Apex Utility AI

Apex Utility AI - RELEASED

2 versions available
1 month free trial: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/57817
6 month subscription: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#!/content/56306

Survival Shooter full project download for free at https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#!/content/57846


Apex Utility AI is an advanced hierarchical scoring-based artificial intelligence (AI) framework for computer games. The AI is capable of advanced abstract reasoning using simple scoring functions to evaluate complex situations. Unlike other technologies such as Behavior Trees and Finite State Machines, the AI allows for much simpler design, easier debugging, and better handling of unforeseen scenarios. The principles of the AI have been used in some of the best AIs in games, including titles such as Killzone and F.E.A.R.

• High performance
  Apex Utility AI ships as a high performance, load balanced, zero GC alloc AI foundation, that can be used directly inside the Unity editor and can be extended with templates for many game genres.
  
  
• Extendable using C#
  Apex Utility AI is extendable using C#, with industry-standard documentation, scripting guides, API and extension points.
  
  
• Saving countless hours for AI developers
  Apex Utility AI is supported by game AI frameworks from Apex, saving countless hours for AI developers and allow focus on making great AI.
  
  
• Built-in Editor that is simple
  The Apex Utility AI has a built-in Editor that is simple, powerful, and intuitive, and allows for in-scene runtime visual debugging.

How does it work?
The Apex Utility AI works by making several decisions possible to the agent, and then scoring each potential decision. The Utility AI then selects the high scoring decision and has the AI perform the action associated with this decision.

An example of how the Apex Utility AI works could be to evaluate whether the agent should attack, take cover or load his weapon. In a simple scenario, this might be solved by an if-then statement, such as if the enemy is visible then shoot. However, what happens when there are multiple conditions to take into account such as whether the weapon is loaded, how many enemies there are, and whether we are hurt, and need to take cover? In these complex scenarios, the number of conditions and the potential interactions between them might become so complex that we cannot plan for all scenarios. Furthermore, as the game development processes, we need to be able to extend our AI design, without having to redesign it every time.

Apex Utility AI – Editor
The Apex Utility AI comes with an advanced editor that works inside the Unity editor. The editor provides one interface to handle all Utility AIs and is loaded with advanced features. The editors allows you to visually connect different utility decision points in a hierarchy, and make advanced decision sequences and decision trees.

This can be used for both simple and complex AIs, and is packed with features including different selection algorithms, connecting to other AIs, and visual runtime debugging, with support for breakpoints.




Apex Utility AI Main features

• Advanced multipurpose utility AI
• Plug-and-play
• Tactical reasoning
• Parallel and hierarchical configurations
• Capable of creating very simple behaviour fast and very advanced behaviour when needed
• High-performance
• Low memory footprint
• Zero garbage collection
• C# programming language
• Modularized and high reusability of configurations
• Can easily be extended by developers
• Easy to debug
• Easy to test
• High controllability
• Powerful Mecanim-style editor
• Custom inspector editors
• Serialization for save / load for persistence
• Load balanced
• Seamless integration with Apex AI products
• Supported by future Apex game-specific AI releases

You can find more information at: http://apexgametools.com/products/apex-utility-ai/

If you like to get notified as soon as Apex Utility AI is released just signup at the form on the page.

Tutorials
Survival Shooter

Apex Game Tools
Team

 

This is really great

I'm just wondering..

This is just one package? or there are several product?

I hope a more detailed explanation

 

Hi

Thanks for your reply.

This is just a heads up and to tell what we are working on!
It is one package containing a framework that support many use cases, of course we are have a lot more detailed description as soon as we release.

Apex Game Tools
Team

 

I read an article on your website

There are so many features

Can I see it in February?

If so, it is really surprising,

 

Lots of interesting things covered. I'm looking forward to it. Is this anything to do with Utility Theory AI that Dave Mark has written about?

 

In February we are releasing version 1.0, it will contain the Utility AI framework with the framework you will be able to implement all listed features quite easy, we will of course provide tutorials, scripting guides etc. to speed up you development! and soon after we will start releasing behaviours, configurations etc.

Apex Game Tools
Team

 

Is there any news? February is just around the corner

 

Yes - it is shipping soon!

We are really excited about this release as it has been long in the works, with many prototypes and real game implementations to make sure we target key features for artificial intelligence in games. Our hope it that it will be part of making ground-breaking changes in artificial intelligence for games. We have worked hard to target many of the key challenges with existing technologies, to make a powerful and yet very efficient AI framework.

Some highlights are:

• The Apex Utility AI ships as a high performance, load balanced, zero GC alloc AI foundation, that can be used directly inside the Unity editor and can be extended with templates for many game genres.
• The Apex Utility AI is extendable using C#, with industry-standard documentation, scripting guides, API and extension points.
• The Apex Utility AI is supported by game AI frameworks from Apex, saving countless hours for AI developers and allow focus on making great AI.
• The Apex Utility AI has a built-in Editor that is simple, powerful, and intuitive, and allows for in-scene runtime visual debugging.

So thank you for your patience. As always, at Apex we strive to deliver products of professional quality. We sincerely hope the waiting time will be worth it for all our supporters.

/The Apex Team

 

thank you very much

it's great.. I think Apex Utility AI is game changer..

