Unity3D - Free vs. Pro

I've also been curious about that. I mainly want to use Unity to make some virtual biotech demos to show to students. From what I've read though it seems that we need the Pro version (I could be wrong).

Currently only the pro version works with Oculus (same goes for many external plugins). I think they're looking into Oculus support for the free version, but I wouldn't hold my breath it happens any time soon.

So I'm probably still going to get my feet wet with the free edition, but are there any alternative development environments for the Rift that are free (or less expensive) than Unity3D?

Yes, you need Unity Pro. This is because the Oculus Rift uses some features that are only available in the Pro version.

There are other engines, though Unity may be on of the best for indie developers right now. Unreal Engine 4 is very affordable and is top notch quality (but maybe a little more complex to learn that Unity).

It looks like might be eligible for the educational license, So I might look into the annual license (I think around $150 for a year) if I'm comfortable with the free version.

I'll give Unreal Engine a look as well

Thanks!

- Scott

I preordered the dev2, too. Yesterday I saw, that there isn't a 4 month trial of the unity-pro like in the old dev1.
Because I don't have 1500 bugs in my architectural office to pay for a additional software in budget, I will use a different engine.

Thats a pity, because it is only one feature that would let the free version work with it :cry:
Now I have to look how I can import architectural environments and buildings in UDK...

As I sayed - a pity...

can you develop on the free version and then import that to the pay-per-month version?

I mean generally, i know not all functions are available on free.

Yes, I believe the files are compatible going from free to pro (but not the other way around).

Unity looks like a great solution, but I didn't want to commit to a year at the subscriber monthly price. And unfortunately it appears that the free version doesn't support Oculus development (someone please tell me if I'm wrong).

I decided to start with Unreal Engine 4 since it was only $20 USD a month and I could cancel anytime. It has out of the box support.

I'm not suggesting one over the other, but competition in this case is a good thing. You do also have the option of a free Unity trial for a month.

R

I think Unreal is a no brainer if you're doing Rift development specifically. Price and source access are really great, and Blueprint is easier than working with C# components, IMO (and I'm a programmer).

Personally I find Unreal easier to work with too, primarily because a ton of features you have to use assets for in Unity are just built in in UE4.