Posts Tagged ‘unity’
Unity 3d iPhone 1.5 is released and has many things that were requested.
A few features really stand out as stuff we need:
- Automatic batching of meshes to reduce draw calls.
- Full support for native Objective C and C++ code opens full access to the iPhone 3.x APIs and custom plugins.
- Introduced thread based main loop – now you can choose between NSTimer, Thread and OS event pump (CFRunLoop) methods. Thread method is set by default now.
- Added native plugin support (advanced license feature). Just add custom attribute [DllImport("__Internal")] to your native implemented methods in C# and corresponding implementation to the XCode project.
- Exposed full-screen movie playback support to scripts (iPhoneUtils.PlayMovie/PlayMovieURL).
- Added support for GPS/location service (iPhoneSettings.StartLocationService / iPhoneInput.lastLocation).
- Exposed native iPhone keyboard to scripts (iPhoneKeyboard class).
- Implemented native iPhone keyboard input for TextField/PasswordField/TextArea GUI elements.
- Exposed all 4 screen orientations as iPhoneSettings.screenOrientation. iPhoneSettings.verticalOrientation is now deprecated.
- Added support for vibration (iPhoneUtils.Vibrate).
- Exposed number of properties via Editor Player Settings UI (including bundle version and UI interface orientation).
- Implemented support for up to 8 texture units in shaders for iPhone 3GS. Added iPhone 3GS emulation in the Editor.
- Introduced automatic batching for small (less than 300 vertices) dynamic objects if they share same material. Reduces OpenGLES draw-call overhead.
- Unity respects your XCode project now. It is not overwritten anymore by default. You can safely add new files, modify project itself or AppController.mm file, Unity will append its things as necessary. Note however that some folders like Libraries, Data, root project folder are always overwritten.
Wow! See the full feature update and the blog announcement.
Unity 3D iPhone was updated recently to 1.0.2 and it has been greatly improved in performance and a much more solid 1.0 toolkit. According to Unity 3D information by up to 50% which means much more room for assets to munch memory for us yay!
I updated to iPhone SDK 3 beta 4 and iPhone OS 3 beta 4 and the latest Unity iPhone and things were much better in perception of speed at least in early testing. Not sure if it was more from one or the other but the games I am testing/building so far are quicker and the OS feels faster overall.
Get the latest Unity 3d iPhone dev kit (only for Mac OSX obviously since it uses XCode to compile per Apple licensing requirements)
This build fixes many issues and makes some great optimizations for speed as listed here:
New Features and Improvements
- Reduced memory footprint for uncompressed audio by 50%
- “Memory usage for textures reduced by 50%. Texture memory is now freed once it has been submitted to OpenGLES on the device. The “Enable Get/SetPixels” flag in the Texture Import Settings lets you disable this feature on a per texture basis in order to access the texture data from a script using GetPixel etc.
- Improved iPhone script call optimization
- Removed unused parts of Mono runtime
- Reduced memory overhead while reading data from disk and slightly improved load times.
- Support for several predefined splash-screens (portrait/landscape) for Indie version. Just rename one of the splash-screens in the output directory to Default.png
- Exported audio session activation/deactivation functions to AppController.mm
- Added Scripting Reference code examples for iPhone specific APIs
Bug Fixes
- Fixed audio to play correctly after phone call / text message / alarm interruption occurs
- Fixed compressed audio occasionally refusing to play
- Fixed AudioSource.PlayOneShot to work correctly with compressed audio
- Fixed audio to respect Mute switch and background iPod music
- Fixed Pause function and time property for compressed audio clips
- Fixed OpenAL memory leak
- Fixed PhysX memory leaks
- Fixed Audio and Animation assets leaking while loading new scene
- Fixed a crash related to playing compressed audio in a sequence
- Fixed memory leak while updating Mesh geometry data
- Fixed several small memory leaks in rendering module
- Fixed asynchronous .NET sockets
- Fixed .NET threads
- Fixed cross thread boundary calling to the delegates
- Fixed UnityEngine.TextEditor stripping
- Fixed GUI slider stripping
- Fixed GUI scroll view stripping
- Fixed IndexOutOfRange exception checking
- Fixed Boo.Lang.dll stripping
- Fixed occasional crashes of AOT cross compiler
A quick roadmap was posted by Unity3d.com blog on the immediate future of Unity iPhone. Currently I am developing two games for the iPhone OS 3.0 and these are welcome updates. We are really looking forward to items not in the hard version just yet but we are looking forward to terrain support and downloadable content support in iphone sdk 3.0.