I have two question

It is optimized for the mobile ?

and When is the exact release date?

 

Hi Dreamer,

The AI foundation is very efficient, so mobile is not a problem. The AI can be run outside the Unity loop, can be multi-threaded, has close to zero garbage collection etc. There are even some utilities for avoiding garbage collection in custom behaviors. The actual AI behaviors are customizable, so the CPU load will depend on the implementation you want for your game. If you have specific needs, let us know, then we can provide best practices.

Release date is February - we will come back with the exact date shortly. We are working on the last refinements as well as producing tutorials and code-examples for the above-mentioned functionality. So what is currently holding the release back is that we want to ship as complete a product as possible.

/The Apex Team

 

I read an updated version article on your website about Apex Utility AI
It is really amazing and wonderful

I know you have plan to making Add on

• First-person shooter AI framework
• Real-time strategy framework
• Role-playing game framework

In addition to the genre-specific frameworks, specific add-ons are planned, including:

• Dynamic dialogue module
• Dynamic missions module
• Personality module
• Tactical reasoning

I really would like to know..

When are you going to release strategy framework and Role-playing game framework

I would like to know about the ETA..

It seemed to me that the framework is attractive

 

Main post updated with the latest description and info!

Let us know what you think!

 

will this intergrate with your other tool in anyway? or is it standalone?

 

I've read it already in your web page
This is really amazing and awesome
You are great man

I have one thing to worry about

You promised Add - On Real-time strategy framework, Role-playing game framework... Dynamic dialogue module, Dynamic missions module, Personality module, Tactical reasoning


When will it be released?

I'll wait for add on packs
I would buy the product. After Add-On Pack is released..

Please..

Add-On Pack should be released soon

I would like to know about the ETA.. Add-On Pack

 

@ thedreamer

Beyond the sample behaviors, we plan to release the AI with an integrated behavior example for a third person & first person AI. The sample behaviors include a number of RPG related behaviors, such as dialogue, desires, tactical positioning, long-term memory, and squad-based coordination.

We are currently working on an RTS AI as well, but we don't know whether this will be ready for release. Otherwise it will be added in an update.

ETA is still February.

 

@frekiidoochman

The Apex Utility AI can be used as stand-alone, and integrates with other Apex products. There are special behaviors that work out-of-the box with other Apex products, and can be used as templates for custom behaviors to our other products.

 

I think You should read this article

http://blogs.unity3d.com/2016/02/09/launching-a-successfull-product-on-the-asset-store/

You are making great product. But No one does not have an interest in your product without me
This was something wrong
I hope that the product is to be successful

I Know.. More selling More supporting More updating

It requires efforts to sell products
I think you should provide video and web demo
Only text does not give the impression to someone

 

Looking forward to this. Are your utility curves based or inspired by prior AI work? Your described method (at least superficially) reminds me of some of the utility theory lectures I've seen by Dave Mark.

Bullet points are nice, but I'd like to dig a little deeper into the AI theory behind your system to get to know it better.

Keep up the awesome work guys! My team loves your existing products.

 

@ thedreamer

Thank you for the link. You are right -> this is something we are keen on. We probably come from a different tradition, where you scope with a few beta clients, and then develop prototypes internally, before you launch an almost complete product. Although we have done presentations at game jams, discussed the product with several game studios, held workshops, worked with experts and academics etc. But this is still more corporate-style and indie-style.

However, what we have not been good at, it to make a really good community-based development process. I have take note, and I hope we can do that for the add-ons / follow-ups to the Utility AI, as well as for future products.

 

We are working on using JSON instead of XML to reduce the size of stored AIs to the absolute minimum and improve cross-platform compatibility, thus, we have to postpone the release date to mid-March. However, we still hope to start releasing information over the coming days on the Apex site, as well as in this thread.

http://apexgametools.com/products/apex-utility-ai/

Thank you all for your patience.

/The Apex Team

 

@ fisj

Yes – the Utility AI concept was not invented by Apex, we are just making a good implementation of it for the indie game developers, using Unity. So, sticking to our core mission.

The Apex Utility AI is inspired by many sources. Dave Mark have made some really nice introductions to Utility AI (the example below is inspired by him), so we recommend checking him out for a simple explanation of the utility AI principles. We can also recommend checking out Guerrilla Games presentation of the Killzone tactical AI, which is a very nice example of utility-based tactical movement (we will include sample code in the Apex Utility AI for this type of reasoning).

Utility-based theory has been around for decades, and have been used to great effect in many economic theories for example. Utility-based systems has been used in everything from classifying mental diseases in psychiatry to locate where to dig for diamonds. It has been used to great effect in games such as Sims, Civilization, and the Killzone series. It is also closely linked to fuzzy logic, but perhaps more intuitively understood, since its based on scores rather than intersecting "zones".

Fundamentally, it is a design-based AI. Meaning that you design the AI, as opposed to e.g. learning-based, search-based or evolutionary algorithms. Hence, it’s in the same class as finite state machines and behavior trees. However, the Utility AI can handle more complex decision-making, and can make decisions in areas were behavior trees and finite state machines just don’t cut it. For example is areas such as prioritization, spatial reasoning, incomplete information, or making choices based on multiple, dissimilar inputs.

