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Unity 3D vs Blender?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Whitellama, Jan 8, 2010.

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  1. Whitellama

    Whitellama

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    I don't know very much about the ups and downs of both programs, and I juts kinda want to fool around with them. Which one would be better for making games?
     
  2. Dreamora

    Dreamora

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    The one that suites your personal and project needs better, including funding, features and support
    if you want webplayer, the answer is clear which one you have to use.
    The same if you hate blender as much as many others.
     
  3. Whitellama

    Whitellama

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    I do not have much experience with this or blender, and I would like it if you would make yourself more clear. I am not making a game to sell or ANYTHING OFFICIAL! I am just fooling around with them to see what I can do. I do know some scripting from fooling around with other programs (scratch, alice, and a game called ROBLOX), but right now I want to know, which program would be better to make games for example if I were making a small RPG or a shooter... I know Blender is good for modeling and animations... but which is better for games.

    When you say the answer is clear, do you mean Unity? I have a feeling if I could hear you say this rather then reading it, I could figure out what you mean by your tone of voice. Please tell me the ups and downs for both of them.
     
  4. Whitellama

    Whitellama

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    I do not have much experience with this or blender, and I would like it if you would make yourself more clear. I am not making a game to sell or ANYTHING OFFICIAL! I am just fooling around with them to see what I can do. I do know some scripting from fooling around with other programs (scratch, alice, and a game called ROBLOX), but right now I want to know, which program would be better to make games for example if I were making a small RPG or a shooter... I know Blender is good for modeling and animations... but which is better for games.

    When you say the answer is clear, do you mean Unity? I have a feeling if I could hear you say this rather then reading it, I could figure out what you mean by your tone of voice. Please tell me the ups and downs for both of them.

    By the way, I am not a Blender hater, just because the learning curve is steep. I have a will to learn if I put my mind to it.
     
  5. scarpelius

    scarpelius

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    Blender is a 3D modeler and animation tool. It does have a game engine but the one that works is outdated.
    On the other hand Unity is a game engine with a very strong editor, good documentation base and a very active and helpful community.

    My advice to you is to combine both of them if you want to make games. Use Blender for making assets and Unity to make a game. You can use also GIMP to make textures for Blender models (also free) is a great 2D tool as you can see here http://www.gamingo.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8 what you can accomplish with a tablet in one and a half hour of relaxing away from coding :)
     
    kuchkovkirill likes this.
  6. Jessy

    Jessy

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    Creating games with Blender, as of now or any time before, is terrible. That said, it's my favorite 3D content creation app. Although there are lots of nutcases in the Blender community who shun Unity because it's not open source, the two apps do work rather nicely together, and it's the pipeline of choice at my two-person apartment game studio. :wink:
     
  7. Mr. Foxer

    Mr. Foxer

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    There is no competition between the two, Unity all the way. :roll:
     
  8. Discord

    Discord

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    I would not recommend using the engine built into Blender. Unity is definitely easier to use. Personally, I use blender for modeling/animation and Unity for putting the game together.
     
  9. Dawisch

    Dawisch

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    If you just want to make simple games and don't want to take the time to learn complicated scripting then Blender's logic brick editor works quite nicely. The only major flaw I could find in the Blender Game Engine is the physics engine (bullet) which seems to have quite a few bugs. Other than that I think that Blender actually has a pretty good engine. I would also recommend for more serious game development to use Blender and Unity together.

    -Dawisch
     
  10. Jessy

    Jessy

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    There's also the caveat that no one else will ever play your game if you make it in Blender. Its distribution capability is nil.
     
  11. sybixsus2

    sybixsus2

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    Could you elaborate on this? I don't follow.
     
  12. Jessy

    Jessy

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    Nobody follows. Check out the last line on this page. :wink:

    Look at how amateurishly even the most important Blender Game is presented. I am told I can, "Download and Play Yo Frankie! no matter if you’re on GNU/Linux, Windows, or OSX." Yet, I'm on OS X, and have to open Blender to run anything. WTF is a "Crystal Space", to the end user?

    This is a system made by Blender nerds, for Blender nerds. It was a waste of time and talent to complete this game.

    Don't get me wrong; I love Blender. But it bugs me that developers waste time on this going-nowhere aspect of the app instead of something people can actually use, especially given that the Blender Foundation is doing its best to popularize its app.
     
