thing is assets are the smallest factor to a game’s success, coding, game design, and balance are key, and having artists sit around for months just so you can make sure your AI can walk around rock models correctly, or are able to turn the corner in a dungeon, or that your car’s physics when going over that wooden bridge work, are far more important and time consuming then the assets, but you don’t want to have artists on your team, make a ton of assets, and then go to sleeper mode while you work on everything else. Also artists that are good aren’t cheap, and if they are they want a team or game that will make it to release. so seeing games that are well prototyped, and are their way code, system, and design wise, really peaks their interest, cause they hate nothing more even if getting paid to spend 10 hours on that model just for it to never get used ever. So having the prototypes available has lots of merrit and value. Then there is the fact that good world building is more important than a unique palm tree.
As someone without any skill in modelling, without lots of money to pay someone to create unique art, without the pull to attract an artist to work with me for only royalties, and being only a hobby lone game programmer, my only options are to find 3d models online and get frustrated trying to get them UE ready, or buy through the marketplace as UE friendly models. Perfect fit for me right now.
It will be amazing for people doing more architecture focused stuff. Being able to get proper furniture and real plants will be great. Unfortunately the marketplace is a little bit undeveloped at the moment and I have a pretty big demand for that kind of stuff at the moment.
My opinion is my opinion, and therefore by definition cannot be incorrect. In MY opinion (which incidentally is shared by others in my professional working environment), is that it’s a lazy approach to development. It will prevent your game from standing out in a sea of carbon copies that share the same assets. Some mundane things can indeed be re-used, characters, monsters and various other centre-pieces cannot. Bought assets are great for prototyping, but I would never consider using them in a final build without considerable re-development towards my own tastes, unless it was absolutely perfect for the task in hand and I knew nobody else had done it already. There was a big argument a few years ago about a source-engine game using ‘stolen’ Half-Life textures, when actually it turned out that Valve used a texture pack they found online.
People WILL notice things shared between games. I’ve seen a tonne of games that use UDK’s default Sky for example. That puts me off enough not to buy it because it makes me believe the rest of the game will have equal lack of attention. I would also never consider employing a level designer for example, who couldn’t produce his or her own content, or an FX artist that couldn’t put together their own particle systems or sprite textures.
Also, if you have already spent time making original content, why buy a rock or a tree when you already have it? If the ones on marketplace are more improved than yours, then there are still things to learn IMO.
For those that only wish to program that’s fine, but a programmer alone will struggle to make a complete game on their own anyway. Art is part of the development pipeline, nobody can be a one-man army. Great for prototypes, possibly useful for learning, but unsuitable for real development is my opinion on the marketplace. If you’re able to make money from it, more power to you.
It can. And it is.
Just to explain to you that you are not confused by logic anymore:
Assume for a moment, that is your opinion:
“Dogs are not mammals.”
Is correct? Not. Is it yours? Yes.
That’s the proof that your opinion can be incorrect. But you have to use logic to deduce it.
I don’t have it, because I was busy creating original content and rock or tree or a grass do not fall into that category.
And on the topic of laziness and re-usability:
So if you see third party stuff in epic’s code for example, you immediately assume that they are bunch of lazy, lame assess, that cannot be bothered (or aren’t skilled enough) to write their own stuff? Is that the way your reasoning and logic works? Wow…
I’ll point out that the Unity Asset Store has been very successful for them, and for a variety of development. There are a lot of uses for game engines, not just “games”. It is often time massively cheaper and smarter for a company to either get a head start on content by purchasing it outright or simply solving their content needs fully. There are many many companies world wide that will never hire the resources necessary to do all their work in house…and short contracts or oursourcing are not viable for monetary reasons AND for time reasons. And that’s another point…time is often the mitigating factor in utilizing pre-made assets. A company may have talented resources but will give them about 10% of the time needed to create the assets or project needed.
Exactly.
As I’ve said in one of my earlier posts. Everything is possible, doable, managable etc etc. The only problem is time (lack of it).
Hey all, just a reminder to keep the discussion professional and respectful.
Thanks!
Nope. You run out of cash, and then you ship before you’re ready.
That happens for indies too, though – and even for industries outside game development.
I would just like to add my two cents, Even the tittle of thread offends me. The whole idea of having a seperate Market Place area was for a reason, for people to showcase their work for purchase.
Why have people decided it’s acceptable to use area for a thread that SHOULD be located in general discussion forums, Obvious answer to thread is if you don’t want market place content don’t buy it. Simple
Also i would like to make a distinction between Generic and Specific content design. I aggree with Mr Baldwin from Eat3D, If an AAA is looking for character design or very specific genre related assets that’s something that will always be either done internally or out sourced on a contract basis. The odds of AAA buying generic assets like that which are fundamental to the whole ethos of any project would be counter productive.
But i would also say that not everything comes under that bracket, Ive been working on some terrain packs for the community with start to finish video tutorials of the whole process from conception to in scene. How to edit the generic assets provided within the pack by mixing maps for the end user to get something completly different and unique. I personally would not appreciate being tarred with the brush, All bought assets are useless for unique results. It’s all about how you use those assets to generate value added results for small outlays of finance. I provide all source map art assets, Provide Blender 3D scene files for hand sculpting and procedural texturing, Blender 3D scene’s for Baking out your modified textures, Normal maps, Displace, AO, SSS, Lightmaps, And your New scene height map in 16bit format after sculpting and editing to fully match your now modified and unique terrain.