The following is a classic decision-problems in e.g. an FPS game, and is often used to explain how Utility AIs work:


Deciding on the right action, can be based on scoring each action. However, the problems is that basis for decision-making can be very different for each action. Taking cover can e.g. be depending on the health of the AI and the distance to nearest cover. Firing can be based on the proximity and number of enemies, or e.g. good firing opportunities. And whether the load the weapon be based on the current ammunition count in the weapon etc. All very different inputs that need to be compared.


The Utility AI solves such as problem very elegantly, either with curves (such as the above) or with point scoring systems (see e.g. below). The latter is sometimes easier to understand, design and implement, so we end up using the paradigm a lot in the implementations we have done in the process of making the AI. We will have several examples with the Apex Utility AI, where we apply these principles to many complex problems of AI. Earlier in the thread you can see some of the areas we will publish tutorials and concrete AI implementations for in the coming weeks / months.

The above example is very simple, in many of the games we have working on, you need more complex decision-trees and decision-matrices to make really good AI. Hence, the Apex Utility AI comes with several tools to making complex and good AI simple. Including advanced editing, parallel execution, out-of-the-box behaviors, best-practices, visual debugging etc.

You can example of an AI here:



Interestingly, we also found in our research prior to making the utility AI product that the games with the best reviews for AI, and at the same time the games where the AI programmers were most satisfied with their AI, happened to be based on Utility AI systems.

So, in many ways utility AI is a hidden gem, which is why we wanted to bring it to the indie developers.

So stay tuned, and let us know if there are concrete problems you are dealing with in your game, that you want the AI to solve. It's our hope the Utility AI will enable a whole new generation of games with great AI.

/The Apex Team

 

The first tutorial video is uploaded "Survival Shooter Introduction"

I have created a Survival Shooter playlist, we will be adding videos over the next coming days as soon as they are ready!

Remember to subscribe!

Let us know what you think!

/ The Apex Team

 

The 2nd Video is up!

/ The Apex Team

 

I read your article on the website

You say Add-on FPS, RPG, RTS..

I would like to know in detail

When we can see it?

 

Hi Cartoon Mania,

It's submitted to the vetting team, so it should be available anytime soon.

The core package is released with several AI examples. There is a complete survival shooter tutorial that covers many aspects for third-person and first-person shooters such as target acquisition, tactical movement and action prioritization. Over the next weeks additional tutorials are released.

We don't have the release dates for the full add-on packages yet, but we are currently working on an RTS demo project.

/The Apex Team

 

thank you
I am very interested in the auto battle
This is a good solution for automatic battle?

I am a little worried about your business model..
Because it is a new way


I look forward to full package add-ons.
but I do not want to wait for long

 

mm yeah, was quite intrigued about this but that business model is a deal breaker for me.
I would've understood a higher price, but subscription no thanks, got too many of those already.

 

Agreed. Software costs for small game developers are already out of control. No way anyone without big funding can afford multiple indefinite subscriptions for a team. We love and use Apex's other products on a regular basis, but I can't support this business model as it leaves small teams like ourselves out in the cold. Yes we could afford this one single subscription, but certainly not if all the assets we use are subscription based.

@Jakob Rasmussen, another major concern with the subscription model: you are holding your customer's projects hostage. If for any reason the subscription falls through (can I trust Apex to not have billing or login issues - ever?), I assume we'll lose access to these tools and the ability to continue development. This is unacceptable.

If you absolutely refuse to give up the subscription model, please at least take a cue from Unity and offer the full product for a one-time price in addition. As it is, this asset will not even be allowed on the asset store, since Unity doesn't allow this business model. For any potential devs looking at this product: ponder this fact before signing up.

I am very disappointed that Apex has chosen this model, as I was looking forward to this product and would have paid 10x the subscription cost for a one-time purchase. As a fellow asset store publisher, I understand the desire to avoid Unity's 30% fee and bring in more consistent cash flow, but this is not the way to do it. Instead of purchasing this asset, we will be using Behavior Designer.

 

Hi @donov, @vvander

Thanks you for the feedback on the subscription model – very much appreciated. We are very interested in this dialogue, so we are looking forward to comments and feedback on how we can find the best model for all parties.

Below I will explain the reasons for launching with this new model.

Apex Utility AI is a professional AI product based on many years’ research, prototypes, and experience from concrete game development projects. It is a professional product with optimized performance that allows even the tiniest indie developer to ship pro-grade AI. It comes packed with industry-based best-practices, tutorials, code examples, and a full tutorial project. Furthermore, Apex offer top-of-line support for no additional costs. That is the Apex mission: We want to ensure that indie developers have pro-grade software at their disposal to make great games.

That also means, Apex is not meant to be cost-leaders, or the lower-priced product on the asset store. There are a lot of great assets that sell for very little. Apex is meant to be an investment that in the end allows you to reduce the cost and time in developing games, and ensure that you in the end can ship a game with much better AI. I.e. if you choose Apex, you are guaranteed a great asset, great support and - in the end - a greater game at a lower overall cost.

