Week 9: Oculus Launch Pad (Due Aug 20th Midnight)

[Anonymous]

Looking forward to seeing how you are doing in the last three weeks! 

[prettydarke]

My story is pretty much the same - I'm busy and spread too thin. The job keeps me engaged every day of the week, constant new challenges and I'm still finding my rhythm. The Launch Pad project is in a frustrating stage. Really not happy with the team situation this year, and I think I should have just done a solo project. It's all a learning experience though, so I'll keep chugging along and be grateful that I'm in a better position than I was a year ago.

The script is done and we'll see how much of it can get implemented next week. I'll be working on 3D models for a project that will be shown at Ars Electronica this year. Depending on how things go, I might submit that for the Launch Pad deadline instead of the group project. We'll see how far I get with animations and which turns out to be a stronger piece in the next couple of weeks. As far as things I'm looking forward to most? The totality, a short break from all the little things. 

[d3ham]

This
week I’ve done a lot of reflection on the past events of Charlottesville and the
content of my VR piece “I Am A Man.” There is such a striking difference in a
group of people who gather to say “We are equal,” with those who gather to
promote the idea that, “We are superior.” 
I don’t want to go into a deep political rift here, but the few that
have sampled my VR experience has shared my sentiment that the story of the 1968
Sanitation Worker’s Strike of Memphis Tennessee is a story that needs to be
experienced today. Most have said, “It’s right on time.”

It
was great to get feedback from Gabor (thanks so much!), he touched on several
things that I will spend the last few weeks of the program working on for my
submission. Then of course there is finalizing some “graphic ideas” for logo
and Oculus Store banner which I will be working on, which  I will share in a post next week. Overall my
budget is taking shape pretty nicely. In talking with National Civil Rights
Museum, I thin the plan is to be able to re-record an interview of Elmore
Nickelberry for the piece. He is one of the surviving sanitation workers who were
a part of the strike and I have been using his voice as placeholder demo for
the piece. We want to make sure though if we do this he is properly compensated
for his participation .  So the budget
will reflect being able to capture his story.

Recently
Mr. Nickelbery was in the news as the city of Memphis has agreed
to provide the grants to all 14 living workers who protested against the unfair
treatment.  You can read the story here -
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/35824351/watch-live-mayor-announces-grants-for-1968-sanitation-w...

"I Am A Man" is gearing up to be something very special, that will touch a lot of lives.

[chinniechinchil]

Tania Pavlisak - Enliven VR week 9:

This week was a bit like a roller coaster for me. There were tons of progress done, a lot of design changes, but there were also tons of crashes, weird unexplained issues, and also that big Unity emergency patch. I lost track of how many builds I had to deploy to the phone each day to test performance and comfort, something around 10-15 probably.

Following the plan, I changed the bedroom design from a closed room into a gazebo-type, to give a more open space feeling. The bed and roof were modeled last week, and I worked on its UV and materials earlier in the week. For the wall panels, I found a Chinese wall screen design that reminded me of something I saw in my grandparent's house.



Using the same design, I replaced all the room wall with this, and I was really pleased with how it look afterward.

 
As the next step, I replaced pet placeholder art with real 3D assets. I found three low-poly and really inexpensive asset packages from the Unity store and use them in the scene. The pet spawning script was tweaked to show only one pet at a time, at specific place based on user's position (laying down, reclined or sitting up).  Once the pets spawned at the right locations, I changed the script to treat these pets as pooled objects, so I don't need to keep instancing and destroying them at run time.

Afterward, I looked up some information to create day & night cycle. I tried following two different tutorials, and the last one seem to work really well. Since this has a lot to do with lighting, I baked lighting on every single updates. The effect was pretty nice, although it tend to be really dark at night time. To compensate, I added one spotlight from the ceiling, and surrounded player's camera with light probe. This added a bit of ambient light so the scene was not totally dark during night time.

I also adjusted user camera's height based on position, as a feedback from the user test during game jam. Unlike Rift or Vive where we can track headset position automatically, we need to fake this on mobile VR. During the previous play test, I only had one position for the camera, which was for the reclining option. For those who test it laying down, they felt like floating, and when sitting down, they felt like sinking into the bed. With this height adjustment, it feels more realistic. The camera is higher when we sit down, a bit lower when reclining, and very close to the bed when we lay down.



   


Things were nice and peachy at this time. Then, as I tried to add more 3D objects onto the scene, like planes with transparency, terrain, vegetation, things started to go wrong. Unity refused to bake any lighting, while spouting nonsense error like 'cannot generate lighting file' and that was it. My scene turned completely dark because of it, which made it hard to test. Then, every single build that got deployed onto the phone just crashed. I noticed that before Unity stubbornly saying no to baking, my light map increased from 2 maps to 27 different maps. That day I just walked away from my work PC and went to Seattle Unity Group meetup, where I met an artist friend who was familiar with Unity lighting. I described my problem to him, he asked a few questions.. and we all agree that I might need to just restarted the PC. We also learned about the security patch update in the middle of the meetup. Then I went home, applied the patch, got an error in the middle of patching, and then Unity spout baking error every single time. Fun times. I ended up staying up til 3 am reinstalling Unity, repatching, and just rolled back my project to the time when things were peachy. Hooray for github and version control!

