Unity 2.6 is out (and free!)

My worry is that the free version will become forgotten as Unity push everybody towards pro. This means that features dont find their way into indie and evnetually the free version becomes almost useless for any serious game development.

Unity is following Toruqe (GarageGames) example which seem to have removed indie option altogther. I guess at some stage in the future they would also remove the free version so all the investment we have made in the engine, would be wasted if we dont go for pro.

IMHO This is a bit of a sharp practice. :?

tomcat

 

Geeze, they just made Unity Indie free...give them a year or two and see how things actually turn out instead of pronouncing it dead already based on no evidence.

--Eric

 

My only complaint is that the option to buy Pro at a discount lasts "until the end of the year".

The end of the year is only two months away, and the Christmas season, so it's going to be impossible for a lot of us 'indies' to come up with an extra $1000 in those two months.

Any way you could extend it 2 or 3 months?

 

Hello,

i purchased unity indie license 27-03-2009.

Can i be refunded ? And what i need to do or who need i to contact, please ?


Thanks a lot !

Best Regards.

 

I'm amazed at all the anger being vented here.

This is great news for everyone. A bigger community will result in even more innovation, a great pool of shared knowledge and broader penetration/adoption of Unity's browser plug-in among users/gamers.

The fact that I can now work with colleagues who previously didn't have Unity is fantastic. This takes opportunities for collaboration to new heights, so come on people see the glass for what it is: it's neither half empty nor half full; it's positively brimming over.

I do concur with tonyd though, this is the most expensive season of the year, esp. for indies with familes - an extension to the discount into the end of Jan/Feb would be very welcome.

 

Wow :

- many fantastic enhancements in 2.6
- no charge since version 2.0
- Mac/Windows versions for the same price, and at no extra charge when the Windows version came out
- a free Unity for beginners
- a refund for recent buyers
- a rebate for the others

Unity, you rule !

 

That was 7 months ago...the cutoff for refunds is 2 months...surely you got at least $200 worth of use out of it by now.

--Eric

 

although i think its great thats its free now, i think that unity shouldnt have shafted all their loyal customers who actually invested in their products.

their customers had a slight advantage that they had unity and support, now they are no better off then anyone who has a net connection. I think this is why a lot of people are a bit peeved.

it's completely understandable. customers have been devalued, competition will increase, forums will be flooded, things will change dramatically.

its like if lamorghini suddenly sold the murcielago for 5g's all the previous owners would be pissed that their car has no value, still a cool car, but who cares everyone will have one.

but, from what I have seen from other platforms that have adopted this type of approach (joomla / wordpress) its going to be great for the community, there is tons of great stuff available for these platforms, and there will be some great new talent coming in. im looking forward to loads of new training resources.

taran

 

1,542,222 thumbs up!
Not only does 2.6 seems such like an amazing update (performance wise with the profiler added it is gonna rock), giving the indie for free is a wonderful move.

If the pro cost will be kept roughly as it is, unity is going to take the world by storm.

So long flash! Lol. I'm sorry I mentioned you both in the same reply. Flash was never what unity is and can be.
Actually, if this growth goes on. It might be more correct to say: "So long cryengine"...

 

Good news, I will start to learn Unity then!

Thanks!

 

Ok, let me get this straight.

1: Some of the people who don't qualify for a refund on Unity Indie are upset because they bought it quite a while ago.

2: If UT hadn't released it for free, they still wouldn't be getting a refund, and they wouldn't be upset about this.

Does anyone actually understand this behavior? No matter which angle I look at it, I keep coming back to 2. I mean... the result is the same to them either way: no refund.

I'm reminded of a quote from Epictetus. Nearly 2000 years ago he said "People are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them"

 

This is outstanding news. I bought the Indie version quite awhile back, but I think it's great that Unity is doing this.

I just wonder how Unity is able to do this and still make enough money to stay in business? I really hope you all stay around a LONG time because your product is so outstanding, so fun to use, so amazing...I want you around until I'm old and gray!

