will need something custom.
    6) Yes.

    I doubt that there is a point where Unity will the limiting factor and not your own skill at programming.
     
  7. n00b4real

    n00b4real

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2013
    Posts:
    1
    I was wandering if you could pm me about that :) im also recruiting a team right now about a MOBA
     
  8. perick

    perick

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2008
    Posts:
    235