Being able to do that comes at a considerable cost in development and operations. To ensure that we can still provide this quality of asset at prices that are affordable to any indie developer from tiny to large teams, we need a model that distributes the cost fairly across the developers. The one-man team with a small budget should pay very little, the big well-funded team should share a bigger part of the burden.

We absolutely understand your concern with the subscription, and we have received other requests for the option to have a one-time fee – very similar to Unity’s offer to pay per month or pay a one-time fee for a version. We also understand that a new model can lead to scepticism until it has proved its worth.

The concern about holding projects hostage is also a valid point. There are many software companies that suddenly forces you to upgrade for a fee, or ship a new version that renders all your add-ons or downloadable content obsolete.

The challenge here is to find models that ensure indie game projects the best assets at a price they can afford, while still ensuring that the asset developers have enough cash flow to continue developing great assets.

On this basis, we analysed the indie projects’ cash, workflow and purchasing patterns and compared this with the flows of bigger projects. We also spoke with many of our customers about their requirements.

These are some of the challenges that we are seeking to address with this new model:

#1

Indies often need one license, whereas professional projects need many. However, the current model on the Asset Store - anything but Editor Extensions - is a full site license. The consequence is that indie projects pay a very large share of their budget for the same asset that a professional studio use for 40 developers. We think the per-seat subscription is more fair to indie developers, as the big studios can bear a larger share of the develop costs.

#2

Indies often have shorter projects, which can be down to anything from 1 to 3 months for the AI part. With the subscription model you only pay for the months you need. Hence, if a project has 3 man-months of AI development, you only need to pay for these months. That frees up a lot of budget. However, on a big, well-funded project, you might need more man-months for AI work, and hence you are also able to pay a large part of the share of development costs. Again, we think this model is fair to indie developers.

#3

The Apex AIs still run after you stop paying for the license, as license is tied to the editor. We have of course designed our products to facilitate the best experience for the developers and not disrupt their workflow. Hence, your project will of course still run if the Apex is unavailable. Your game and AI will still run when you stop paying the license.

#4

The subscription model has the advantage that we can ship upgrades etc. automatically, without you having to buy them separately. Our experience is that it provides a better experience for you. You can then add additional seats / licenses when the develop team scales up, and still be able to predict costs etc. Some add-ons to e.g. visual studio become second nature to keep subscribing to, because they are very good and saves you a lot of time. This was always the vision the Apex: We want to save time and cost for indie developers, so they can ship better games, faster and with lower budgets.

#5

With the licensing model, we can better avoid piracy. In a way we felt oddly proud that someone wants to share Apex product on torrents. However, the downside - of course - is that the paying indie developers have to share a bigger part of the development costs. By avoiding piracy, we can overall lower prices as well as continue developing great software without going bust.

#6

With the licensing model we get the ability to ship trials. With a subscription model we can offer a trial and that means you can work with the full product for a full month to see if it delivers as promised, before you have to pay anything. And, you can cancel the subscription and not pay anything if the product does not fulfil its promises. Hence, there are no caveats with this model and it’s a great service.

In conclusion, if we want more great assets on the asset store, we need to find a model that can sustain asset developers, without breaking the back of indie projects. We at Apex are willing to risk our neck to get a better model for the indie developers and the asset developers alike. We thought the subscription model offered a number of advantages to distribute costs more fairly. If this is not the case, we would really appreciate input on what other models could be preferred, that solve the problem in a better way. But we also really hope you – the indie developers – will support us in this mission.

If the solution really is a one-time fee that could also be an option. But, if you look at Unity’s pricing the one-time fee is x20 the subscription price for a per-seat license for two devices, and that is without the service and support you get on an Apex asset on the Asset Store. That could end up being quite tasking for an indie development budget, as the money has to be paid up-front, whereas the subscription model can be distributed over the life-time of the project.

Hence, we really hope you download the trial and give the subscription model a try, and we really look forward to comments and input on how we can improve this.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

I know APEX UTILITY AI is Excellent and awesome..
I was really looking forward to this product
I think that monthly fee is even inexpensive

but for me there is principle

I buy only bestselling products.
best selling product generate revenue
So supporting will continue.
if there is no revenue Supporting is broken

I hope you sell a lot of products.
You are good developers but You are not good marketers.

First, you must be a bestseller. then You can do new experiments.
You must create an enthusiastic followers. And then try a new business model
Be a star of asset store then you can do what you want

Please think of your brand value..

I think APEX is not enough to try something new

Right now I do not need this product.(I wait Add-on KIT) but I want to help this product.
If sell for 100 dollars right now, I'll buy the product.

If you insist on a subscription model.. I must wait when the product is a bestseller.

Unfortunately, It will not be easy to be bestseller

except for The disadvantage of the subscription model. You are do not have enough marketing skills to sell the product.

 

Looks like a really interesting AI package, unfortunately, I'm not much for subscription models as in a crisis situation one may not have the funds, it's why I paid for Unity Pro in full, and will only use a standalone version of photoshop, and will buy Amplify texture 2 rather than subscibing to granite. Pity you can't give the option, I know quite a few would prefer to pay monthly, however, there are people like me that have been in situations several times that paying a subscription model would just mean a game could not be finished or the AI would have to be swapped out again. If it proves to be the bees knees of AI I might reconsider but at the moment I will stick with Behaviour Designer.