Unity iPhone 1.0.2. Based on custom builds we’ve been sending to devs in need, this release will address engine memory leaks and fix other outstanding issues:
- Physics and audio related memory leaks
- Asset leaks while reloading scenes
- .NET sockets and threads
- Compressed audio related issues
- Stripping away too much of GUI components
- Occasional crashes in AOT compiler
- Support for both portrait and landscape splash screens
Next will be Unity iPhone 1.1. Since the release of 1.0.1 we’ve been working on a number of performance and memory optimizations. Most of the work on 1.1 is finished already and we’re doing an internal bug fixing round before it goes to beta testers too. Along with optimizations this release will include number of important features such as:
- Binding custom ObjectiveC/C++ functions to C#/Javascript
- Native on-screen keyboard support and interoperability with Unity GUI
- Movie playback support
- Performance optimizations:
- significant C#/Javascript performance improvements
- general rendering loop optimizations resulting in less OpenGLES state changes and less CPU work per object
- number of internal routines were rewritten using VFP coprocessor assembly
- way much faster mesh skinning utilizing VFP
- batching small objects, given that they share same material, into single draw call
- General distribution size optimizations which allows applications below 10Mb
- Number of significant memory footprint optimizations
We don’t have strict versioning past 1.1 yet. Some of the following features will end up in the next big release and some might find a way to sneak into 1.1:
- Compressed audio streaming directly from disk
- Support for 3.0 SDK
- 3.0 downloadable content
- 3.0 bluetooth networking
- GPS/Location support
- Vibration support
- Post-processing and render-targets support
- Terrain support
- Per-pixel DOT3 lighting support for skinned meshes
- Reduce load times
- Reduce distribution size even further
- Improve GarbageCollector collection patterns to reduce spikes
This is fantastic news! Unity3D 2.5 has been released a bit early before GDC and it includes the game changing windows build environment and IDE. This now opens up the Unity 3D market by a huge factor and Unity3d will find its way into many gaming companies that are heavily invested in Windows. We should see the amount of unity 3d players and content ramp up quite a bit this year.
- Forum Announcement
- What’s new in Unity3d 2.5
- Download the 2.5 update
- Mac OS X: http://unity3d.com/unity/unity.dmg
- Windows: http://unity3d.com/unity/UnitySetup.exe <- well look at that
Dont’ get me wrong I love my Mac Book Pro and continue to use it for development in Unity3D, iphone sdk etc. But being able to use my windows machine as a dev box is great and I know this will be huge for many windows users not wanting to shell out the $1500 for the unity license AND $3000 for a decent macbook. The cost wall has been lowered and it is a great investment if you are an indie game developer or a large game developer.
I usually only get excited about open source tools on this blog because they help everyone with skills have access, I hope one day there will be an open source 3d browser based engine as well. Right now though there is nothing price competitive other than maybe torque instantaction plugin or the gaim engine (quakelive) that comes close with hardware rendering and none of them beat Unity in ease of pipeline.
One thing about Unity3d is it was a game engine from day one, it is only a game engine. It isn’t like Director or Flash that are also application development kits, rich internet application kits etc. This is pure game engine baby with hardware rendering for the win. Also, if you want to make 3d games for the iPhone without going hardcore OpenGL ES you can do so with an additional license that opens up your distribution channel to the iphone, flash can’t do that currently unfortunately.
And so it begins… GAME ON!
The guys over at Flashbang Studios, a web game development studio in phoenix, az, and some of the most visible developers in the Unity3d space with Blurst, released something that may interest both FlashDevelop users and Unity3d developers.
UnityDevelop was released by Flashbang Studios recently and it is a modded version of FlashDevelop (originally from SharpDevelop a really nice open source .NET and mono IDE) and it supports intellisense for Javascript or Unity3d’s use of Javascript which is called UnityScript much like ActionScript. UnityScript can be a little more strict and has access to all of Unity3d’s API calls just like C# and Boo in the mono based virtual machine that Unity3d uses.