Kind regards, and keep up the good work Unity!

 

This is my first visit to these forums. I hope that the rest of the users aren't like you.

 

wow... thank you!

 

I don't think that making it free devalues it at all. A greater adoption of Unity as a development platform will increase the number of end users - which in turn increases the value of Unity as a medium for delivering content, and therefore increases the value of not only the software, but also the value of our skills as Unity developers. In time, the increase in end users will also mean there is an increased employability for Unity developers.

Besides, if it wasn't for those people who invested their money into buying the software, Unity Tech. probably would have ceased to exist.

I know that $200 is a bigger investment for some people more than others - but I think it's worth stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Your money was well spent.

 

I do think there is some truth to this statement. While this move may be good for Unity in the long run, there are likely going to be growing pains.

 

This is why I promote you guys with any hesitation whenever possible. And I will plug this on my site as well. Funny enough I was just about to upgrade

Kudos!~

~t

 

i hope i am reading the store right, i would like a unity employee to reply to this please.

when i opt to buy the unity iphone basic the store reads : "If you have an existing Unity Pro license, please have your serial number ready."

does it mean that you MUST buy unity PRO in order to get the iphone basic. are they realy tied together ?

this means that a week ago i could have bought unity basic +iphone basic for $600. and today to be an iphone developer you have to pay for PRO+ iphone Basic @ $1900

is this true ?

 

For those who will be getting the refund, did they mention anything about how they were going to refund the money? I bought mine through credit card and would prefer the money be refunded to my PayPal account for convenience.

Thanks in advance

 

This reminds me of when someone says something to you and you can't think of a comeback, you just stand there all slack jawed and later you come up with something when they're gone.

I like Unity, I really didn't need to spend the money it took me to get it. I had saved for a while for a new monitor, but instead bought Unity.

I open my email this morning and see 2.6 is out. "HOORAY!" Then I see it's free for everyone...and I just get that cold sick feeling all over. Had I waited a few months I could have had it for free, but wait...I can spend more money and get Pro...soooo that will probably turn out to be free or half priced and Ultra Pro Mega Edition will come out...with an offer to upgrade to it from Pro. It feels like garagegames all over again.

I didn't have the money to buy Pro. My consolation for having bought something that is now free is...oh sorry, but we'll discount the more expensive version for you. I don't have that kind of money.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be some sort of free trial, but this makes me sad all over. I mean I'm glad this may help bring in more people to the community, but I can't help but feel ripped off.

Imagine you had just bought a new car, a few months later they just start giving it away, but offer you a discount on the sport's package.

 

I just wanted to thank the Unity folks for another great release (Baazar VCS support, Yay!) and for another great display of generosity.

Just like the previous poster I can´t understand all the anger being vented here. You paid 250 bucks for an amazing piece of software - it´s a lot of bang for your buck.

What if you can´t get a refund? You just managed to help fund a great (now free!) game engine. What is there to despair?

 

This is great, ive so much wanted ssao in unity. Previously, as i love the effect it gives. Wonderful!!


Question: Where is the SSAO script in pro version??? its probably looking right at me, but i dont see it!

Steve

Arteria3d.com

http://www.arteria3d.com

 

wow what a complete u-turn,an absolute sell out in the face of the Torque3D blitzkreig.
and you know what? its still too expensive to upgrade.lol
ill be going for a T3D artist binary when it happens at least its got everything included
go figure

 

Indeed...Unity isn't a car. If anyone bought Unity because they thought it made them a 1337 d00d, they totally bought it for the wrong reasons.

--Eric

 

Oh Joy I feel better already I dont think. :x

 

It's not a car you say...*gasp*

Who bought it to be "1337 d00d" anyway? I bought it because it seemed like a better product than Torque. It was, and as far as I know still is. I wanted something easier to learn, and being an artist it is, with my workload I haven't spent as much time working on it as I would have liked.