 

Hi @Cartoon Mania

Thanks for the valuable feedback.

And thank you very much for the precise quote on what you consider a good price on the product. This is critical information.

We will definitely continue support for our products, as we in this for the long run. But we do take your feedback very seriously, and we are considering whether we should offer a buy-for-good option just like Unity does.

We also appreciate your points on how we market this, and we are taking note of this both new releases to the Utility AI and for future products.

Under all circumstances, we still propose you consider downloading the trial, and we are very interested in concrete feedback on the functionality you are looking for.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

Hi @sicga123

We appreciate the feedback. It sounds you have been through a very nasty process with previous project, where you had to swap out the AI. If you are willing to share the story, it could be valuable to other developers as well.

As I wrote above in reply to the other posts, we are considering a buy-for-good option.

I want to iterate, that the Apex Utility AI keeps working after you stop subscribing to it, you just cannot use the editor. Once you subscribe to it again, you can edit your AIs again. Of course that does not help you if the company behind the product is no longer there to support the product or if the licensing server is taken offline. However, we don’t foresee that happening to Apex, as we are a solid company.

Did you download the trial? I think it would valuable to have your feedback on the actual Utility AI product.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

@Jakob Rasmussen

As someone already said before,
I like to buy best selling assets and assets that show potential for future development.
That's why I very often take the plunge in to beta or early versions to help a developer that has a promising asset that I know will deliver(Apex Path being one of them and waiting for a justifying reason to get the add ons as well),
and also take advantage of the lower introduction price while in development.
I would be ok paying even full one time higher price if the asset is worth it, $100 for example.

To be honest, the current business model introduced, puts me at unease even for continuing using ApexPath, as it's very much possible you will introduce the same model for it as well in a new version

Regards
Igor

 

@Jakob Rasmussen Thanks for the reply. You have some good points, but ultimately the most important point is the one that you have reiterated a few times above:

This wasn't mentioned in any of the marketing on your website or this thread - I recommend you add this as a major selling point! Subscription-based assets aren't a wholly unique model... Speedtree is another example, and on their website they state specifically that only the creation/editing capabilities are disabled when a subscription lapses.

However, many developers like ourselves will refuse the subscription model for software outright, so you'll probably still lose some customers if you can't offer a non-subscription version. Like I mentioned above, we are willing to pay many times the subscription amount to have guaranteed access. Hopefully Apex will consider this, as we love your other products and would almost certainly purchase this asset outright if possible.

P.S. I'll do you the favor of not calling you out more than this on the piracy excuse: This isn't 2010! Pirated downloads aren't lost sales, and all devs should know this by now.

 

Thank you very much for your support on the discussion of this model.

We are still considering the best way here. We actually saw the subscription model as an advantage for the indie developers, and we had so far not received any negative feedback on it from our beta users. Hence, we want to be transparent about this all our users.

Hence, with the recent viewpoints, we are very interested in some feedback on this point.

Some questions we have are:

1/

For a one-time fee, what would be a decent price point for you? Some things to consider here are, whether this fee should include add-ons, support, and other items. And also, how often would it be decent to launch new version, for e.g. a 50% upgrade price. If you look at Unity for example, you pay a new fee for every major version, and buying a Unity license is equal to 20 months of subscription.

2/

Another option is a subscribe-to-buy model. I.e. here you subscribe, and when you have paid a fee equal to e.g. 20 or 24 months, the software is yours to keep. Would that be an interesting model?

3/

Another thing we have considered is: Currently, we offer a free trial for one month. We don't see other packages doing this. I.e. you can actually try the Apex utility for a full month with full functionality at no cost, and you can cancel at any time with no cost. Is this something that you see as being useful?

4/

We do require a credit card to verify identity when starting the trial. Similar to the model used by e.g. Netflix. Is this off-putting or does it pose a problem when considering the Apex Utility AI?

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

Personally, I'd say $100-125 is a good price point from what I can see of this asset's features via marketing material. Even this might be a little high though... Again this is based on the marketing alone, not the trial, though. I could easily see the price of this package being higher depending on the feature set, but considering how powerful UFPS is for only $75, and your biggest competition on the asset store (Behavior Designer) is only $75 as well, going higher will be tough. Playmaker is the best-selling asset and is extremely complex, but even they can't get away with charging over $100 for that asset though. All of these packages provide free updates, too. Charging for new versions will be difficult unless they are major overhauls - and discounts for current customers will also be necessary.

I realize that the prices I quoted may seem undervalued to you, but I have seen firsthand the results of pricing our assets lower than we originally felt was fair: after decreasing prices to 1/3rd the original amount, we had 5x the sales! This kind of thing is seen on Steam, too. Gabe Newell is famously quoted as saying that discounts produce more revenue in a digital marketplace.

I'm not sure comparing your asset to Unity is a good idea. Unity is a full engine, ecosytem, etc, and is therefore difficult to replicate. They are really only competing with Unreal for their main market segment (for the most part). The demand for their product is inelastic, while the demand for your product is very elastic at the moment - basic economics dictates that Apex will need to have lower relative prices to remain competitive. Basically, you can't charge 20x sub price for complete access because people will just purchase something else instead. There's less of a choice with Unity, so they take advantage of that. If you were interested in the subscription model, I think it would have been better served to introduce something like this AFTER finding the best price for purchasing it outright on the asset store. If you need to compare yourself to Unity, remember that they didn't offer the subscription model until many years after the original launch. Their sub price was based on the full price, not the other way around.

