Capstone Week 5 - February 12 - 18

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Because getting VR to align with the real-world was causing me some major stress!

 


Tech Issues and Solutions

Error: Measuring in Unity - Objects deployed on the headset were not aligning with the real-world counterparts.  The floor plane also seemed off.

Solution: 

  • I created a grid in Unity and in my real-world room with the goal of aligning the two manually.
  • The margin of error was too big, so I searched for additional solutions. 
  • I was able to find a Measuring tool that provides real world dimensions.  The user can set different units of measurement.  
  • The floor plane was still causing problems because it seemed to be too low in physical space.  
  • The solution was adjusting the camera in Unity to start at y position "0".  (I cannot tell you if it is was initially at ) and I accidentally changed it to .44)
  • Make sure the camera launches from the "Floor" level.
 
Error: Oculus Link does not connect then headset to the PC.  I use the Link to test development and to build the scene onto the headset.

Solution:  
  • Close the Oculus Client Desktop app, > Go into the %appdata% folder of the pc and delete the Oculus folders in "Roaming", "Local" and "LocalNow". 
  • Then restart the Oculus Desktop app.
  • This will cause your profile information to be wiped and you will need to re-login to Meta.
  • Connect the headset to the PC and enable the Oculus link through the headset.
  • The Desktop app should now recognize the Link cable and connect to the headset.
 

Error: Cannot build player while editor is importing assets or compiling scripts

I successfully scaled my game objects to fit in the real world, but when I tried to build the scene, it continually failed!  This wasn't happening before. 

Solution: 

  • While searching online, I found that any scripts that use the "UnityEditor;" function must be inside an "Editor" folder in Unity.  
  • The measuring tool that solved one problem created another by importing a script that used the "UnityEditor" function.
  • The Measuring tool was not allowing me to move it to the Editor folder, so I simply deleted the tool from the project. 

Design: Modeling Cuba

I used Maya to create a 3D model of Cuba.  Currently the model is sliced in to different cities, but the goal is for the user to be able to highlight a region and get more information about it. 

Process: 

  • Create a vector outline of the Island in Adobe illustrator.  Save as Adobe Illustrator version 8 (Maya can only import up to this version)
  • Open a new scene in Maya
  • File>Import>Adobe illustrator >find your file> import
  • The vector file will be converted into a Nurb outline
  • Clean up any extra Nurbs
  • Fill the body of the outlines 
  • Convert the nurbs into polygon.
  • Clean up the polygons
  • Export as FBX

It was a little more complicated than this, especially when you factor in Maya crashing, but generally this will get you a little island eventually. 

Spatial Awareness

While testing my prototype last week, I found that the 3D environment was taking up too much real world space.  My goal is to condense the physical movements of the user and try to keep the interactions within a smaller area. 

My solution is to create "stations" that allow for the narrative and experience to take place. 


Narrative Precedents

 StoryCorps




Next Steps 

  • Continue 3D asset creation
    • Cuba
    • Monuments
    • Objects in space (Airplane, TV, Radio)
  • Define scope of interactions: History | Story | Explore
  • Refine use of space
  • Record story/ narrative
  • Storyboard story