On Friday, after the office hour, I started learning about optimization. I also pay more attention to the fps. My scene performance was really
bad. It was around 25-30 fps on Tuesday, and by Friday it was around
12-25. To check for fps, I use Unity profiler, adb catlog, and this script attached to the camera. I wasn't sure what to do at this point. Then Gabor posted a review from Lauren's King Crab game, where he pointed out similar fps issue as mine. I followed his suggested setting, and the fps went up a little bit. I wasn't able to do single-pass render, since my app just stuck at Unity logo every time I tried that.

On Friday night, I joined the OLP discord channel that Tyrus set up. We talked about optimization, and he mentioned batching and watching for draw calls. Through him, I learned about the Unity statistics option during run time on the editor. Thank you, Tyrus!  I started watching the line that says SetPass calls, combined with using Unity frame debugger  (under Window -> frame debugger). I noticed that all the interactable objects in the scene had very high number, something about rendering, I guess. Then I realized that those objects contain outline script. As I researched more, it seems outline effect usually cause performance issue, as shown in a few situations below.  I removed this effect, and my fps was back to around 25-30. 



I spent Saturday learning how to modify Unity shader script and managed to create a few variation of mobile shader, convert existing standard materials into mobile mats. After doing this, I was able to add more objects into the scene. I also added a custom skybox, and had to modify the existing day/light script to control skybox exposure. Then call it a day.

Next week plan:
- work more on optimization
- add more object without crashing the app
- add a little bit interaction aside from the pet
- figure out a way for pets to focus on player's camera for presence
- learn and submit a build to Oculus store.
- build freeze by end of week, due to PAX dev & PAX west.

See you next week!
- Tania

[tifa_ain]

Week 9 blogpost

We shot the proof on Tuesday! I was so pumped that even though we wrapped at 10, I couldn't come down until 4AM.
I had a super producer who helped things run smoothly on set, great cast and crew. Posting a few pictures below.
We ended up using a Samsung Gear 360 as the camera - my DP didn't have the 3 camera GoPro array she wanted ready in time. But that's ok. It was a small footprint (practical lighting too). What I would like to improve on is having a larger more reliable monitor than my phone. For shooting in a club at night, the screen was too small to watch the actors in a very meaningful way.
Since the shoot, I have been stitching and color correcting. Hoping to get my assets complete and ready for the developer by tomorrow.
This tutorial and template has made stitching for the Gear a quick process: https://vimeo.com/185307662 - and it's taught me some AE stuff about controls and scripts too, just by poking around in it.
Tonight is audio time - we got to use a Zoom h2n and play around with a Sennheiser spatial mic (on loan from a post-production house.) I love thinking about the spatial sound aspect of 360 filmmaking, so I am excited to cut the audio tonight.
This week  - assemble assets and build the app with the developer and test and troubleshoot.
The hardest thing for me right now is knowing how long to estimate for everything to take since I have never done it before! 

[marmishurenko]

Maria Mishurenko — Awere.

We're getting there! This week we had fully functional breathing guide prototype and played with it all day long! 
Also we had the music demo and started to draft some onboarding process.
Today we've read amazing Gabot Szauer's recommendations and optimized the performance. Despite generative mesh and a hell lot of transparent objects we have now solid 60fps! Yay! 
So the main mechanic works like charm! So from now on we will polish the details, optimize further and work on proposal!

Also this week I started mentoring students at Udacity VR Developer Nanodegree online program. Very excited about helping talented people and learn from them.





LET'S ROCK!

[virtuallyfifer]

This week im recording VO for our experience.

Working with a neuroscientist, we developed a script to be in our tour. Here is a sample. 

Black to…

 Breathing and heartbeats

 ACT ONE: THE BRAINSTEM

 At the beginning of sentient life, the brain stem evolved, assuring simple creatures the mainframe for life.

 MEDULLA OBLONGATA

 Around you materializes a pulsing pink tube, with glittering pathways on synapses, conducting current.

Welcome to the medulla oblongata, responsible for the involuntary functions you need to survive. This includes heart beat, breathing, salivation, and oxygenation of blood.  
Trigger up to

 PONS
It deals with swallowing, bladder control, facial expressions, chewing, saliva, tears, and posture.

 MIDBRAIN

CEREBELLUM
A complex structure sprawls around you with symmetrical folds like staircases stretches out to your left and right. Along the middle is a pulsing mass of synapses, sending material up and down.

