Install Unity & Create start a new Project
Install Unity
When installing I recommend downloading the Unity Hub. This allows you to manage multiple versions of Unity (more on that later). It also prevent you from downloading a specific version and still somehow needing to hub too and be confused as I was. They really want you to use the hub doing so will make your install easier. It’s also easier to manage your license with the hub.
Use the link below and click the “Download Unity Hub” button.
Use the downloaded installer and follow the on screen instructions.
Launch the Unity Hub after installing
Select the “Installs” tab on the left
Click the blue “ADD” button
Here we can add installations of Unity. If you have previous installations you can add them with the ”Locate” button. Some pre-hub Unity versions may have some issues being added.
Which Unity version to use
There are a few options for versions. The latest version, LTS (Long Term Support) and Pre-Releases.
Basically it’s recommended to always choose a LTS version if you want to create game. The process of creating a game usually takes a lot of time and if versions change or you update some features may be lost and will break your game. Unless you absolutely need the latest features pick an LTS version.
You choose the stable latest version if you want to use the new features or try them out.
The pre-releases are alpha and beta version and are not recommended to create your project with. These version are only meant if you want to try out the latest features and don’t mind some bugs and crashes.
Why keep multiple versions
Project created in different version of Unity don’t transfer to each other.
For example you created a game in Unity 2019. If you try to open that with another version, you may to break your game. You might discover a bug in your game or want to add a feature a year later. Then having that old version of Unity allows you to continue working on that game right where you left off. Another situation could be you join a team that is already over a year in development then you want to use that same version too.
If you could only keep one version you would need to keep uninstalling and reinstalling to be able to access your projects. Always forcing a latest version would mean chances to break projects created in older version. To prevent that the developers of Unity would need to make it always backwards compatible. This would constraint them a lot to keep creating new or better features.
Choose your desired version and click “Next”
On this screen you can select whether you want build support for various platforms, documentation and languages. You can always add these after installing from the “Installs” tab clicking the … and choosing “Add Modules”.
Now it will download the files and install it so go grab a drink (or food) and wait for it to finish. Once it’s done you should see your installed version like this:
While waiting for the installation go create an Unity account on the website if you haven’t already. You can Unity for free by creating an account and selecting the Personal license.
Create a Project
To create a new Unity project open up the Unity Hub on the “Projects” tab. With “ADD” you can add existing Unity Projects to the Hub. Here we select “New”. This will create a new project with the version you last used. If you have multiple versions of Unity you can click the triangle and choose the desired version.
There are a few options to choose when creating a project, which don’t matter much. They can be adjusted with a few clicks after you created the project.
After hitting “Create” Unity will build your project . This may take some time.
Unity will open up when it’s done and you’re ready to start creating!
