The first week of DTSF has concluded and I now have a better understanding of how I want to do my project. I learned of a couple ways it could be done. The more photo realistic way would be to create a 3D model using a 360 camera and a drone. This would make the model more accurate but from a close up distance, it will appear more jagged depending on the photographs taken. The other way would be to create a model based off of maps and pictures. This will have less detail and more of an animated look to it, but it will not look photo realistic. I still have to decide which method is best for my project.
Day 1
The first day started at the library where we learned about projects made through word press. afterwards, we were free to begin our projects. I needed to be able to start with the basics of Unity 3D, so I started with watching basic tutorials to learn the interface of the platform. There is a lot of different features on the Unity interface and at first it was overwhelming. I was able to learn how to implement terrain and use assets to add external features to a project.
Day 2
The second day my goal was to learn how to script in Unity by using C#. I spent most of the day watching tutorials on learning the basics of the code. I learned that it is very similar to java, however there are a lot more basics of the language to memorize. Also, I learned there is a difference between C# for Unity and C# for generic coding. I learned basic commands such as being able to make objects move and printing statements in the console. I spend the end of the day learning how to add a 3D model from sketch fab into a Unity scene. I wanted to learn how to do this in case I end up having to make a photographic model for my project.
Day 3
Today mostly spent learning the basics of VR. We played around with the VR console and played with the vive and steam tutorials. Before this I have had very little experience with VR and this was an amazing experience for me. After messing around with the tutorials, I learned how to implement Unity with VR. Later I started an online tutorial with Unity that helped teach me the basics of the platform.
Days 4, 5
I spent the rest of the week with the tutorial I started the day before. The end result was a cube game developed through unity. The goal of the game is to control a cube on a narrow path and dodge all of the obstacles to get to the end. It was very long and I plan to review all I leaned so I can replicate it in projects of my own.
What I learned this week:
Interface implementation, terrain development, game objects, C#, VR implementation, model insertion, object movement, collision handling, restart features, in game physics, scene compilation, in-game text, score handling, exporting a project from Unity.
Next week I plan to take the skills I learned this week to start my project. I also intend to take an online course for Unity modeling so I am able to represent buildings as accurately as possible.
