Virtual Reality and AI? - next challenge for a retiree

Oh btw ... I was in need for a new desktop picture for the new computer. Occasionally I drink a beer named "5,0". This means 5% alcohol. It is cheap and the cans are just black and white. They always print cool sayings on the cans. Lately it was: "Black is colourful enough." LOL! Pretty cool. I adopted it immediately for the new desktop background:

Really cool:

 

Well, the new Unity Hub doesn't work at my computer. No way, whatever I try.
Fortunataly I found the archive of older versions of Unity. So I checked the version wich is running on my old PC and started the download/installation of a similar one from this archive. That's really a big challenge via WLAN! 300-600 KB/sec! This must be improved in the future. No clue how to do this yet. I can't use a cable to the rooter. But it's absolutely necessary to improve this connection.

Uhhh ... took 3 hours. But I got an old but working version of Unity at my new machine. Let's see if I can use my 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator (a second one will arrive tommorow). Than check the VR-abilities of this version. But it should work, since "Virt-a-Mate" is made with Unity and I can move and rotate smooth there. Probably I will send a message to SimLab: "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish."

 

Uncool.
It seems there is just one plugin (asset) for Unity for my SpaceNavigator. But it moves the camera. Terrible! No way to switch to move the scene/object it seems. Clicking on "Editor" leads straight to "Microsoft Visual Studio" (C++). That's not really what I want ...

When I install Rhino3D on a computer with the global driver from 3DConnexion installed it just runs. It moves/rotats the object not the camera. Even bad SimLab Composer can handle it halfway good. What a mess with this Unity! Okay, looks like I shoud forget this issue and focus to work without my helpful SpaceNavigator :(

 

Oha! Unexpected, but very welcome: after some struggle with SimLab, I got a second license for my new machine! Still eight months left. Time enough to play around with it. Hopefully they will release version 9.2 within this time wich should offer free and fluid move and rotate. This will be the hurdle for further rent or final purchase.

Fortunately the license for my old computer wasn't locked (yet?). So hopefully I will be able to work at both machines if it suits to me. Depends to if my wife is watching TV or not four meters next to my new working place.
First of all I have to learn more about textures either in Rhino or in SimLab Composer. I don't know yet wich one is better or easier to use. I come from 3DS Max and both are strange to me regarding textures.

I will postpone Unity but use it occasionally to convert 3D models as assets for use in Virt-a-Mate.

All in all I think, that I am part of a crazy new era. As the author of Virt-a-Mate wrote at the bottom of the last invoice:

"Psst. Just wanted to let you know that you're actually changing the future of how art is made & funded. Keep being you."

I will ;-)

 

LOL! I was too quick. Starting the VR-viewer in SL Composer brings this message:

Maaaaaan! Why is all this sooooo arduous? I assume they generated a wrong license key ... another support request sent ... yawn!

 

Okay, SimLab VR-viewer is running. I had to delete the old appdata first ***roll eyes***
For tests I started Velyn Harbour from TESO:

Works good in VR. You can see all your mistakes immediately ;-)
Tricky part is: once I own such a 3D model I can use it for 3D prints as well. Nice side effect ...

 

Today I checked if my Unity3D can handle VR as well. It can! This would enable me to do many other things. But the amount of software I have to learn increased dramatically lately, pretty incompatible to my laziness. But probably it's worth it.

Parallel to this I found a few animated scenes in VaM resources. Some of them with sound and good facial expression. That's crazy!
The good part is, you can take over a character in VaM. Wich means you look through his eys and can move his head and hands ... ehrm ... to do do something ... LOL!

 

What do you mean by "truck thing"?

I went back to another old project instead today: U-boat type VIIC of the Reichsmarine during WW2, the nightmare of UK and US navy . Since I own some drawings I can build a halfway authentic model of it, at least of the inside of the pressure hull for VR. I once visited the last remaining boat of this class at Laboe close to Kiel in Germany. That was fascinating at one hand and depressing at the other. Once it was a high tech weapon and it was short before to win the war against UK in the early fourties. But it's really claustrophobic to be in this small steel tube! Not to speak about all the killed sailors and all the dead u-boat men when it turned into a really hard battle against the u-boats. Fortunately the Nazis didn't win. Nevertheless the machine itself was a masterpiece of engineering. And that's the way I see it as engineer. I mean they had no computers and calculation programs, no chance to make simulations of stability with computers, no way to run some software to organize all the processes of production and in addition it was war. Today (2019) we are busy with building an airport for our capital Berlin since 2006! And we live in peace. China built half a dozen big airports in this time. We were more effective in the dark past really. Probably "dark" is the keyword. Dictatorships (except Drug South America and Kill All Other Clans Africa) can free up unbelievable power ... puhhhh, wait ...

... I just run a new VR-project ;-)

 

Well, they made natural borders halfway good in Skyrim wich are traceably. In generally I prefer open scenes more or less without limits like in Red Dead Redamption 2.

Regarding the Pitbull. I made only some parts for the car for a 3D print project. I'm not really interested in making a good model for VR. Not enough interested in it. I already made a small showroom with EU vehicles:

I can make a SimLab VRpackage for those who own a compatible device.

 

Standing in the command room. Unbelievable how small and narrow everything is. The dark brown ashlars are dummies for the bunks. 60x185 cm each except commanders bunk with 65x200 cm left behind the avatar (he looks toward stern).

There were 28 bunks only for 40 men including two exclusive for the commander and the engineer. One toilette for all.

Standing in this VR enviroment it appears way smaller than it was shown in the movie "Das Boot". This is really crazy.
I didn't make the cunning tower yet. But I added a pretty rough model of the outer hull long time ago:

I entered the top of the cunning tower in VR. And I must say, it should be part of my final model. At least to be able to see the sky occasional and smoke a cigarette. I checked TurboSquid for a better 3D-model of it. But all models ($10 - $199) arn't good enough. I doubt that I will build my own model. I own the drawings:

But it's really too arduous for me.

 

CRAZY!
Today I was searching for informations and pictures of the diesel engins for the boat and stumbled over this:
https://blenderartists.org/t/cutaway-type-vii-u-boat-wip/1119855
I asked immediately if I can use his model ... let's see ...

 

Wish you luck :)
Beside of this you may check out my Pitbull model. Here it comes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rg5g9sUP7bX1vd3WOwga0JVhhCPlJblf/view?usp=sharing
Do what you want with it. Could be a good sparring partner for mechanical simulation. Even ask your friend to print the parts. Probably some fun ...