UNITY: 3D-Motive C# Vol1 Notes

Notes: 

04: Creating Hello World Application

• - print ("hello world");   prints "hello world" to console
• - every script has to be attached to a game object to run
• - USE THIS INSTEAD OF PRINT COMMAND:
• Debug.Log("hello world");

05: Variables

• are most important in programming
• storing information for health, ammo, money etc.
• the way computers remember data
• "public" variables show up in the inspector, and also can be accessed by other scripts.

06: Writing Expressions with Variables

• use "instantiate" for shooting objects
• variable = variable -1;  // equivalent to decrement --

07: Enumerations

• enumerations are lists of things
• "enum" instead of "int", "float", etc
• public enum Weapons {Pistol=0, Rifle=1, ChainGun=2, Plasma=3};
• public Weapons WeaponWeAreCarrying;
• inspector only shows variables, not enumerations
• once "Weapons" is turned into a variable, it shows up as the variable name and appears in the inspector as a LIST.

08: Constants

• consider constants (const) as shortcuts.
• cannot change over time or be manipulated (just like Arduino CONST)
• label constants in UPPER_CASE, to delineate difference between it and variables.

09: Conditional Statements and IF

• for "out of ammo" scenarios 

10: For Loop

• weapon modes (shotgun vs handgun)
• for doing similar repetitive tasks
• example:
• for (int = i; i < 3; i++){
• does something
• }
• "i" is very popular to use because it stands for "iterator"

11: While Loop

• can be used to dump all ammo available
• example:
• while(ammo > 0){
• does something
• }

12: Functions Introduction

• void = return data type for things that don't return anything
• encapsulated set of instructions

13: Events Introduction

• Special function that's called automatically by Unity
• example: "Update()" and "LateUpdate()" // called once per frame
• Space.Self = applies transforms relative to local space
• http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/ScriptReference/Space.Self.html

14: Function with Arguments and Returns

• Create a weaponFire function instead of calling the code directly.
• EXAMPLE in "PlayerControl" of Project
• Functions can have a string output in it as a return so it can be dumped to Debug.Log();
• Using functions can save an enormous amount of work

15: Classes Introduction

• a class is a way to organize a collective of all sorts of behaviors
• can contain variables, functions, etc.
• Usually, classes are contained in one script each

16: Rotating Objects with the Transform Class

• put instructions under "Update()" because it's redrawn every frame
• allows for illusion of 'continuous motion'
• Check Unity reference manual routinely to see what functions inside classes do
• " Time.deltaTime " is equivalent to "per second"
• tranform.Rotate (0, 90 * Time.deltaTime, 0, Space.Self);
• calls the transform class function "Rotate", and rotates 90 degrees per second.

17:  Unity Class Documentation (navigating the site)

• Runtime Classes
• list of all the different classes that gets things done
• clicking on a class will reveal all the functions within the class
• STUDY: Unity Classes Reference
• http://docs.unity3d.com/Documentation/ScriptReference/index.html

18: Derived Classes Introduction

• not used ALL the time, but can be handy if objects share behavioral functionality.

19: Extending a Class

• useful as a class modifier
• Example: "Enemy" and "SuperEnemy" modifier
• change from:
• public class SuperEnemy : MonoBehaviour {
• change to:
• public class SuperEnemy : Enemy {
• instructions are inherited from "Enemy" class, along with the "SuperEnemy" instructions
• extends functionality

20: MonoBehaviour

• by default, all Unity scripts derive from "MonoBehaviour"
• Javascript automatically derives from MonoBehavior, but C# and Boo you have to explicitly derive from MonoBehaviour
• explore MonoBehaviour