The Asset Store is awesome! There’s a huge offering in the asset store and it can be difficult to settle on one tool to get the job done.
You’ve got to get good at picking out what you really need or else you risk overspending.
Here are a couple questions I ask myself when I’m looking for an asset.
When Was it Last Updated?
The more recently it’s been updated the better.
I’m always a little worried when I pull in an asset that hasn’t been touched since 2010. Unless, of course, the reviews say it’s fine.
Unity is updated frequently. New functionality is added and some features can even become completely obsolete. You want to save yourself the trouble of having to comb through an old asset/script and replacing nonexistent function calls with the contemporary equivalent (if it even exists anymore.. Yeah I’ve been there.)
Is there a community around this plugin?
In an ideal world the asset you download just works. I love when that happens.
In the real world you’re probably going to run into some obstacles. Every use case is a little different and the value of a having a community you can ask questions to is immense.
Bonus points for a support Discord, or similar setup. Being able to reach out to a supportive developer is invaluable.
Supported target platforms?
Make doubly sure that the thing you’re vetting will actually work on the platform you’re building for.
The largest offenders: WebGL + mobile
Roadmap? A plan for future support?
I value assets and their developers that have a plan.
Review Red Flags
While I get that not all reviews were written with the same intent/context, I do believe that where there’s smoke there’s a fire. In the same breath don’t let one bad review scare you, rather, pay attention to patterns.
I’d stay away from plugins with reviews with any of the following characteristics:
- A non-responsive developer
- Worse: a combative developer
- Performance issues
- Bugs, bugs, bugs (especially when you’re paying for an asset)
- Bloated
- Where’s the documentation?
Closing Thoughts
Running through these questions has saved me a lot of headaches.
Let me know what you look for in determining if an asset is good – I’m all ears.