Being the h4x0r you are I'm sure you understand.

Still, those with money to spend won't care as much as those that scraped together funds. I imagine the free version is going to only get worse now. At least with it being paid they had incentive to keep it getting better.

A free version of somekind could have been thought up, an even more stripped down version with a single project to be worked on, or something similiar as an unlimited trial.

I imagine the pro users would be angry if all the ones who paid for indie got a pro upgrade for free.

 

Does it include the source code? Because it's my understanding you can't get anything done in Torque without modifying it...

 

can anyone tell me where the SSAO script is please?

Best

Steve

 

As far as I know you are supposed to import the package from Standard Assets location.





-------


Anyone has direct link to the Unity 2.6 download? It's has been a whole day and the page still refuses to work on my primary browser. When it works, download link takes me to the same page anyway.

Anyone has direct EXE link?

 

Why should they be they were not worried about Unity Indie going free,they should look at it this way if all Indie users got a free upgrade to Pro it would open up a whole world of possibilities and opportunitys and pooling of knowledge HaH!

 

This works ok

http://unity3d.com/unity/download/

 

wtf ? I bought the indy in september and now unity is free ? I'm student and i'll never have 1000 $ before the end of the year.

Is it a joke ?

 

@sleekit

Doesn't for me. Page only loads on Internet Explorer or FireFox (not Opera) but clicking download takes me back to same page.

Can you copy and paste the link to EXE file directly from there? (I don't see the link anyway) :|



@Cigi
Well like rest of us you will have to just live with it, unfortunately. But look at the bright side, we get Indie upgrade for all versions from now on instead of paying for it. Sure we payed for basically.. nothing, but still..

 

Well, good, you bought it within 60 days and get a refund. Why is that a problem?

No. Why would you think so?

--Eric

 

If you bought in September, then you should be eligible for the refund. And if you bought Indie, then it was because you could only afford Indie. Why do you suddenly feel the need to upgrade to Pro?

Personally this is great news, as I was going to look at buying Indie in a couple of weeks when my trial ran out. Now I've got it for free

 

I can totally understand people being a bit bummed. But still, it's UT's decission to make, and they're not doing it to upset you, what they're doing is going to make a lot of other people happy, and it's a strategic move for them as a company. Whether or not it will turn out in their advantage remains to be seen, but it's their call.

I would be a bit upset too if I wouldn't be able to get the refund, but I would accept it. That's just the way things go; you buy something, and over time it becomes cheaper, or free, or sometimes even useless. Thank god that's not the case here.

You got what you paid for, at that time. They didn't promise you any refunds when you purchased. It sucks for you that some people get refunds and you don't, but just deal with it. Or talk to support and see if they can give you some other kind of deal.

 

Cause.. that's what we got as a compensation? "Here, buy the expensive version if it makes you feel better."

lol, anyway, he's "eligible" for a refund.



EDIT: On the side note, anyone here has a direct link to the latest Unity exe on this site?

 

I copied the shortcut
http://unity3d.com/unity/download/

On the download it has "panther.unity3d.com"
thats all i can see sorry.

 

Yeah yeah it's a really good news. A lot of people want to try making games or others stuff with unity. And i think unity is the better solution.

@Eric5h5 > Refund ? I didn't read this sorry Well, i think i'll contact unity for refund if it's possible. Thanks Eric5h5.

 

That sounds awesome to me. I still have my car, and now lots of other people have cool cars too.

This isn't a zero sum game.

 

I bought unity 1.0 indy, and upgraded to 2.0 indy so I've invested a few hundred dollars in a good company that hopefully will now continue to offer a free version of 3.0, 4.0, etc.... it was worth the investment, (for me). Indy users will never have to invest in an upgrade again, look at the bright side.

 

These people are entitled to their opinion, how about you shut your mouth. I see you signed up today, if you love Unity so much why didnt you BUY it like everyone else who had access to these forums did?

