Unity

This section provides an overview about working with the Unity game engine at the CRAIVE-Lab.

Version

When using Unity at the CRAIVE-Lab, it is always recommended to use the latest Long-Term Support (LTS) version for best stability. You can download this version in Unity Hub, which can be found here.

Currently, the oldest versions supported at the CRAIVE-Lab are 2022.3 LTS.

Special Asset Packages

You can download all assets specific to the CRAIVE-Lab both at the GitHub page and at the Unity Asset Store. These assets, along with their documentations, are updated on a regular basis to reflect the state-of-the-art condition.

Some of the assets has dependencies on other packages and software. Before using the assets, please ensure that you have all required dependencies stored in your own device.

Digital Twin

See Step-by-Step Guides: Use FPS Controllers in Unity for more information.

You must install the Cinemachine package within your project in order to use the panoramic camera. In addition, if you are using the FPS extension, you also must install the new Input System package.

Soundscape Renderer

Currently, the most reliable way of rendering spatial audio at the CRAIVE-Lab is through the use of Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol. A special asset package is available to facilitate such rendering, and is available via GitHub and the Unity Asset Store.

The CRAIVE-Lab's spatial audio package uses Unity and Spat 5 in Max 8. If you are interested in offline usage, please download Max and Spat, and adjust the network configuration within the package accordingly. More information about this is available in the Max + IRCAM Spat section.

Exhibit

Exhibit is a user-interface (UI) tool within Unity that can facilitate 2D (discrete) and 2.5D (enveloping) presentation at the CRAIVE-Lab with seamless transition to any 3D interactive contents. In 2D presentation, it can be used in conjunction with the soundscape renderer.

Learning Materials

As the largest game development platform in the industry, Unity has a plethora of learning resources widely available online. The development community is also very supportive. Here are some suggested materials that you can take a look at for the better use of all tools available in the Special Asset Package:

Official resources

Item	Description	Timeliness
Unity Manual	Official user manual.
Unity C# API	Official documentation for C# scripting.
Unity Learn	Step-by-step guides for getting things done.
Unity Asset Store	Off-the-shelf resources you can find for your own Unity projects.
Unity Forum	Q&A forum for your questions about Unity.
Roll-a-Ball	A comprehensive tutorial playlist walking you through the basics of almost all aspects on Unity gameplay.

Tutorials

Item	Description	Timeliness
Sebastian Lague	Official documentation for Unity C# Scripting.
Ray Wenderlich	Official documentation for C# scripting.
Catlike Coding	Dutch developer Jasper Flick’s tutorials that teach you how to code in Unity from scratch.
Brackeys	Dutch developer Jasper Flick’s tutorials that teach you how to code in Unity from scratch.
Alan Zucconi	Q&A forum for your questions about Unity.