SusanGaSonG

I was, going to call this weeks’ article ‘And the Pain Continued’. However accurate it might have felt, it would not be an entirely genuine reflection of the week. There were days of pain and frustration, and there was at least one lesson learned, and a small break through. So.

Yes, there was pain with the VR project. I think I mentioned that I was supposed to include video, or that’s how I interpreted it. When I went back and read the rubric, I had other options. But for most of the week I was working under the expectation that it had to have video. The Google VR video player did not play nice. It did for a little bit but it was so flaky that just moving the player 5 inches seemed to break it again. I finally read the rubric more carefully and found that, I didn’t have to have as much video as I thought, and that, I didn’t have to have video specifically.

I got the minimum number of stations with video working, so I thought, and then started adding in just graphics for the other stations. There were a minimum number of stations required. And then the video broke again. I had decided that I was going to go with option two which was to include audio and graphics. I had a solution, that was probably not quite what they had in mind, but it would have met the requirements and allowed for the video to start working. It’s not what I ended up doing.

For this program, we are assigned a mentor, to help us stay on track and solve problems. Mine has been very helpful and encouraging all along. He was extremely helpful on this project. He found a way to get the video to work. The key was to not use the new Google VR video play setup but to just use the video player. I had looked at this other method before but was already getting frustrated and couldn’t figure out how to get it to work so I didn’t continue with it. I chose to continue down the path of beating my head against a wall. I took the method he illustrated and used it, with a minor change, probably also suggested by him. I enhanced the display a bit and got it all looking nice and was able to get all the videos to play.

I had one last clean up thing to do for it that was strictly a design thing and not related to the video. The method I used for navigation allows for greater freedom of movement. The way I implemented it, meant that you could actually find yourself outside the venue, unintentionally and with nothing to see. The solution to this was to add some sort of collision detection. In this case, it meant adding a mesh collider to every piece of geometry that make up the venue. Well, except the ceiling. I skipped that one. The nice thing was that as I added it, it chose the same mesh as reference for the collisions and so I didn’t have to do a lot of extra steps to get the right shape applied. I’ve included a shot of it running on my phone and a few from the view inside the editor.

Now, the VR ‘Night at the Museum’ project it complete. It’s been submitted, and reviewed and I’m moving on to the next segment. The pain, for now, has ended. In the interest of trying to get the project completed, I chose to not go to Taekwondo one night. I won’t be doing that again. Why? Well, for one, it didn’t do any good. More importantly, I get more from Taekwondo than just exercise and stress release. It does more than that. The focus it requires for that time is refreshing. It allows for not just my body but my brain to relax and that is often more beneficial than continuing to hammer away at a problem with brute force.

And finally. I had intended to do this regardless. The added bonus was that the project was done and not still hanging over my head. I went to the Blues Jam again, and I played. I not only played. I sang. When I was going the the Jams a few years ago, I tried singing a couple of times but they didn’t really work out. This time I chose something short, not too complicated, and a basic blues. The only other person that new the song was not in the band I was in so I had to sing if we were going to do it. I normally sing with an ‘inside voice’ because, I live in a condo and don’t practice some place else. I watched the guys get up there and belt out songs, and I with all the noise in the room otherwise, I figured out, I was going to have to put some extra power behind it. So I took a deep breath and let it rip. I remember my legs shaking part of the way through it. And several people have assured me that the performance was good, and in key. I sang ‘Merry Christmas, Baby’. It’s seasonal. I had so much fun just playing with the other guys on stage. Even the songs I didn’t sing. An added bit to that fun was, when one of the gents who helps run the jam noted that I had come back with a new skill. And I have photo proof. No video this time.

I had so much fun at the jam that I’m planning on going to the next one when they announce it. While I wait for that to happen, I’ll be trying to find another song, or two, that might fit my range and work with my play style so I can slowly build my repertoire. I’ll also be working on my guitar skills. I have some things that I know I want to learn to do and then there is just the practice.

I’m also working on the last segment of the VR class. I signed up for it. It started the day after I completed the museum project so not much of a break there. But that’s ok. I’m getting close. I haven’t looked at much of it yet so can’t give you an idea of what I’ll be facing yet. I’ll have that next week.

And for those of you celebrating this time of year, Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Yule, Happy Solstice, and for any I have forgotten, many heartfelt seasonal greetings to you and yours.