Now that it is free, these forums are going to fill up with wise arse kids like this one

 

Hi,

First of all congratulations on releasing the 2.6 version. I have to say that changing indie version to be free was a bold move that I did not expect, and I congratulate you guys on that approach (especially helpful for university students imo).

As for ppl complaining about purchasing something that now is free, you need to get over it. It only bothers ppl that purchased it and don't make any use of it, so in what will having a refund of something not used for 10 months help you in any way?

Ppl close to the 2 month cut off it is tough luck, ppl on the border of a transition usually get screwed a bit. The university fees in Portugal changed from around 300€ to 900€ in one year, or ppl caught in the bologna transition (Masters are now 5 years instead of 7 like they were here because of European standardization) may have needed to do extra courses that weren't there before (and some that they did could be useless!). Ppl in the transition are always screwed, no getting around that.

As for Unity's particular case, I bought it when I still was in the University and I don't regret it. I even "paid more" because I wasn't a business at the time (so had to pay 25% more because of the VAT), and I'd still do it again. And the reason is that if you invest on something that you want, it is investing! You are investing because you want something out of it.

Just for ppl to know my transition, I purchased indie on 1.6 (iirc), did my masters with it. 1 year after my graduating, I dropped my job and started working on games using unity indie, and I invested (again) on Pro license. After that, I purchased the Asset Server + iPhone Indie, yet another investment (and the iPhone indie I haven't really taken advantage of it because of little time, so I haven't made any money from it).

Ppl also got pissed about buying the asset server and then unity starts supporting svn, and why? The only reason was if Unity cancelled the asset server license, then you had spent money into something you can't use. Even with SVN support I still don't regret spending the extra money for asset server to have a better integration and also the hope that it will continue to improve as time goes on, not not just be a code revision system.

Anyway, like somebody kind of mentioned it, the best thing one can do is to use their investments to move forward, getting caught on a transition is annoying and it is ok to be "angry" for a bit, but not when looking at the big picture.

Best regards,
Afonso

 

Unfortunately that doesn't work for me. Thanks though.


PS: I meant the download link directly. When you click download the download starts, that URL to direct file, for example: http://unity3d.com/unity/download/unityfile.exe

Thanks for trying though.

 

This is indeed great news. I am fortunate enough to fall into both the upgrade and refund available categories.

I can appreciate feeling bummed about missing the cutoff date by a few days/weeks. Or even missing it at all. I can also appreciate that the 200 dollars is a bigger or smaller deal to some depending on their financial situation.

But lets be honest here. In any situation, if you can spare 200 bucks on an indie license it means that a) you don't do this for a living and b) you have enough disposable income to do this as a hobby.

So why don't we dispense with the 'woe is me' complaining, be happy for the new unity community members this is sure to bring in, and acknowledge that Unity indeed has offered something for all indie owners, even if its not a full refund.

 

WTF?

You are just happy you got the refund and a free update, aren't you? lol

Can people just stop justifying Indie users loosing cash on basically nothing please? It's embarrassing reading all this crap from pro users (or those who got refund/got their parents to pay for it so don't care how the money is spent) here. Just let it go.

Unity Indie is dead, long live Unity.. non Indie? Yay!


Now can someone link me to the download file or upload it anywhere else?

 

I reimported all assets, but nope.. cannot find the SSAO.

Please help!!

Steve

Arteria3d http://www.arteria3d.com

 

use the download link on the page.
if it does not work, the server is just overhammered and you will have to wait.

a direct link wouldn't solve that.

 

I reimported all assets, but nope.. cannot find the SSAO.

Please help!!

Steve

Arteria3d http://www.arteria3d.com

 

What is embarrassing is all of these Unity users that think they are owed something. That think Unity is the first product that has ever had a price change over the course of its life time.

I bought an x-box elite for 400 bucks, now its 300. Why hasn't microsoft mailed me my 100 dollar check?

The download is plastered all over unitys main website. I got it quickly last night and I can download it right now.