Issue 7

News

Facebook is building its own Steam-style desktop gaming platform with Unity

The big news this week is that Facebook and Unity are working together to build a desktop gaming platform, apparently to rival Steam. Personally I think this will target towards the ‘casual’ end of the market, with hardcore gamers remaining with Steam.

Say what you will about Facebook, having access to hundreds of millions of potential users is, as an indie developer, potentially a very good thing.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/18/facebook-desktop-game-platform/

A LOOK INSIDE: TRACKING BUGS BY USER PAIN

A look inside the new way Unity is classifying bugs. Good to get an insight into how things are prioritised. Judging by the general quality of the 5.4 release, this seems to be a contributing factor in the continued increased stability of Unity in general.

https://blogs.unity3d.com/2016/08/17/a-look-inside-tracking-bugs-by-user-pain/

Unity Tips

50 Tips and Best Practices for Unity (2016 Edition)

An updated version of the 2012 version by the same name. This article is solid gold for Unity best practices. From source control, to how to handle 3rd party assets, to using ScriptableObjects, and common pitfalls, it’s all here.

This should be your go-to resource for getting new team members up to speed on best working practices in Unity. Very comprehensive.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/HermanTulleken/20160812/279100/50_Tips_and_Best_Practices_for_Unity_2016_Edition.php

A Summary of Unity Attributes

Article from 2014 on the available attributes in Unity, and what they are for. Most of us will be aware of SerializeField and RequiresComponent, but as you’ll see, there are scores more available.

As @ArenMook said on Twitter:

I’ve been using Unity for 8 years now, yet still frequently learn things that make me feel like a noob.

http://www.tallior.com/unity-attributes/

Graphics

Realtime Volumetric Clouds In Unity

In-depth tutorial on creating volumetric clouds using raymarching. The end results speak for themselves. The technique is only really suited to one per scene, so is ideal for large-scale effects such as clouds or a swirling mass of planetary nebula. Really impressive.

http://www.blog.sirenix.net/blog/realtime-volumetric-clouds-in-unity

ShaderToy: Speed Drive 80

So cool. A retro, CRT-style, Tron-inspired procedural landscape. Check out the code for how the various effects are achieved.

https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4ldGz4

Tools

Unity Labs: List View Framework

Really nice to see Unity getting serious about UI components recently. While several asset packages exist for list views already, a first-party solution is very welcome. Looks to be modeled in a similar fashion to the iOS UITableView and Android ListView counterparts.

https://labs.unity.com/article/list-view-framework

UnitySteer

Open source project that provides ‘Steering, obstacle avoidance and path following behaviors for the Unity Game Engine’. I have played with this in the past and it offers behaviours for flocking, path following, and object avoidance – and lots more.

https://github.com/ricardojmendez/UnitySteer

NormalMap Online

Recommended by @schoenobates. Great little tool for producing normal maps from a heightmaps or photo. It uses WebGL, so is lightning fast.

http://cpetry.github.io/NormalMap-Online/

Video

Introducing C# Developers to Building Games with Unity

This video tutorial is aimed at people you are already experienced with C# and gives an overview of the high-level concepts of scripting in Unity in a project where the controller for a vehicle is constructed. A nice overview for newcomers and refresher for those already familiar with Unity components and concepts.

And Finally…

Halcyon Days: Interviews with Classic Computer and Video Game Programmers

Set aside a few hours to go through these. So much gold here.

Unity Dev Weekly