  13. loken

    loken

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    You don't need Blender to run YoFrankie, or any game you make with it. It can produce a standalone executable.

    Advantages of Blender Game Engine over Unity (Free version of Unity anyways):

    Buffer Shadows
    Render to Texture
    Post Process Effects (Via GLSL)
    Node based Materials (If you don't feel like coding GLSL)
    The Model and Animation editor is right there, heh.
    Real time Shape Keys
    In game Sub-D Surfaces
    You can do a lot with just the Brick Editor
    Works on OSX, Windows AND Linux
    In Game Inverse Kinematics (now very fast)

    Disadvantages:
    Python is interpreted, so not nearly as fast as Unity's scripting.
    Rather incomplete (Free) Documentation
    Really no built in way of making GUI's.
    No Networking (though there are ways around this)
    GPL Licensing is really blurry as to whether you can distribute your games commercially without distributing source.
    No Web Player

    A few of these issues are being taken care of with the Gamekit project, which has a goal of making a more compatably license Blender Game Engine outside of Blender.

    It reads .blend files, processes game logic, and can use Ogre or Irrlicht engines. Even runs on iPhone!

    http://code.google.com/p/gamekit/

    All that being said, I tried the Blender Game route. Then I found Unity which is oh so much nicer to use, even if the free version doesn't support some of BGE's nice (free) features.
     
  14. Jessy

    Jessy

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    Right. A standalone executable that flashes a blue and black screen twice and crashes. Impressive!
     
  15. KaelisAsur

    KaelisAsur

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    Exactly. Before coming to Unity, out of pure curiosity me and my colleagues tested Blenders 'engine', and it worked only on 4 PCs out of 12.

    I dont blame Blender, its not what it was made for; its a 3d graphics application, not a game engine. But claiming that the Blender Game Engine is even remotely comparable to a 'proper' package like Unity is unreasonable.
     
  16. spiralgear

    spiralgear

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    I use blender to make my models/animations, and then import them to Unity.


    Don't use the blender game engine, at this point it is a novelty.
     
  17. gamenut30111

    gamenut30111

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    i have had some experience with the blender game engine, before i found Unity. heres some comparisons

    Blender Game Engine Pros
    Easy to use scripting blocks(no scripting knowledge required)

    Unity
    Faster
    Particle Effects
    Terrain System
    Easy to use
     
  18. h.istvan

    h.istvan

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    Blender's game engine is only for prototyping. The game Yo Frankie - if I'm not wrong - has to version. The prototype made with Blender Game Engine, and a version made with Crystal Space.
     
  19. bigcatrik

    bigcatrik

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    A smaller step up from those would be to "all-in-one game maker" software like FPS Creator, Gamestudio or 3D Rad.

    Rik
     
  20. Whitellama

    Whitellama

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    Okay I think I get the idea...

    Unity + Blender Models = A good idea.

    Thanks everyone! :D :D :D
     
  21. mutantsproducer

    mutantsproducer

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    It's not ALWAYS a good idea. For example: Blender has a terribly hard rigging system, so it is harder to rig the models, which makes it harder to animate the models and get them ready for games. Use Mixamo online rigging software for rigging your models.
     
  22. HelderNovais

    HelderNovais

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    You fool.:mad: I made tons of standalone tests with Blender and it is perfect. No blue nor black screen crashing. Blender has a Foundation. A Foundation!!! Unity has Huge Number of workers and tons of cash. You should prey for Blender. For me is the best software ever made. It´s true that Python isn´t very famous such as Java or C#, but is awesome if you want to create for PC. Options are great in Blender. It even has real life cameras like Cannons and Nikons. If you want to create for Android or iOS you can export your Blender game to SIO2 Engine.For me and other people Blender ALWAYS WINS. Just an extra: My friend that likes Slenderman calls me Blenderman.
     
  23. PixelShroom

    PixelShroom

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    I've been using Blender for a number of years now. Blender is fantastic for 3D modelling, animating and rigging. And with Cycles it should kick up their Rendering quality quite a bit in the near future. Blender is done by a bunch of people working in the free time. Most of these development resources are allocated to improve anything related to the 3D pipeline. So from that aspect the game part is horribly under developed and unsupported. They might get a few people working on it here and there, but nothing in the scale of Unity. Though the game community in Blender is quite active, it doesn't mean the game engine is good.

