Scribd
Upload
24 views

02b Section 01 Notes

This document provides an overview and instructions for a course. It includes: - An introduction welcoming students and emphasizing putting in effort and having fun. - Instructions on downloading and installing Unity, the integrated development environment (IDE) for the course. Students are advised to install Unity version 4.6.3. - An overview of the Unity editor interface and how to navigate it. Students are told the course will explain everything slowly. - Information on MonoDevelop, the code editor used with Unity, and how to set it up. - Guidance on debugging techniques like using print statements, reducing code to minimal examples, and assuming nothing. Students are told to listen to compiler errors and warnings

Uploaded by

Shi Yuan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
24 views

02b Section 01 Notes

This document provides an overview and instructions for a course. It includes: - An introduction welcoming students and emphasizing putting in effort and having fun. - Instructions on downloading and installing Unity, the integrated development environment (IDE) for the course. Students are advised to install Unity version 4.6.3. - An overview of the Unity editor interface and how to navigate it. Students are told the course will explain everything slowly. - Information on MonoDevelop, the code editor used with Unity, and how to set it up. - Guidance on debugging techniques like using print statements, reducing code to minimal examples, and assuming nothing. Students are told to listen to compiler errors and warnings

Uploaded by

Shi Yuan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 15

Welcome To The Course

In this video
Were excited because we see your improvement.
The more you put in, the more you get out.
Follow all the videos through.
Most importantly - have fun!

How To Use This Course

In this video
Get Unity downloading now, its big.
Challenge 1: Do a whole section alone.
Challenge 2: Large challenge videos.
Challenge 3: Mini-challenges.

Making use of these PDF slides


Think of the trees before you print.
You can click on links in PDF.
Also, remember to use search.

An overview of the interface

How to search for things

In summary
Section notes are for reference, no action needed.
Please do at least the mini-challenges.
Assets are near the start of each section.
Post feedback against specific lecture.
Consider HD video, and Closed Captions (CC)

Installing Unity

In this video
Checking the version you already have installed.
If 4.x installed,update to v.4.6.3 (not Unity 5 yet).
If 5.x installed, install Unity v.4.6.3 as well.
Finding Unity v.4.6.3 in Unitys download archive*
Installing and registering Unity.
* http://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

Get Unity 4.6.X Running


Your very first mini-challenge!
If you have problems try
Checking you have 10GB+ free space.
Rebooting your machine.
Installing again.

Unity, Your IDE and Your Files

In this video
How Unity and Mono (or your IDE) relate.
Create, delete and rename scripts in Unity.
Edit your scripts in Mono.
Save your changes to disc in Mono.
Unity will then read / run the script for you.

Introducing The Unity Editor

In this video
Take a look around the editor.
You can use Angry bots, or any other project.
Dont worry its just an overview.
Well show you everything slowly.

Moving around
Youll want a 3-button mouse*
Middle button click allows you to move.
Try zooming and scrolling around.
Grey shade shows what would be lost if changed.
* http://magicprefs.com to enable on Mac Magic Mouse

Set your play mode tint


Unity Preferences > Colours > Playmode tint.
Make it pretty noticeable for now!

MonoDevelop 101

Where to find MonoDevelop Preferences


In Windows go to Tools > Options*
In MacOS go to MonoDevelop > Preferences.

*Thanks to Thelmo.

Setting-up MonoDevelop
Go into MonoDevelop Preferences.
Text Editor > Behaviour > Indentation > Automatic
Take a look at the keyboard shortcuts.

MonoDevelop doesn't start on Win8.1


You may be able to solve the problem by
downloading a new version of glibsharpglue-2.dll
in your Unity\Monodevelop\bin Folder.
Find out more on the Unity Answers forum.
Thanks to Efim!

Saving & Closing Your Project

In this video
How to tell if your spirit is saved.
How to delete scripts (do this in Unity).
What files Unity saves and how to move them.
Saving projects and scenes in Unity.

How The 3 Languages Relate

In this video
A discussion of C#, UnityScript and Boo.
Why we chose to teach this course in C#.
Note Boo is phased-out in Unity 5.

How To Debug Small Programs

The Compiler is our Friend


Glory to our glorious friend the compiler. May his arbitrary rules
bring us peace and serenity for every step in our five year plan.

Listen to errors and warnings

Source of error will be above or on the line mentioned

Run a build in Monodevelop before testing in Unity


(use -B for OSX or F8 on Windows)

Understanding compiler-talk will take time and practice

The Rubber Duck Sensei


The four steps of rubber duck debugging:
www.rubberduckdebugging.com

Quack!

Assume Nothing!
Most bugs are due to incorrect
assumptions
List you assumptions before and after a
method is called
Prove your assumptions (copious amounts
of print() are called for)
You can write the assumptions down in the
code as comments, or better yet as tests

Remember the Mars Climate Orbiter: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter

The Minimum Viable Test Case


Remove code until you have the minimum possible amount of
code that exhibits the problem
Remove code step by step and check for the issue every time
At some point, youll remove the line of code that causes the
issue.
Less code is also much easier to reason about.

Lets do science!
Use the scientific method for Debugging
1. Make an hypothesis
2. Develop a testable prediction
3. Test the prediction
4. Repeat until tests concur
with hypothesis

Further Resources
Eric Lipperts great How to debug small programs
tinyurl.com/howto-debug
John Regehrs Scientific debugging:
tinyurl.com/scientific-debugging

How To Ask Good Questions

Why this video


Making it easier for someone to answer means youre
more likely to have your problem solved
The process will often solve problems before the
question is even asked
The attitude isnt just appropriate for game
development or programming, but for life in general

Good admin
Mark your question as [Help] and [Solved] at the
beginning of the title
Use a clear and descriptive title
Use full sentences with correct grammar and
punctuation

Write a good description


Describe your problem thoroughly, format it as a bug
report:
Observed behaviour
Expected behaviour
Steps to reproduce
List of things youve tried out already

Include all relevant information


Include errors and warning in full
Include version information
Use Screenshots generously to show the problem.
Take screenshots of both the entire window and
the specific issue.

Use a code hosting service


Code formatting on general purpose forums leaves much to be
desired
Use the right tool for the job:
http://pastebin.com
https://gist.github.com/
Post complete files, point people to the appropriate line
Screenshots are a reasonable alternative, especially if you

Create a Minimum Viable Test Case


Remove code that is not relevant to your problem
Make sure it still runs and exhibits the problem
This has several effects
Often solves the problem by highlighting the issue
Makes reasoning about the problem much easier
Makes it easier for others to find the problem

The Golden Rule


Write a question in the way youd like to be asked
Dont ask until youve tried 3 different things to
solve the problem yourself

The Secret
The effort spent asking a better question
solves the problem 75% of the time!

Asking better questions makes you a


better programmer!

Further Resources
Stack Overflows How to ask a good question:
http://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask
Jon Skeets Writing the perfect question:
http://tinyurl.com/stack-hints
Eric S. Raymonds How To Ask Questions The Smart Way:
https://tinyurl.com/smart-questions

Useful Resources

Using These Resources


No action is required at this stage.
This is just a reference if you want to explore.
We will signpost you to resources as we go.
Feel free to comment with useful suggestions.

You might also like