Have a Rift? Try Space Station Explorer - sorta playable
Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:04 pm
Ok, I have no game building skills at all. This is the first game-like thing I have built since copying BASIC code from magazines on my Commodore 64 at age 8.
However, I figure those who already have their Rifts (like me!) are itching to try anything Rift compatible, I know I am! I was expecting lots of dumb Unity rooms and hills to run around in, but none have arrived. So I built this. ISS Explorer:
Download link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9415628/ISS_explorer.zip
At the start of the experience you will find yourself atop a small platform above the International Space Station (free assets on the Unity store). Have a good look around. Look at you hands and note you are wearing an EMU:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extravehic ... ility_Unit
Then fall off and drift by the ISS leisurely. It's a pretty amazing structure. I'm pretty VR acclimated since I've had my Rift for a week, but your vertigo mileage may vary. Gravity is turned down very low, so it is a slow fall. Look back up at the platform you fell from.
Finally land on a large platform below the ISS. From here you can get a good look at it. There is even a Russian Soyuz docked and a fellow astronaut. I recognize this experience is totally lame (I built it in one evening with zero experience) but with the Rift, it really brings home the scale of the ISS. It is HUGE! I never really felt how big it was before today, and I worked on it!
Eventually, I'd like to turn this into a full blown EMU/ISS simulator. I already work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, so I will probably demo the Rift to some folks there. My dream project would be to implement space tele-presence using the Rift.
Anyway, let me know what you think. It runs at a steady 60FPS on my machine, but I have a Geforce 670.
Any advice on the following would be appreciated
(1) How can I make the player fly in Unity? Like noclip mode. I'm not afraid to dig into the scripts if needed.
(2) How do I make a nice space/earth background? Can I copy and edit the skybox from the Demo?
(3) Anything else.
If you think this is too lame to even post, also let me know!
However, I figure those who already have their Rifts (like me!) are itching to try anything Rift compatible, I know I am! I was expecting lots of dumb Unity rooms and hills to run around in, but none have arrived. So I built this. ISS Explorer:
Download link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9415628/ISS_explorer.zip
At the start of the experience you will find yourself atop a small platform above the International Space Station (free assets on the Unity store). Have a good look around. Look at you hands and note you are wearing an EMU:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extravehic ... ility_Unit
Then fall off and drift by the ISS leisurely. It's a pretty amazing structure. I'm pretty VR acclimated since I've had my Rift for a week, but your vertigo mileage may vary. Gravity is turned down very low, so it is a slow fall. Look back up at the platform you fell from.
Finally land on a large platform below the ISS. From here you can get a good look at it. There is even a Russian Soyuz docked and a fellow astronaut. I recognize this experience is totally lame (I built it in one evening with zero experience) but with the Rift, it really brings home the scale of the ISS. It is HUGE! I never really felt how big it was before today, and I worked on it!
Eventually, I'd like to turn this into a full blown EMU/ISS simulator. I already work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, so I will probably demo the Rift to some folks there. My dream project would be to implement space tele-presence using the Rift.
Anyway, let me know what you think. It runs at a steady 60FPS on my machine, but I have a Geforce 670.
Any advice on the following would be appreciated
(1) How can I make the player fly in Unity? Like noclip mode. I'm not afraid to dig into the scripts if needed.
(2) How do I make a nice space/earth background? Can I copy and edit the skybox from the Demo?
(3) Anything else.
If you think this is too lame to even post, also let me know!