FlashDevelop, is by far the best Flash / Flex /haXe IDE in my opinion so it is really great to release this for Unity. I hope one day I or someone has the time to port to Mono so it can be used on Macs even with the 140 pinvokes, it would be a good spread mechanism for mono.
With Unity3d coming to windows soon, UnityDevelop could be a good go to IDE for unity if you aren’t using solely C# with VS.NET. Currently this is based on FlashDevelop2 source code.
Video Overview of UnityDevelop
UnityDevelop Walkthrough from Flashbang Studios on Vimeo.
Downloads
- Download UnityDevelop (2.9 MB)
- Source Code
Thanks flashbang!
The unity3d platform is about to realize about 900% or 9x more possible market for selling their wares and I believe will blow up with unity 2.5. Unity3d 2.5 will bring a windows IDE and development environment to unity3d developers. Many game companies are heavily invested in Windows and having this option is breaking down a huge wall to get this development platform and engine into many new hands and companies.
The best part about unity 3d development is the hardware acceleration, the fantastic pipeline, the ability to publish desktop, web, mobile (iphone) and console (wii) is pretty amazing. All using the powerful mono open source .net framework as a base.
Windows Editor Support
Unity 2.5 adds full support for Windows Vista and XP, with 100% feature parity and interoperability with Mac OS X. The Unity Editor has been rebuilt to look, feel, and function identically on both operating systems, each running the same underlying engine. The best part? Unity on either platform can build games for either platform — cross-platform in the truest sense.
A Whole New Look
Find the tools you need quickly and easily. The Play buttons are front and center, clearly visible and inviting you to play, test, and improve your work. And when you do, they light up, dimming the rest of the application, drawing your attention to the most important things in the play experience you’re creating.
Precise Navigation and Placement ToolsImproved Usability
Snap any object to customizable increments of position, scale, and rotation values. Drag objects around, clamped to any surface collision. Manipulate objects in local or world space. Use the new flythrough controls to get around easily. And did we mention the completely redesigned rotation tool?
3ds Max Importing
Drag and drop your .max files right into the Editor, including support for all skeletal based animation, multiple UVs, and vertex colors. Autodesk 3ds Max now joins the existing support for Maya, Blender, and all other 3D applications that integrate with the latest FBX plugin on the Windows platform.
Completely Customizable Editor
UnityGUI, Unity’s own GUI creation system, now powers the entire Editor and allows you to integrate your own unique level design tools, AI control tools, debugging tools, difficulty tuning tools, or anything else you need. Over 130 new API entry points enable you to create specialized, customized editor tools and build them into the existing Editor interface.
Tabbed Interface
We took cues from the best designed applications, and the rewritten editor has received dozens of improvements. The most visible change is the tabbed interface, where every part of the interface can be moved, undocked to a secondary monitor, and even stacked to achieve logical grouping.
Information at Your Fingertips
We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that you always have the info you need, when you need it. Model files have previews right inside the inspector. Audio Clips show their waveform with click-to-play behaviour. Meshes show the detailed rendering stats – and that’s just scratching the surface.
I have mentioned before that flash to unity3d communication is a key part of game development for the web now where you are using Unity3D as a higher end renderer and some of your other page elements might be flash. Now there is a new open source kit for this called u3dobject.
To get Flash and Unity3D to talk to one another in an HTML/XHTML page is pretty simple with javascript and with the internal Unity3D Application object and the ExternalInterface in Flash. But there are lots of elements of that communication that can be consolidated and reused so you don’t have to recreate that over and over. Various studios and programmers come up with their own kits but when it becomes a shared activity to get the best integration and make it more of a platform that is where things like swfobject, swfaddress and u3dobject come in.
So far swfobject is the standard for flash html embedding and unityObject is a similar take (but a bit dated) on that but now we have u3dObject that is open as well and a more official open source project for unity3D <–> flash integration and test harnesses for development when those two technologies are used together.
Unity3D <-> Flash Embedding Info:
Unity3D is a great platform for developing 3d games where you need hardware acceleration beyond what Flash 3d can give you for the web.
There are lots of great independent gaming companies and web gaming companies realizing this and here in the #phx Arizona market a few good ones including Flashbang Studios on their Unity3D gaming site Blurst. I have been developing Unity3D for about 6 months and it is great where you want 3d environments over 2000 polys for the web. The power of 3d hardware rendering on the web combined with a great development environment is making it possible to make really fun games with unity3d.