Definitely something to be considered. Especially if you're unwilling to stay under $100 with the outright purchasing price. Sub-to-buy is still a subscription, though, and any devs that have the mindset of our studio will not go for any subscription. We only purchase software outright.

Definitely useful! I think this is a fantastic idea, in fact, since for editor extensions you can't offer much of a demo. We would have already installed the trial and been using it in our projects if the subscription model wasn't the only purchase option.

I don't think it's off-putting, personally. It may be to others, however - I can't really speak for anyone other than our studio, though.

P.S. That's all the free business strategy consultation I can offer ;-) I have to get back to doing economic evaluations of our company for now. Will definitely be checking this thread for updates however - good luck and hopefully we will be able to use the Utility AI package at some point.

 

People are not too interested in this product. So there are no feedback(negative and positive)

Do you have the desire to sell the product?

It is responsible for all of you.

Please Show us Cool demo

your shooter tutorial is not impressive.

There are many products like that on the market.

Do you plan to sell APEX AI in Asset Store?

 

@Cartoon Mania

Thank you for the feedback.

The Survival Shooter is meant as a tutorial to outline the principles in the Utility AI. It comes with complete and detailed documentation and is aimed at beginners.

Over the coming months we are releasing a number of additional tutorials showcasing what you can do with the Apex Utility AI. We are also - in due course - releasing a number of game frameworks that are aimed at vastly reducing the time for developers to make great games.

Beyond this, we are very interested in understanding whether you have concrete projects you are working on or concrete AI behaviors that you would like to see? Perhaps you have something that you have been struggling with that we could use the Apex Utility AI to solve? Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Yes - the Apex Utility AI will arrive at the Asset Store as soon as it goes through the vetting process.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

Jakob Rasmussen

Thank you.. I madly want to use this product. but I think Unpopular product loses supporting.

I worry about it.

I want two things.

1) Real World AI
I know that you are ready for real-world examples.
Is this Sims- Like -AI Right?
In fact I am selling of assets.

Girl Character Customization Set
Boy Character Customization Set
Cartoon Furniture and Interior Set

I want to make simple games like Sims using my assets
of course Sims is a very complex game. I say a very simple game like Sims.

2) AI VS AI Auto Battle

I'd like to see a thrilling battle AI VS AI

I think Auto-Battle is the most difficult and beautiful AI

I know the mandate . The battle was very interesting.

 

@Cartoon Mania

Thanks for the extensive list.

1/ Sims

Above, I mentioned how the Utility AI can be used for desires. This is actually an extension of the AI in the existing Sims game from EA. The AI here uses a Utility principle at its core. We are currently working on a complete desire-based tutorial with hierarchical desires for a Sims-like game. From the work we have done so far, making a more advanced version of the Sims game with Apex Utility AI should not be a problem at all. The tutorial still needs a few finishing touches, but I think you will like it. If you are willing to share some of your assets, we could consider making a demo with your assets - similar to the Survival Shooter. Let me know if you think this is a good idea.

2/ AI vs AI battle.

Yes - that is super awesome. I am not sure whether you are looking at 1 vs 1, or squad versus squad. We have done several prototypes in the development of the Apex Utility AI where we pitched squads of 10 to 50 space marines against each other in heated tactical battles. We are also currently working on a tutorial for squad-based tactical combat, as the Apex Utility AI solves this really, really good. It takes a lot of work to make the tutorials with example code, so we don't have them all ready yet - but the will come soon.

Let me know if this is what you a looking for - and keep the good suggestions coming.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

@ Jakob Rasmussen

thank you.. If you use my assets, I am honored.


anyway You will need a cool demo.

If I were you... Instead of AI tool sell cheaply .. I will get the money by selling a variety of add-ons
You can create a variety of expansions

It is just my opinion.

Forget my words.. and Do what you want
Try and Fix
Just a matter of time and money. It's suppose you know better.
I hope your plan is realized soon.

and

I would really like to know.

RTS Add-on
RPG Add-on
Real-World example

When are going to release?
I'd like to know the approximate time

I'll just buy that products
I think there are people like me.

 

Nordic Game Jam | Game AI Masterclass
Learn hands-on state-of-the-art Game AI at our Game AI masterclass

Monday April 4th we are facilitating a game AI masterclass and everybody is invited.
The Artificial Intelligence Masterclass teaches you hands-on how to implement state-of-the-art AI in games build on the Unity game engine, using the Apex Utility AI framework.
The masterclass teaches you how to design complex, next-generation AIs for computer games, and is targeting concepts such as planning, tactical movement, action prioritization, target selection and more.

http://apexgametools.com/2016/03/nordic-game-jam-game-ai-masterclass/

 

Apex Utility AI Released in the Asset Store!

There is 2 version available
1 month free trial: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/57817
6 month subscription: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#!/content/56306

Our Survival Shooter also just got released
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/#!/content/57846

 

So no full version, great work again Apex but still I'll pass on this one.
I hope this does not become a trend though, subscription is totally against what the the Asset Store should be.
I can't imagine what it would be like if more top assets were like this.

