If you’re not already familiar with the process, importing, exporting, and designing your models in different programs can be a real pain. UModeler aims to take some of those issues away from you by allowing you to do your modelling right in Unity.  By skipping the middle man, whether you’re using Blender, or 3Ds Max, or what have you, you’ll save time, and keep your flow going.

You can design your characters, levels, and worlds all within the Unity Editor. I personally feel the more that I can keep myself within one program, the more that I am going to get done. If you already have a lot of experience using another 3D modelling software, this may not be an overall game changer. However, if you’re in the beginning stages of game developer, and you want to get to market quickly, UModeler just may be the perfect asset for you!

UModeler has been built with you in mind. There are tons of high quality assets that have been made with it. There are tutorials complete with narrations to help you master it’s intricacies, and a community that is ready to discuss the asset, or share in your joy at your finished products. It’s quite the package.

Is UModeler Better than Other 3D Editors?

It’s a good question, but a bit difficult to answer. If you’ve already mastered another product, then you’re just setting yourself up back behind the learning curve again. Perhaps that’s not ideal when you really want to get your game off the ground.

However, if you pick up programs quickly, and you just want the functionality for prototyping, then it may very well suit your needs. Further, if you have no prior 3D modelling experience, then UModeler may very well be the best place to start. You’ll learn all aspects of your game development flow right in Unity, potentially saving you hours of compatibility issues.

If you need to be able to model within Unity, or you haven’t yet learned a modelling program, then pick up UModeler, you won’t regret it! If you need any more help getting on the game dev path, check out our guides!

Whether you’re building a neat little puzzle game, or an immersive 3D experience, the need for lines and Shapes in your project is going to come up. Perhaps it’s when you’re designing the UI. Perhaps you have 2D beasts spawning in your 3D world? Or perhaps the entire gameplay that you’ve planned can make use of the wonderful tool that is Shapes.

Whatever the case, Shapes does what you’ve most likely wished that Unity already did. It allows you to create shapes and vector graphics right in Unity. Whatever your need, Shapes is going to have you covered. 

Perhaps by combining this with some of the other pristine 3D assets on the Unity Asset Store, you might even get your game done far sooner than you’d have expected! The straightforward setup, and versatile library will come in and solve your primitive drawing needs in Unity.

The documentation built by the developer is quite elaborate, and certainly covers everything you’re going to need to get started. It’s well organized, and complete with examples and code snippets that make learning a breeze. Shapes is a Unity Asset that is a great way to expand your toolkit in a meaningful way!

What Can I Expect from Shapes?

Several of the commentators will quickly point out to you that the lack of Unity vector tools is a bit of a nuisance. Perhaps you took to Blender or another tool to get the job done, but the work around is clumsy and surely more of a nuisance than it was worth. With Shapes you can get everything done right in Unity and you’ll save yourself some time.

Go and check it out, you won’t regret it. Once you’ve done it, come on back and share some links to your projects below!  What are you waiting for?

 

Some people may get into game development with a lot less background in programming and building a project than they would like. For those people, using an established engine can mean the difference between realizing their dream and building an amazing game, and well… not. Using the TopDown Engine can give you the edge you need to actually make it to market.

If you’ve played with Unity a little bit, you know how absolutely versatile it is. That versatility comes at a cost however, and that cost is complexity. The TopDown Engine helps to remove some layers of that complexity by giving you a 2D and 3D engine that comes with player controllers, screen effects, an inventory engine, and so much more. 

You’ll have access to moving platforms, destructible objects, keys, doors, and bears. Wait… not bears… maybe bears? I don’t know this seems to have absolutely everything else. Honestly the TopDown Engine will give a new game developer what they need to see the project through, and to me that makes it an absolutely vital asset to the Unity community.

If you’re looking for some other vital assets, check out my 2D Vital Unity Assets list, and the 3D Vital Unity Assets list.  Both contain great suggestions to get you past the development blues and to the rush of actual launch!

How Well is the TopDown Engine Reviewed?

This is always an important question and I try to cover it as fairly as possible. The reviews on the Unity Asset Store are not even mixed, with the vast majority at 5-star. If you’ve been here a few times you’ll know by now that I like to cover the negatives first, and for the TopDown Engine there is certainly a negative.

TopDown Engine really isn’t meant to be used piece by piece. This engine was designed to replace a whole boatload of work that you will otherwise have to do. It’s amazing at it, but you may want to design some portions and due to the complexity you may have difficulty there. Of course, depending on your skill level, you may not.

Now, you may be wondering, that’s not really a negative is it? You’d be absolutely correct. Honestly, if you’re looking to build your first, tenth, or thousandth game, this is more than a great deal, it’s an amazing deal. The TopDown engine has been around for a while, so it’s definitely been through the ringer, and it has a feature list the size of some apartment buildings. Okay, not really, but just go read some of the reviews, you can’t go wrong.

Have you given TopDown a try? Let me know how it went below!

When Using Feel, Your Users Will Feel it All

Bringing a game to life, I mean really to life, is a momentous task. You’ve got to design it just right so that it meets the expectations of your players, and doesn’t surprise them in the wrong way. One of the things that players have come to expect is feedback, that is, their actions need to have an effect on the world. They need to Feel it!

On the Unity Asset Store, you can find an absolutely fantastic asset for just that purpose, Feel. Feel has been designed to be an absolutely irreplaceable part of your Unity toolkit.  The asset has been developed to include tons of tutorial and demo content to make sure that you quickly get the ropes. Further, with the ability to easily add feedbacks to your objects, and then tweak them endlessly you’ll be able to give your Unity game it’s own unique feel in no time at all.

Is It Really Worth It?

It’s always hard to tell from a quick video whether or not an asset is going to live up to the hype, but if you take some time to read what others are saying about Feel you’ll quickly be reassured. The only review currently not 5-Star on the Unity Asset store seems to be from a user that may be having version issues, and in either case the publisher reached out that same day to offer some assistance.

The remaining reviews, again all 5-star, paint Feel as an absolute essential. It will save you time building feedback and life into your product that will translate into longer play-time and hopefully just a little bit more of a return. 

Just think what you could do with that camera shake after you’ve made your own explosion sound effect!

Have you tried Feel? Let me know in the comments below!