One unity instance, two unity windows? - unity3d

When I run my application I want Unity to open two windows. The windows will have different cameras but both will view the same world.
Is such a thing possible? (I haven't been able to find any evidence to suggest so)
I know I could achieve this with two unity instances but I need one.

Actually, a recent update to Unity added support for multiple Displays, which do what you're describing. You can read about them here.

Unity has no built-in support for that. You'll have to design around it or develop something on your own.
I have heard of some people attempting workarounds with multiple processes which communicate via networking or IPC. You could potentially create a separate launcher application to control that.

If you're not looking to have two different physical windows, but just side-by-side views of different cameras, you can adjust the viewport rect.
Change the position as well as width & height to render cameras side by side or however you'd like.
For a bare bones demo of this, you can get a sample project using Git at https://github.com/bkevelham/multicamerademo.git

I think the solution is to create another Unity Project and open it with the first one ! after use Network Server (multiplayer component) to start a communication between windows.

Related

how would I find all the places in all blueprints where there is a call to ParallelFor()?

I'm trying to fix some incorrect calls to ParallelFor() that are appearing in performance profiles. I can't seem to find it in the Blueprint scripts in the Unreal Engine 4 project I'm working with. The Unreal documentation is sparse, and only tells me how to use it in C++.
Any ideas? I'm really concerned that I can't do a plain-text search for functions like this inside the Blueprint scripts. The Unreal Engine dev forums didn't help. The existing search mechanism via the search boxes appears to be for variables.
Using grep in the project folder fails.
There are many factors to muti-threading speedup, number of cores, utilization, memory, scheduler...
The problem may be external to the code.
On to the question:
Many of the built-in blueprint functions are implemented natively in C++.
I would suggest looking at the profiler call stack(tree view); Follow it up to something named similar to a node. This technique may fail for cross thread dispatches.
You will have to download the source code and look there to find the calls.
The other way is to build a debug build(with symbols) of the game and attach a debugger to the process.
The call was built-in to the framework in my case.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
You can easily search trough all your BPs from withing the editor with
CTRL+SHIFT+F or window -> developer tools -> find in blueprints.
You get also there from within a blueprint, CTRL+F enter what you'r looking for, and on the right side there is kind of a book symbol in the same line where you can search all blueprints.

Is there a way to convert a game made with ImpactJS to Unity?

I know that is possible export Unity projects to WebGL, but is there a way to use code from a ImpactJS project on Unity?
I checked the web for converter and found none, so unless I missed something, what you are trying to do is impossible.
There is always a way to convert. Sometimes it may require some manual fixing. Generally most languages are similar enough that you can automate many parts. The art assets are often re-usable, for example.
No. Unity converts it's own framework and system of gameobjects and c# code that you write into WebGL code.
However, if you have computing and business code that does not do much with the canvas/UI then that code can be copied over somewhat. For code that is purely computational or business logic, you can use any online tool to convert javascript into C# code with some success.
My guess is that if most of your code dealt with the canvas and UI and interaction, that none of that code will be able to be reused.

