Category: Unity 2017

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Unity Brings VR Creation Tools to iMac Pro Developers

Unity Technologies has announced that the Unity development engine is now fully functional for development of virtual reality (VR) videogames and experiences on the new iMac Pro. The company worked with Apple, AMD, and Valve to ensure optimal integration for Unity development and performance on the Metal graphics API and Apple hardware.

Electronauts Screenshot2

The first of these immersive VR experiences, Electronauts and Gravity Sketch, were announced last week and are demonstrations of the ways that Unity developers can unleash their creativity on macOS.

“The release of the iMac Pro puts virtual reality into the hands of even more consumers and creators. With Apple’s history of making new technologies mainstream, this is an exciting time for Unity and our developers,” said Tony Parisi, Global Head of VR/AR Strategy at Unity Technologies. “The future of VR has never been brighter. Now is the time to dazzle, surprise, and immerse an entirely new audience into the world of VR.”

Electronauts, created by Survios, is promising to deliver an immersive music creation experience empowering all music lovers to DJ, perform and produce music. The Electronauts experience envelops the user in a world of audio, experienced and powered by VR. It is designed for users of all levels, and it empowers all music lovers to DJ, perform and produce great music.

“Electronauts‘ development process was one of near-constant creative experimentation and Unity allowed us to iterate quickly on our designs and rapidly prototype new ideas as the experience evolved,” said Nathan Burba, Cofounder and CEO of Survios.

Gravity sketch header

Gravity Sketch is a multi-platform 3D creation tool which gives industrial designers, automotive designers and to create 3D objects in a VR environment. Unity’s flexibility enabled the team to optimise Gravity Sketch for the iMac Pro.

“When we met with Unity we were blown away by how optimised Unity 2017 was for macOS,” said Daniel Thomas, CTO of Gravity Sketch. “It was easy to get Gravity Sketch up and running on Apple hardware. Thanks to Unity we are now able to reach an entirely new segment of creators, making it easier than ever for them to turn their ideas into reality.”

Unity is the world’s most popular real-time development platform, with more than 60% of the world’s VR and AR creations developed on the platform. VRFocus recently interviewed Parisi, and will bring you more details on the future of Unity’s AR and VR development platform later this week.

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Unite Austin Reveals What’s In Store

Unity is one of the most popular engines in use for creating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences. Unity Technologies will be celebrating the achievements of Unity creators at Unite Austin, where several AR-related events are lined up for attendees.

The event is due to take place at the Austin Convention Centre in Austin, Texas on 3rd-5th October, 2017. The main headliner will be filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, who is best known as the director of sci-fi film District 9.

The launch of Unity 2017.2 will also occur at the event, which will add support for Google ARCore toolset, along with extended support for ARKit, Vuforia and Microsoft Mixed Reality. The 2D Tilemap will also be added, giving creators a new way to create 2D worlds using Unity.

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There are more than 70 sessions planned, with features speakers and presentations from Nvidia, Samsung, Sony, Google, Microsoft, Vuforia and more. VR and AR focussed events on the schedule include:

  • Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality’ Postmortem: VR Lessons Learned – Owlchemy Labs
  • ARCore: Augmented Reality at Android Scale – Google
  • Facebook + Unity: Optimized for Growth – Facebook
  • Creating Content the VR Way
  • Easiest Way To Distribute VR from Unity
  • So you think you can Augment Reality?
  • Combining Unity and Tango/ARKit
  • Next Gen VR Avatar control in Unity
  • ARCore: Augmented Reality at Android Scale
  • Monetise your AR titles

Further information ad the full schedule of events is available at the official Unite Austin website.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Unite Austin and other VR/AR related events as it becomes available.

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MacOS High Sierra Update Brings VR Applications to Consumers

Early last month, Apple, Inc. announced that the forthcoming virtual reality (VR) compatibility would come via way of a MacOS update known as High Sierra. Closed beta access to the update came at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and now is available to all.

 

Apple - iMac HTC Vive

One of the biggest changes incorporated into the High Sierra update is an overhaul of the file organisation system. The new architecture, dubbed the Apple File System, replaces a system designed decades-old Macintosh hardware. The new system is optimised to take advantage of newer technology such as flash-based memory and is configured for better security. Exactly how much of an improvement Apple File System offers will only be known once more people have had the opportunity to work with it.

The operating system also introduced High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and – perhaps most importantly for VR developers – Metal 2. HEVC is a new industry standard for graphics that allows for up to 40 percent greater compression of video data. That means video files will take up significantly less storage space. Metal 2 adds new capabilities to the way the system manages the graphics processor, allowing it to take advantage of machine learning, external GPU support and VR output, including the HTC Vive.

High Sierra also includes optimised support for other VR elements, such as content creation applications like Final Cut Pro X, Unreal Engine 4, and Unity 2017, which all have VR development as a central component of their application.

 

Apple - Unreal - Star Wars

The High Sierra update is still considered beta, but no longer has any limitations on who may download it. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Apple’s VR rollout for Mac format PCs.

Posted on

MacOS High Sierra Update Brings VR Applications to Consumers

Early last month, Apple, Inc. announced that the forthcoming virtual reality (VR) compatibility would come via way of a MacOS update known as High Sierra. Closed beta access to the update came at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and now is available to all.

 

Apple - iMac HTC Vive

One of the biggest changes incorporated into the High Sierra update is an overhaul of the file organisation system. The new architecture, dubbed the Apple File System, replaces a system designed decades-old Macintosh hardware. The new system is optimised to take advantage of newer technology such as flash-based memory and is configured for better security. Exactly how much of an improvement Apple File System offers will only be known once more people have had the opportunity to work with it.

The operating system also introduced High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and – perhaps most importantly for VR developers – Metal 2. HEVC is a new industry standard for graphics that allows for up to 40 percent greater compression of video data. That means video files will take up significantly less storage space. Metal 2 adds new capabilities to the way the system manages the graphics processor, allowing it to take advantage of machine learning, external GPU support and VR output, including the HTC Vive.

High Sierra also includes optimised support for other VR elements, such as content creation applications like Final Cut Pro X, Unreal Engine 4, and Unity 2017, which all have VR development as a central component of their application.

 

Apple - Unreal - Star Wars

The High Sierra update is still considered beta, but no longer has any limitations on who may download it. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Apple’s VR rollout for Mac format PCs.