Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) and Unity are arguably two of the most popular game engines available to the public today. Many aspiring indie developers ask which one is better and usually it all comes down to preference how ever there are multiple factors that come into play regardless of opinion and determining them can sometimes be diffiucult.
Prices of a game engine is a important factor, that, depending on your funding may be the deciding factor of whether to choose Unreal Engine 4 or Unity. Unity free engine is as cost efficient as it comes it may not be as well designed as its UnityPro but you can be assured that making a game on this engine is quite possible the plus side is you don't have to pay royalties using the engine if you ever decide to release a game you have made unlike the Unreal Engine meaning if you realeased a game using UE4 you will have to pay a sum of a percentage of income made of the game to the developers of the Unreal Engine. As for the paid version of unity you can pay a sum of $1,500 for 1 year of Unity pro the highest package available for Unity, this isn't for a package deal this is per seat so if you worked into a group of 10 you are looking at $15,000 grand pay which is rather steep they also do a 2 year program for $2,850 so you save a whole 150 which isnt a whole lot in my opinion. UE4 is completely free for non monetary use so its good for teachers and learners to have an entire professional platform to use to learn and get a good rasp of the gaming development world the only problem is if you are planning on using it to start your company your maybe looking to pay a lot more then unity highest package in royalties as UE4 royalties are 5% which mean to break even you are looking at minimum profit margin of $30,000 which equals to $1,500 in royalties if your small company releases a game and that game becomes a hit and your net worth on the game is $30 million your looking at paying about $1.5 million in just using Unreal Engine which is far more then paying a base price of $1,500 and that it.
While the pricing of the game engine can certainly sway your decision, the guts of the game engine is obviously a huge factor in making a choice, and deciding which one is better for you. It's no secret that to create a game you'll need to do quite a bit of programming. Depending on which programming language you're comfortable with can help you decide whether to go with UE4 or Unity. Unreal Engine 4 uses C++ and Unity uses mostly C# or JavaScript Deciding which program is better in terms of the programming languages really comes down to personal preference. Some people think C++ is archaic, while others swear by it. If you prefer any of these languages over the other then the decision may be pretty easy for you.
Unreal Engine 4 has Blueprint visual scripting. A node-based scripting method right inside UE4. Technically you don't ever need to write a single line of code. This is great for quickly prototyping levels, and you can even create entire games using Blueprint. If you're not a programmer and your limit into coding is minimal, but just want to make a game, this can make Unreal Engine 4 a great option for you. Of course there only so much blueprints can do, but if you're new to game design it can be a great way to just practice making games or making games for the fun of it.
Both Unreal Engine 4 and Unity have an asset store. Letting you download different game assets like characters, props and even things like sounds and particle effects. However, Unity really comes out on top in terms of the size of their asset store. Offering everything from intuitive animation and rigging tools to GUI generators and motion capture software. However in my opinion UE4 has better acess to free products to help out developers or students.
As or graphic capabilities Unreal wins in my book, it has the capability to make games with graphics on par with he new releases. From complex particle simulations systems to advanced dynamic lighting allows for juicier games. Fortnite is currently one of the most played games right now which its graphics making it one of the nicest looking games to date and it was all made using UE4. However with the release of Unity 5 that allows the same amount of graphic capabilities UE4 may have a competitor.
But what all these aspect come down to is how easy to use are these programs as for my personally opinion UE4 looks feels and seems easier to use, the interface is simple, looks nice and isn't jammed packed with confusing tools. When i first used Unreal Engine it was easy to pick up and i learnt what i had to learn in a couple of weeks but when using Unity it took a lot of time and wasn't worth the effort to learn as it took too long. This could be the case with someone else but for UE4 its all down to personal preference.
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