    I would use Unity purely for the fact that there are a couple hundred people working on it, compared to Blender 1 or two at a time if they're lucky. But yes, Blender is perfect for all the 3D asset aspects.
     
  24. Tae

    Tae

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    Contributing to a necro thread.
     
  25. keithsoulasa

    keithsoulasa

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    scratch and alice are toys . No one seriously use them for development . With blender you have a totally free product , but doing anything will be much much harder( as for their gaming engine ) .

    Unity feels like a never ending sandbox , even if your not doing anything real , your developing real skills that you can apply latter .
     
  26. keithsoulasa

    keithsoulasa

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    Not really into debating someone who already knows everything .
    But come up with a list of commercially successful games made in blender , compare that to whats been done with Unity .
    /debate .
     
  27. meat5000

    meat5000

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    Lots of people say, make models in Blender then export to Unity. Isn't anyone sick of half functioning characters and having to fangle and wangle everything to get it do what you want?

    Ive made a tank in Blender.... oh, Unity doesnt support Bezier curves.
    Ive made an alien in Blender...oh, Unity doesnt support Shape Keys.
    Look at my great shaded model ... oh Unity doesnt support Blender nodes and doesnt have a built in shader that lets me use my 5 texture maps.

    Point is, if Blender Game was a little more functional/polished I would use it hands down. You are able to utilise the full functionality of your models etc... Shape Keys, Curves, Drives, Modifiers...the whole job lot. And that is a DAMN POWERFUL set of functions.

    I say to Unity developers :- Get some fuller Blender importing in there. Why? Because Blender and Unity Free go hand in hand for Indie game development and up.
    I say to Blender Developers :- Keep yer eye on that Unity lot; if they dont pull their fingers outta their arus's make sure that Blender Game surpasses it...sooner rather than later.

    My main gripe with Unity is that its cool at the start but then it seems you eventually need to go to great lengths to avoid Unity's built in broken functionality and so end up scripting the best part of a game from scratch anyway. After a month with Unity I find myself itching to go back to my OpenGl Game Programming book and do it properly instead.

    OK ok ok, Enough moaning...you lot stick to your downloading of other peoples creations and Ill keep uploading it to Asset store...hot off the Blender Press ;)


    To mutantsproducer... IMO Blender rigging is very very simple. Just if you are using Unity you Cant Mix FK and IK. Also Mixamo models use very very basic rigging and to pay their prices is just laziness; the simplest of Blender tutorials will get you through all you need to make something the same as a mixamo model, as great as their business idea is.
     
  28. zombiegorilla

    zombiegorilla

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    Good job arguing a comment that is 2 years old.
     
  29. landon912

    landon912

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    If you convert and apply those things then they work all will work in Unity, seems like a user malfunction.

    Do you seriously think its Unity's job to make an engine that makes your game? It's made so that you can make EVERY aspect of your game logic, with help from the libraries built in.
     
  30. LaneFox

    LaneFox

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    Man... some of these threads....
     
  31. create3dgames

    create3dgames

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    Same here.
     
  32. zombiegorilla

    zombiegorilla

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    I would say user ignorance. 3D modeling/animating in general is not the same thing as 3D modeling/animating specifically for a game. Someone who doesn't understand those issues doesn't really know what they are doing in the first place.

    Though, I suspect it is just someone trolling. Their first post, and reviving a 2 year old thread just to bold state opinions that only illustrate their lack of knowledge just smells like a troll.
     
  33. Ricks

    Ricks

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    I don't think he is a troll, but certainly the lack of experience talks. When I was evaluating engines I spend some months with BGE and thought the same: "BGE is the deal - it has everything all in once: level editor, 3d modelling, game engine - what can go wrong? ".

    Much can go wrong... I can't list everything here, but e.g. there is the half-assed implementation of lighting and shadows to the point its unusable, buggy scripting and game loop, special effects and shaders working only on a single GPU vendor, no optimization for deco layers, buggy collider behavior etc. This game engine is barely more than a patchwork rug. And don't get me started on documentation, or the community with their "you got the source code of the engine, so implement it yourself" - attitude.

