LvU Overview
Learning Lumberyard has a steep learning curve, because it is a AAA game engine which is still in beta. The transition from Unity to Lumberyard can be difficult, however this document is here to help guide that transition by bridging the terminology differences and comparing features/editors.
Where Unity has had time to mature and cater to the needs of the developers using the tool, Lumberyard is still in very early stages. Lumberyard can be compared to versions prior to Unity 5 with regards to user experience. However, being a AAA engine means Lumberyard has some features better implemented than Unity. Like Unity, Lumberyard is iterating versions to improve the engine. However, unlike Unity, Lumberyard is still in the phase of making feature breaking changes, deprecating systems, and pushing partially implemented features to developers. Unlike Unity however, Lumberyard’s engine code is openly available to view/modify, so fixing these issues can be done prior to the next version release.
Downloading Unity is a streamlined process, with the ability to download any version prior to the most recent as well the new beta versions of the year. Lumberyard’s download process is more complicated, split between an express and custom install. Beta for Lumberyard isn’t the same as Unity’s betas, because in Lumberyard, there are bugs which can be game breaking rather than a specialized use case. There are past versions of Lumberyard available, however it is not recommended to download them unless there is specific project which utilized the older version. Older versions are less feature-rich, missing features of the current version, and are less bug-free than newer versions. Lumberyard doesn’t offer versions prior to version 1.9, because the engine has advanced so much since.
Unity downloads are filtered into 3 versions: Personal, Plus, and Pro where certain features are locked behind a monthly subscription, including the dark theme. In addition, Unity requires developers to contact them directly for their source code license, who’s price is not publicly available. Lumberyard differs in that the engine source code is directly packaged with the download, as well as developers are provided the ability to compile the Lumberyard editor and tools. The Lumberyard engine has no pay tiers and is completely free, and developers can directly edit the engine code. Developer generated Gem code is coupled with the engine code, so changes will be seen through all projects rather than a specific project.
Being built on top of the CryEngine, Lumberyard is aimed at AAA developers who have experience. The engine isn’t easy for hobbyists trying to learn game development or individuals trying to produce a game; it is built for teams. Unity, however, being built from the ground up in the indie space works great for hobbyists, indie developers, and now many AAA developers are using.
The community of Unity is almost unrivaled with any other game engine, and they are a large reason Unity is able to thrive. The community provides tutorials, forum answers, and insight on much of the game engine which help newcomers as well continue to provide support for more advanced developers. The community of Lumberyard is relatively small, there are forums however most answers are provided by Amazon developers, the sub-reddit has only a few hundred people, and the most active group found was a slack group with hobbyists. The hobbyists of Lumberyard don’t seem to be as concerned with developing games as much as developing features, which contrasts most Unity’s developers.