 

Hi Donov ! I agree with you , I will from now on avoid every product of Apex before these rip off gets familiar.
They also appear to don´t respond on the complaints here.

Cheers
Michael

 

Hi Michael & Donov,

Thanks for the input on the new subscription model. First of all, we really appreciate any feedback we get. Please note the previous input on this thread regarding the model, as well as the ongoing discussions we have had with Donov and other participants. We take feedback from and to our community very seriously as you can see from our continued, high level support and responses to all feedback.

To address your concerns.

The current, prevalent model on the asset store is definitely a great model for developers of games based on the Unity engine. For most assets you get full source code and unlimited support, for a one-off, often low, price. Except for open-source software, we are not aware of any model so generous when it comes to software.
However, the model has a number of drawbacks.
The first - and most serious – drawback is that it is unsustainable. As a developer this is something that should concern you deeply. Since we launched the subscription model, we have had several other asset developers – many of the best included - approaching us sharing their concerns for their continued business with the current revenue model on the Asset Store. Hence, Apex is not alone with this view, and as a part of the Unity developer community you should thus take this very seriously if you still want to see great assets on the Asset Store.
In the following I will outline some of the problems that led us to push the subscription model, and how the subscription can solve this to the benefit of both game developers and asset developers.

The first problem is fairness.

For a fixed-price, buy-once model, the little indie developer suffers an unproportioned part of the burden of the development cost. The average indie project has approx. 3 months allocated for AI, an internal cost of USD2,000 per man-month, and 1 resource allocated to AI. This adds up to a budget of USD6,000 for AI (3 x 2,000 x1). With an asset price of USD 95 for solving this problem, there is a cost-saving of approx. 98%, and the assets eat up 2% of the development budget.

The average (small) pro-project, has 9 months allocated for AI, an internal cost of USD5,000 per man-months, and 4 resources allocated. Pros usually have more advanced requirements for AI, as they often make bigger and more complex games. However, the basic technology requirements are often identical. This adds up to a budget of USD 180,000 (9 x 5,000 x 4). With an asset price of USD 95 for solving this problem, there is a cost-saving of > 99.9%, and asset eats up <0.1% of the development budget.

For an asset like Final IK, 2,000 licenses have been sold (as advertised on their Asset Store product page). Using this as a proxy for other assets, we can calculate what type of Unity customers harvest the benefits and their share of the development costs.

If 90% of Asset Store customers are indies, and 10% pro projects, we can calculate the costs as follows:

1,800 customers are indies. At a price point of USD 95, this amounts to USD 171,000 in revenue (1,800 x 95). 200 customers are pro. This amounts to USD19,000 in revenue (200 x 95). Of the total revenue of USD 190,000.

When it comes to savings, the average savings for indies are USD 5,905 per project (6,000 – 95). This amounts to total savings of ~USD 11,000,000 (5,905 x 1,800). For pros the savings are USD 179,905 per project (180,000 – 95). This amounts to total savings of ~USD 36,000,000. The total savings for indies + pros are thus ~USD 47,000,000. Indies get 23% of the total savings, and pros get 77% of the savings.

However, the indies pay 90% of the development costs, while the pros only pay for 10%. The value for pros are thus proportionally much higher than for indies, while indies bear the brunt of the costs.

As an indie developer, I don’t know why you would defend this model?

For a subscription model of e.g. USD15 / month / seat, the indies will pay USD45 for one seat for three months, whereas the pros pay USD 540 for 4 seats for 9 months.

If we put the subscription model costs into the calculation above, given the same assumptions, the indies end up paying only 43% of the development costs, whereas the pros pay 57%. It’s still not perfectly fair, but it’s much closer to the actual benefits harvested. In addition, it reduced the costs for the indies, and increases it for the pros, who can afford it.

You can of course play around with the numbers and the assumptions, and see if you will end up with the same distortion in all realistic scenarios.

The second problem is revenue.

The mission of Apex is to provide AAA quality assets to indie developers. This is not some smart marketing tagline. We do in-depth research of technologies based on the latest research, improve existing algorithms beyond state-of-the-art, and develop all assets on industry-level code standards. This requires a lot of work of highly skilled resources. These resources can either make millions in the financial industry messing up our economy, or they can make technology available to make great games. I prefer the latter. However, this requires enough revenue to keep going. The history of the Asset Store is unfortunately littered with some of the best asset developers leaving since they cannot sustain their businesses. What this is mean for you is that you don’t get access to the same technology as the AAA companies. Since indie developers don’t have money, and they rarely send checks to all the people that supported them when they make it big, they simply cannot sustain this type of development. So we need to come up with other ideas to support this mission.

For an Asset selling 2,000 units such as Final IK above, at a price point of USD95, we are talking a revenue of USD 190,000. Minus Unity’s cut, this is USD 133,000. With an internal cost of USD 10,000 for a AAA technology developer, this equals ~13 man-months of work. Developing AAA assets take more than 13 man-months to develop, as you have to do research, scoping, design, programming, testing, make documentation, example code, etc. Furthermore, you need to provide all-year free support for the rest of the asset’s lifetime, including support during weekends, holidays, etc., as many indie developers work during these times. You also have to patch and expand functionality to new requirements, and ensure that the asset works on all versions of Unity (4.x through 5.x). 5.x alone has more than 4 major versions in play, each with their own bugs and peculiarities. If you don’t, you end up breaking indie projects and ruining indie developers. So you have a responsibility not only to yourself here.