    Many things are different when you change to Unity and at first it feels uncomfortable, because you "think" it's more complicated than the uber-awesome 1-click-model-and-play-with-gamelogic-bricks solution of BGE.
    But you learn other things to appreciate: the wide ranged hardware support, consistent visual results, stability, cross platform support, reliability, lots of starter helps, great tools and a thing you will learn by yourself: abstraction.
    You learn how to separate modelling, level design, scripting from each other and to work with each part cleanly. While this is very fuzzy in BGE (and once you get used to that you think this is the only correct way) this is essential when you need labor division or work in a team.

    There is also a significant difference in the mindset of people using BGE and people using Unity. Most people from the BGE community just fiddle around with the game engine, or maybe produce small scripts which show a cool effect to get themselves patted on the shoulder by the community - but they never reach the point of serious game development - while in Unity people actually produce games.
     
  34. meat5000

    meat5000

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    Yeah it happens all the time :D get over it mate, I'm entitled to speak my mind like the next guy.

    FYI I have read and understood (and practised) OpenGl Game Programming (Gamedev.net Book) so I do have a really good idea about making games including all the aspects that Unity takes away from the user (So NO landon91235 I don't think thats what Unity is for) including but not limited to tick rates and vectoral analysis for creating and rendering your viewport.
    I learned programming first in Assembly (so I can go to hardware level) and continued to learn and program as an Electronics Engineer. Programming Fourier and Z-transforms are a breeze for me but jeeeezus it was a mammoth trying to line up a mesh with a model in Unity from Import!

    Landon, Bezier curves and Shape Keys are not supported by Unity as imports from Blender. For support you need to write it in yourself or buy scripts from the asset store.

    Ok, the title is Unity 3D vs Blender. Its like comparing chalk and cheese except the chalk has gone mouldy and so has some cheese on it.
    The point I was trying to make, poorly obviously, is that if you are comparing the two, one would stand up better if it was improved on. My comments about one were made with respect to the other. i.e I'm not talking about Unity on its own, I'm talking about Unity with respect to Blender, hence the TITLE.
    I am being a bit harsh as I'm complaining about Unity after only using it for a couple of months. What I am saying it that as writing OpenGl code is not really that hard (its mostly templates) I think I am beginning to see that relying on Unity to handle those aspects and writing the game logic myself might be more time consuming in the long run when it comes to creating fixes and workarounds for the broken stuff that Unity should support without all the real pickiness.

    In a nutshell (and following the TITLE) IMO Blender is the better package. Unity doesnt do modelling and its animation is poor but the game engine aspect is decent. Blender does do modelling and its animation is top notch. It also does engine stuff but its poor. So thats Blender 3 Unity 2. What I was saying basically is that if Blender's game engine was improved to the point of actually throwing out a useful output format and running with a good feel then Unity would be done for IMO.

    Honestly though, there are not that many professional titles released from Unity. Pros tend to see its limitations quickly and they also know there are better tools out there; Cryengine and UDK to name a few. And before you say it, No you dont have to pay 2 squillion quid for licencing unless you are a full fledged game studio. There are options for free and cheap use of some engines and options for completely free use of one Engine provided you sell your game for under a tenner (£).
    What actually brought me to Unity was the ability of faster code porting by using its built-in output settings. So in that respect they have provided an almost one click solution for taking a game to Android, which I am very interested in. What disappointed me was that it looked easy to use but, as I said, it's so picky that that all goes out of the window. Blender looks complicated but after a few tuts one realises its actually fairly simplistic. It just, kinda, works.

    So no trolling I'm afraid. I was griping at Unity, not at a person. And YES Ricks, I am inexperienced at Unity, but not writing code. So it flabberghasts me when things that should work just don't!
    Some good news for Unity is that since my last post, Mobile Tools are now completely free for Indy Devs!! Saves me $800 off the cuff.

    Kind Regards
     
  35. squared55

    squared55

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    Forum etiquette 101: Don't revive dead topics. Create a new one.

    So... If Blender was better then Blender would be better than Unity?

    What professional titles have been released with blender?

    Does Blender have the potential to be better? Sure. Then again, so does GameMaker. But right now, it has some crippling flaws that make it nearly unusable for professional game development.
     
  36. cynel

    cynel

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    Blender is great for Animation and Modeling for Unity
     
  37. TunaUppercut

    TunaUppercut

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    I know this is an old thread. Blender is mostly used creating assets and animations. I don't know how it works for games, sorry.

    Your comment along with the expression on your picture is hilarious.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2013
  38. Thomas-Pasieka

    Thomas-Pasieka

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