Welcome to the cerebellum, the coordinator and predictor of movement. Receiving information of the positioning of muscles and joints, balance signals from the inner ear, and sensory information on the environment around you, the cerebellum models the body and allows for your understanding of where you are in space. It can model and quickly troubleshoot movements to adjust to your surroundings.

The cerebellum’s many folds allow for millions of neurons, more than the entire central nervous system combined.

Running down the middle is the vermis, responsible for your muscles in your core.

Below you is the flocculonodular lobe, responsible for balance. Receiving signals from our inner ear it computes the correct position for our muscles and joints. Give it a zap of synthetic stimulation from your neuron wand!

Trigger to have things spin around you.

It’s sending a projection of correct motor correction to your lower motor neuron system and limb movement is sent through the thalamus to the cerebral cortex! Let’s go!

Neurons light up and we move towards the thalamus. 

[Anonymous]

OLP 2017 - week 9

This week has been full of profiling and testing builds. I was able to successfully build over wireless and that has made the process slightly less tedious without having to plug and unplug from the computer to the headset each time. I'm also getting to know the profiler...and it is not my friend. I'm trying to use transparency very judiciously. I was also able to import and play videos using the webm V8 format with an alpha channel and that was something I was having problems with before. I believe it had to do with the dimensions of my movie being an odd size. Stick to standard ratios.

I'm meeting up with the programmer again this week and I'm excited to add some icing on the cake. I'm anxious and behind schedule, but energized along the way! Coming from an artist background the tech has been challenging, but I have learned a TON and am so grateful to be able to create in this space. Still lovin' it!  

Wishing everyone a happy and productive week!

[Anonymous]

OLP BlogPost #9
This week was another slow week...all good though...we are prepping for the remaining weeks and challenges ahead. 

We are implementing the intro to the game and a dialog for quit/replay.
I need to finalize and capture and v/o this week, and try to get a new build out to get an early review...not sure if we will make it in time to get that early review but will try. I see how valuable that is to get some deep feedback. 

Short and sweet update here. Have a great Sunday night! 

[sskolnik]

Week 9 Oculus Launch
Pad, Shayna Skolnik

This week has been exciting, but also nervousness-inducing as we
get closer to the submission date and I feel like there is so much still to do!

We attempted to publish the container app to the Alpha channel and while it
seemed successful, we have been unable to install the build on the test phone. This
is frustrating and I’m currently trolling blogs and tutorials, trying to figure
out what is going and support Adam, my developer.

Because of the Alpha release problems, he hasn’t been
working on the interactive component of the demo (a sea level rise simulator).
I’m optimistic that we’ll at least get something going this week.

On the video side, I finally got the voice over files and
they are ok. Probably not what I want to use for the final cut, but certainly reasonable for
now for the demo. Unfortunately my 360 extraordinaire left for Spain and will
be there for 6 weeks. He swears he’ll be able to do the audio mixing with his
laptop, but this is making me nervous. All of the little production delays have really added up and I don’t
have a first cut!

I worked on a logo and some other art to use
for the channel release. I know it’s not absolutely necessary, but it helped to
do something productive while some of these other technical problems were being
addressed.

I had a few conversations with other OLPers who are equally
interested in how to incorporate a call to action/actions that people can take
from within the headset into their VR experiences. I don’t have a solution yet,
but I have been looking into incorporating a climate-related petition or a way to
donate to climate research, conservation, etc. I made a lot of contacts in this
area at SXSW Eco, so I need to go back through those cards and start reaching
out to some of the organizations in the coming week.

Also, for fun, I attended a local go-go (DC, baby!) concert and got some great 360 photos and short video clips of the crowd. Per my previous experiences, the Gear camera did not perform well and shut off frequently; however, I was able to post a 360 photo from the concert on my FB. 

In other related, but not related news, two of my abstracts
have been accepted for presentation at the American Geophysical Union (AGU)
which is a huge scientific conference. The past two years I have demoed VR with
NASA at this conference and this year I’ll be returning as an invited speaker presenting new data
visualization techniques for scientific data in virtual reality! 

[kathrynhicks]

Kathryn Hicks
Project Title: Tall Tales of the Aerona Temple
Type: 360° 3D Animated Film
Logline: A member of the royal Sasquatch family stumbles upon an ancient evil that threatens the prosperity of his homeland.
Characters: Zannis (Sasquatch) & Kaga (shadow demon)

Oculus Launch Pad Blog Post Week 9
For this week, animation on the project continued. My texture artist did some tests with 2D visual effects in the rough environment. We are experimenting with the idea of making thick tree roots reddish and the wall reliefs to be placed on large rock slabs; we're doing this to make the space feel bigger - similar to the environments in the film Atlantis: Lost Empire. The statues are also being modeled. 


Scene from the film Atlantis: Lost Empire



Environment / Texturing Test by Kane Liu


2D VFX smoke frames by Kane Liu


Environment & 2D VFX Test by Kane Liu 

Next Week
I hope to have animation complete, statues done, and textures mostly finished.