Hopefully, the continued availability of AAA assets will make more professional game development companies use Unity, instead of competitors, and this will in turn benefit indie developers by pros indirectly subsidising great assets for them. In addition, the availability of AAA technologies to the indie developers will hopefully mean that they ship more and greater games, moving them into the league where they will make more and bigger productions. Then we have an ecosystem going, where the AAA asset developers will stay on the Asset Store.
With the existing system you are killing this part of the ecosystem to the detriment of all game developers.

The third problem is transparency.

Currently, you cannot try before you buy. If you carefully go through reviews on the Asset Store, as we have done, you notice that there unfortunately are assets that do not deliver on their promises. For a small indie developer with a limited budget, USD 50, 70 or 95 spent on an asset that does not work can hurt. The subscription model offers the possibility of trying full implementations before you spend your budget.

With the subscription model, you can offer free trials, as we do with the 1-month trial on the Apex Utility AI. You can thus without risk try out the asset, before you commit to buying it. You can of course say that the review model on the Asset Store should prevent this, but in reality it doesn’t as we can see from the many complaints from indie developers concerning poor asset quality.

In the above, I have tried to explain in detail why this model should offer a real benefit to the community of developers – especially indies. It should thus not be perceived as a threat, especially not if it’s managed by a serious company such as Apex – or even better by Unity itself. Hence, I do hope you give the subscription model a chance and continue your support of Apex. We need you to engage here, to help both sides of the market for the benefit of all game developers.

In this context I do invite you to share ideas for other revenue models that you feel you are more comfortable with, which serve the indie community better and address the above challenges.

We are always ready to learn.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

if your company went bankrupt. because This product is not sold more than expected.
Can customers continue to use the product?
I am deeply concerned about the profits of your company.
A lot of money spend to develop the products.

But you guys is not even trying to sell a product hardly
If the product is really good. You can make money
but you do not even provide a web demo.
Shooting example is not helpful.

I wonder who really want to buy this product
Now nobody does not seem to have an interest in this product.
People have only just interested business model.
I am worried about the future of your company

Please Show something that people can talk about the product

 

@Cartoon Mania

Thank you for your concern.

Don't worry - we are not going bankrupt. We have been developing software for more than 20 years, and are in this for the long run. We set out to introduce next-generation AI and revolutionize AI in games. And we plan to stay the course. That is also why we take so much interest in understanding the models to make the market work. We know it is a hard discussion to have, since some opinions are very strong. However, we also appreciate the different view points and opinions from game developers, and we try to get all facts on the table for continuing this discussion.

As mentioned in previous posts, we are working on a number of projects concerned with showing what the Apex Utility AI can do in different game genres. But as always, we want to ship top-quality. The Survival Shooter is actually a completely refactored project done by Apex, so it is worth downloading just for the game code.

Could you elaborate on what you mean by web demo? I.e. do you want to see a game with the AI in it, or a web demo of the AI editor?

I understand you want to see more example of the Utility AI in use, and these will come.

Best Regards,

Jakob

 

Ok, at the moment I work in a top 10 in revenue mobile game companies and previously I worked as a web developer and also did personal side projects for my self all the while.
So I think a very large portion of the Unity user base can relate to me, working a day job and doing side projects with an indie monthly budget of 0$.

For example, I bought Apex Path on a sale still in its very early days for 30$ because I got the impression that you are good developers and you intend to deliver on a great asset.
Had I not gotten it on sale I would have waited for one or wait for an excuse that I really need the asset in a project, now.
On the other hand, I had a personal belief which turned out true, that pro companies are the ones that would just buy it outright full price, because they can.

I used Apex Path on 3 personal(Indie) projects until now, sometimes it being a core feature of the game taking good 2 3 continuos months to finish work on it, sometimes using it and tweaking it here and there, just to improve visuals in character movement. But there always was a need to tweak some of it a few months after I thought I am done with configuring it.
This means that from the time I purchased AP, with the subscription model I would've needed about 6-7 months of ,continuos or not, subscription to use the "editor". So 6 x 15 = 90$ so far, assuming I bought it full price, but I did not I paid 30$, I paid 45$ for Final IK on sale for ex.
Now, I intend to use AP in the years to come (assuming you don't switch it to subscription as well) even more extensively, so it would add even more costs for me, the Indie developer.
Even further, imagine I get 4 or 5 of these subscription assets .

On the other side with the current model, whenever I buy I good asset, sale or not, I have that feeling of having paid for a great asset that now sits in my unity account and know I can use it whenever I feel I need it, no extra costs for me.
Yes there are sometimes bad investments, but thats the game, no one can say that you will be there forever also.

As far as sustainability goes, I am perfectly fine paying for major version upgrade fees, or extensions if I feel its worth it and I need the features.

So as I said, subscription, big no.

Regards,
Igor