Flash cs6 and Flash Builder, workflow

I wish I could pose more specific questions on this topic, but what I'm really looking for is a bird's eye view - a blog post, something from Adobe, documentation or even a book that outlines an approach, because I've had a tough time finding something comprehensive.
I've primarily been developing in a 2 man team with Flash Pro for years - an artist and developer. I've also worked in larger teams, using the same workflow:
AS code written as class files using Flash Pro editor, with minimal code on the timeline (only stops and an occasional function call when the timeline hits a certain frame).
Library assets are linked to AS3 classes where needed
Assets are placed on the main stage & main timeline, for maximum convenience of the designer.
Apps are published and built by exporting to swf with Flash Pro
No source control whatsoever except telling each other if we are going to change the fla.
Our shop is on the verge of bringing in more coders to develop a series of Flash browser games, and I'm thinking it's time to bring this workflow into the current reality. We'll want to have something that suits both artists and coders (minimizing complaints from either camp), as well as git support for source control.
Finally, my questions:
How are most developers authoring games currently? I've read a popular approach is to create art assets in a fla using Flash pro, link them to classes and export to a SWC. Code is then developed in Flash Builder, where assets are embedded.
If I take the SWC approach, is all code stripped from the timeline of MovieClip assets?
I'm aware that Flash Builder has an option to create a 'Flash professional' project which integrates the two and seems ideal, but going back and forth between Builder and Pro seemed to be crash prone. Does anyone use this approach reliably?
Will CS6 give us any advantages over CS5.5 to make it more developer friendly; ie. code-completion, etc.
Is there a way to set up workflow so the artist could make changes and then build/run the game from Flash Pro, and the developers could do it from Flash Builder - or would everyone need Flash Builder to run?
Are there any good 3rd party tools that provide code completion and an all around better development environment then the flash IDE (as an alternative to Flash Builder)?
Do people see Flash Builder as a 'must have' when working in teams or in general Flash dev?
Thanks for answering any part of these questions, or just simply sharing your experiences, opinions, and personal preferences. Any knowledge will be a big help at this point!
That is a lot of questions for one question. I'll try to somewhat cover the main topic of workflow.
The approach you describe with a pure ActionScript project with swc:s linked in is probably the most common approach (at least when it comes to more complex projects) as you want to separate code from content as much as possible. Usually I work with one artist so we sync up on functional design and then I define how the scene objects should be structured (i.e. a container clip, with XYZ child clips, naming, linkage and everything) to make it fit in with current framework or new supporting code.
You do not want any code in the flash pro timeline whatsoever, you want it all in your ActionScript files. Ideally as a programmer you shouldn't have to go into the flash scene project. However, in reality you probably will. I usually try to keep this to my own placeholder scene so I don't contaminate the production files with test and placeholders. You also really don't want several people editing in the same scene at once. One approach is to split up into several different scene projects. If you make a card game you could have something like this: card.swc, mainScene.swc, opponents.swc. That also allows for some concurrency if you are working with multiple artists.
Keeping the flash pro files in xfl format makes it a bit more source control friendly and you could actually merge two versions of the same scene but it can be a bit complex at times.
I usually solve this by making quick functional placeholder graphics that can later on is replaced by an artist (or render graphics from code).
When it comes to IDE:s, I think the most popular ones are FlashDevelop, Flash Builder and IntelliJ IDEA (With Flash Builder as my personal favourite). Get started with one and try some of the others in due time. Make sure the functions you use all day long are really good. However, if you have only been working with the flash professional environment before anything will be a drastic improvement on productivity.
I for one prioritize searching, refactoring and ease to follow the program flow, which simplifies debugging and getting into other peoples code quickly. But it all really comes down to finding a tool that runs on a frequency you can tune your mind into.
I hope that answered some of your thoughts and questions. Do not hesitate to follow up with more of them.

How to draw a blueprint for a designer for iOS?

I want to show my designer something so he ccan build it for my iPhone app.
Is there any website or tool in which I can easilie draw something with iPhone patterns or something and show him what I want to have?
some easy and free tool I have been using in the past: http://mokk.me/
But beware - it's still in beta, but compared to other tools which require either Adobe AIR ( http://www.balsamiq.com/ ) or are bound to a single platform (Mac, Win) and somewhat expensive this is a really good way to draw mockups for an iPhone App.
These are some of the tools for iOS. But most of them are at a cost. you can try whichever is convenient for you.
http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnigraffle/
http://graffletopia.com/
http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/iphone-gui-psd-v4/
http://balsamiq.com/download
http://keynotopia.com/
https://gomockingbird.com/
Another approach would be to use the "Storyboard" feature within newer versions of Xcode. Even though it's designed to produce actual interfaces for programs, it also works well as a high-level design tool for describing a sequence of screens and how they relate to each other.
In my current project, I'm not using a storyboard for the actual UI (because I need a little more control over view logic than it allows) but I do use it to sketch out how the visual portions of the application should appear and how they should interact with each other.

Can I use Xmonad togather with Compiz Fusion?

I've got pereference about using Gnome with Xmonad, and there's alse blogs about using Xmonad in Unity-2d.
Persionaly, I really like the way Xmonad manages windows. Also, the way Compiz places workspaces is great, I was travalling among a 4x4 wall of workspaces when I was using Unity. So I really want there was a way to combine them togather. But it's hard to make my own idea as I'm still a green hand.
Is there any implements about all those so far?
Short answer no.
Unity just a compiz plugin. Compiz is a compositing manager and Window Manager. What you want is for Xmond to support neat effects like Compiz does. To do so someone would have to write haskell bindings so that xmonad too handle compositing effects. Needless to say this is not trivial.
It would be far simpler to write a Compiz plugin to handle window tiling effects..