Unity3D Games Released Recently
Flashbang recently released Minotaur China Shop to add to their Blurst.com site of Unity3D games and community. They detailed the launch day at their blog. It is a pretty fun game and once you get further into the game design with different paths, selling products or thrashing your china shop for insurance and strategic upgrades it has legs to keep interest.
Minotaur China Shop Trailer
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2474951[/vimeo]
There are lots of great Unity 3d games out there here is a list of the best of 2008:
- AXE – Billions
Play it!
Provide Feedback - AXE – Dark Temptation
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Banzai Ball
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Beijing Conspiration
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Chicken Target
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Circuit Defenders
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Colony Defender
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Downhill Bowling
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Feist
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Flip Sorter
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Hordes of Orcs
Play it!
Provide Feedback - IndieRiffs
Play it! (Intel Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Jeecheereen1
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Jetpack Brontosaurus
Play it! - Laka Game Show
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Lander Commander
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Lies and Seductions
Play it! (Mac OS Universal)
Provide Feedback - Manta
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Mars Explorer
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Nuddz
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Oddball
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Off-Road Velociraptor Safari
Play it! - Outpost
Play it! - Pirates n Dragons
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Project Cloudwitch
Play it!
Provide Feedback - RastaMonkey
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Seamulator
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Sperm Racer
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Sphaira
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Super Splashdown
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Super Volei Brasil
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Tag Ball
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Traces of Illumination
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Tumbledrop
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Turret Master
Play it! (Mac OS)
Provide Feedback - Turtle Trap
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Vimto Jetski
Play it!
Provide Feedback - Widget TD
Play it!
Provide Feedback
[source]
I am working with lots of content now that is flash and unity3d in game development for the web, and occasionally systems built in flash, javascript or other have to communicate with Unity3D and vice versa. You can do this from the server side (WWW/WWWForm class or sockets) OR you can also communicate client side for many things such as sending name value pairs or variables into Unity3D, Flash or the javascript in page as needed. There are some great tools like UnityObject that is like swfobject (only you have to update it to work with latest browsers) that make this more simple to send in params and messages. The same can be applied to Silverlight. It is pretty simple all in all but having a sample to start with is good with all these technologies.
Paul Tondeur threw togetother a little sample that shows how you can integrate Unity3D, Flash and javascript in the page fairly simply with lots of great demos. It really is just about passing parameters around into the objects from javascript, then within Flash calling ExternalInterface to call external javascript or within Unity3D calling Application.ExternalCall.
//Flash adding callback for javascript code ExternalInterface.addCallback("functionNameInBrowser", functionNameInFlash );
//Unity3D calling javascript code Application.ExternalCall("javascriptFunction", "Parameter1");
Nothing too tasking but if you want to see samples of this working together from flash, flex, javascript, unity3d then check it out. Zip on over to Paul’s site to grab the files and more demos and samples. All examples are bundled in one download, which includes all the Unity3D, Flash, Flex, Actionscript and Javascript files.
Here’s some demos
A few weeks ago the makers of Unity3d released some really valuable information about casual gaming and general hardware of users that play online games. It was an interesting report and very beneficial to developers on the Unity platform and others. We wish other plugin makers would do the same in such a thorough method.
Unity 3d creators listened to the market and have now posted updated numbers and information as well as a page that quarterly stats will be updated. Check the new, quarterly, hardware of the casual gamer stats.
I would have seen this earlier but I have been deep in a Unity 3d project myself 
. I am a big fan of all web based gaming platforms and Unity is almost a dream come true for 3d web gaming. For the company to be this open that is a very good sign.
What can you do with Unity3D? Here is a list of games made with Unity3D on the web. The one great thing about this platform is that is was made for gaming specifically from the start. Simulations and game development with Unity3D is very fun and productive. I still love Flash, Director etc but Unity3D development is now very much in my rotation.
Games made with Unity3D:
Hancock Movie Games
Tennis Stars Cup
Duckateers
Temploe (ninjas attack you)
RC Laser Warrior
Urban Race Star
FlashBang studios
TraceON
EPIC Tower Defense
InvinciCar
Besmashed (multi)
Global Conflicts
Phoenix Final
Doom Siege
Mario Galaxy like run (third one down)
Zombie Drive
Pocket Piglets
ChickenDemo
Castle Conquest