Every time ive been trying to get some focus on what im doing Poxy thread keeps robbing me of views, So might as well use it to make my point.
Cheers J
Pack 1, Sandy Desert’s VOL 1:
http://www.badlamagames.com/Images/Desert Terrain pack1.jpg
PDF Download: Sandy Deserts VOL 1
Terrain Grassy/Rock Pack 1 (will be edited before final evaluation)
http://www.badlamagames.com/Images/TerrainGrassyrocks1new.jpg
PDF Dowload: Terrain Grassy/Rock VOL 1
http://www.badlamagames.com/Images/TerrainDesertrocks1.jpg
Preview PDF Download: Desert Rcoks Ver 1
Ocean Islands VOL 1:
http://www.badlamagames.com/Images/OceanIslands1.jpg
Preview PDF download: Ocean Islands VOL 1
Well said , & Mr. Bad Lama!! 
Couldn’t agree more, being able to customize and learn from these assets, rapid prototype, and modify these assets IS the point of the marketplace. For me, it’s all about learning the best techniques, which is why 's Star FX, and King’s landscapes are so appealing to me, as it usually costs hundreds of dollars to learn from the best.
I wouldn’t use the assets aside from minor props in an actual game (rocks, random small objects), everything else I would either modify, or build myself. 
Sorry if i have upset some people here,but my point still stands.
If i bought terrain assets,and any other assets.
So did 10 other people our games would look the same.
People do anything to make money.
I am off to read me newspaper in the bog.
Things like is why games will never have any originality.
If a game’s originality depends on it using a completely custom brick texture or a unique road sign…
Well i explained that with my asset packs you have 125 different terrains, I give you the means to mix those terrains in anyway you like. You can change all the textures, you have the original image editor files, You can sculpt and add multiple height info from separate maps into your new 1. It’s all about how much effort the end users wants to put into creating something unique. So no, if you buy my asset packs you wont end up with something that looks the same as every one else. BUT i am selling an asset pack, so i need to provide versions that for any reason the end user wants to just utilise what is already there they can (that was also a pre requisite from Epic).
You go read you paper in the *******, and dream of games made by unicorns surfing on rainbows. Dinlo!
I think you are definitely looking at the marketplace in the wrong way. Try to keep an open mind.
The market place is going to have assets that may not be valuable to you, but they may be valuable to someone else.
they are peoples who want to sell assets … and people who to buy them … is enought for the market place to exist
That’s exactly what I was talking about.
Hi, I’m glad you took part in discussion. And I do understand that big studios do virtually everything in house. Yes. No misunderstanding here.
But I was rather talking about small to medium studios with aspirations to make AAA games, as I believe most of people here fall into that category.
Now, I’d be really grateful if you could explain to me and give me valid reasons for not doing (and I have to stress, I DO NOT want to have argument with you, I simply would really like to learn and discover something new):
Ok, here it is:
If my game requires road signs, of all kinds, and I happen to came across package on marketplace which offers exactly that, why would I choose making my own?
First of all, road signs ARE standardized and to the best of my knowledge most of them DO LOOK THE SAME in most countries, so if I have identical road signs in my game and some other game has identical roadsigns, surely users (players) won’t say, hey, road sign is identical to the one I saw in other game? (By identical I mean for example, STOP sign has the same coloring and pattern and shape, not specific dust, mud and scratches marks and masks).
If I buy those from market place, and throw here and there (in material editor) mask for dirt, offset it so it doesn’t repeat itself, add some other minor cosmetic touches the chances are that sign will look unique and no other game will have identical STOP sign with identical scratches, dirt and dust.
What am I gaining? Precious time…
Instead of spending let’s say a week on making those 20-30 road signs (which in the end they will look identical to those from marketplace minus marks, dirt and scratches), I’ve spent week on what’s really important: original content - characters, weapons, gameplay. I paid let’s say $50, spent lets say additional two to three hours on adding marks, scratches and what not and I’m done.
To me is simply good time management.
What if I decide not to buy them from market place? What am I gaining?
Could you please explain that to me, because I genuinely fail to see the point? Just note, that I prefer to get my experience, have my satisfaction and fun while making original content. So please don’t say that making bog standard props gives me that.
Also, megascans from Quixel library? No point in buying them for AAA titles right?
Thank you.
Hi, thank you for your reply.
But that’s my exact point (your entire post). If I can see pack that is good for my game, that is, I do modern times game with modern times road signs, and I have seen such pack on marketplace. Would you still recommend that I don’t use it? And if so why?
Because in your previous reply, you’ve changed modern road sign to futuristic and those are two different things and I would never consider buying something inappropriate and then trying to make it appropriate because it is a waste of time. Just like I wouldn’t buy a generic vegetation pack if I make game with plantation from Mars. What’s the point? In that case I’d make it myself. Why? Because it is original content for my game not generic plantation.
But if as I’ve said, I see modern road sign package in MP (market place), my game requires modern road sign package, would you still recommend that I make my own instead of buying that one and modifying it in a way I’ve explained in my previous post, that is, adding dirt here, scratch there, mud somewhere else?
And I cannot stress it strong enough:
We are talking about generic models of modern road signs which my game has to use. If I make them myself, I’ll make them exactly as they are in the market place. The only difference will be that I’ll waste my time on making them instead of concentrating on making original content.
I’ll be really grateful if you can reply.
Thank you.
It happens everywhere