Unity and the Raspberry PI?

Broadcom BCM2835 700MHz ARM1176JZFS processor with FPU and VideoCore IV dual-core GPU
GPU provides Open GL ES 2.0, hardware-accelerated OpenVG, and 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode
GPU is capable of 1Gpixel/s, 1.5Gtexel/s or 24GFLOPs with texture filtering and DMA infrastructure

source - http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/processor-microcontroller-development-kits/8111284/

Quite a few mobile devices use it as the GPU http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VideoCore

But don't most developers on the Pi use a flavour of Linux, and Unity can built to Linux or is it limited to (X86) and not ARM???

 

The raspberry pi, and particularly the pi 2 is very capable hardware. Most people's Unity mobile games could run on it just fine. The problem, last time I checked and still seems to me, the video drivers just have extremely poor performance on the android versions released for it.

 

Will Unity support Raspberry Pi with Windows 10?

 

Maybe with the mobile version of Windows 10 as I don't think the VideoCore IV is DirectX 12 compatible.

 

Why not just have the unity web plugin support for PI?
its a feasable option, given the low power of the pi and space limitations.
Would be awesome to stream a photon powered game to my pi, like a game of angrybots

 

Not really. I'm pretty sure the webplayer is a modified version of the standalone player, if it did support the Raspberry Pi then a standalone Linux ARM version is just as likely.

 

I would like the "Linux Headless Server" builds to run on a Pi.

This seems like a very obtainable goal...

 

The Pi 2 has Android running now, for a headless server that would work I'd imagine (Graphics are slow though so running games isn't a option ATM) I also wonder if it's possible to run a Windows store build on Windows 10 I imagine it's the same just without the fancy UI so maybe. Web GL should work but would be really slow, with UNet though perhaps it would be viable for a server.

 

For what are you all hoping the Raspberry support for? playing games or just wanting to tinker with it?

(I have both raspberry 1 and 2)

 

nice - I signed up for the connect win 10 image. might get around to grabbing a pi2 then, my piB will have to remain in pure linux land... (binfrmt_misc might be able to help a bit though...)

 

In my case I was thinking miniature Authoritative Server.

 

I'd like if it could play games and run a server and do some headless simulation stuff.

 

I've got a personal hobby project involving a mech game and custom controls using the Pi...which would be less of a pita to develop in Unity (my c++ is as rusty as the hull of the Titanic).

And note: WebGL isn't an option on the pi (at least in raspbian) because the X environment (in which the browser runs) isn't hardware accelerated . Otherwise, nw.js would be a nice alternative.

 

Why does it need to be on the Pi? Just because it's cheap or for use of things like GPIO?

 

Pretty much for both (cheap and GPIO), I could use one of the various arcade stick keyboard controllers to interface the controls, but I really wanted to put it into a custom arcade cabinet. I've got access to 3D printer (friend backed the micro) for custom sticks, and I've got access to printed vinyl graphics for the cabinet art (via another friend who runs a graphic design shop).

And with the GPIO I could also run some RGB lighting based on the average screen color or other events.

 

Why not try an alternative single-board computer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_single-board_computers

 

Mostly because I already own a Pi 2 and my budget for the project has enough left for the remaining hardware/electronics
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I had originally got it to make a Virtual On cabinet...but the only version I could legally emulate was the Dreamcast version, and I can't hardly find a Windows emulator that supports the twinstick peripheral, let alone a Linux build.

I'm currently attempting Urho3d, and it is letting my update my C++ knowledge (managed pointers!? nice!). But I still don't have a cross-compile toolchain set up, and I have to implement myself several things that Unity so blissfully implements for me.

 

Just wondering, what in a basic way, is the difference between x86/x64 and ARM processors?

 

ARM processors are RISC processors (reduced instruction set computing), while x86 processors are CISC processors (complex instruction set computing). The instruction set being the available machine code instructions (think Assembler).

 

Simply put they are different architectures. The ARM architecture is based around the concepts of a RISC architecture (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) and thus emphasizes a smaller set of instructions that often only perform one task.

Simpler architectures have the advantage that they require fewer components and thus are cheaper, use less power, and put off less heat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced_instruction_set_computing

The x86/x64 architecture is based around the concepts of a CISC architecture (Complex Instruction Set Computer) and thus emphasizes a larger set of instructions with some instructions performing multiple tasks.

Complex architectures typically have additional logic, beyond simply performing multiple tasks with each instruction, that allow them to execute some instructions out of order, better predict the flow of code, and have larger caches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_instruction_set_computing

 

This is probably worth a look:

 

So I just got notified that the Windows 10 IoT Core Preview is up. I don't hold out much hope, but I plan on giving it a look-see this weekend.

 

I think Unity should support RaspPi, if not the first, at the very least Pi2. All they have to do is to compile linux branch for Linux-ARM, see if it works, if works or could work with relatively small adjustments, just roll with it.

 

I'm fairly certain that Unity does now support the Raspberry Pi 2. If I'm not mistaken, the Windows 10 Universal App target allows for compilation for the Raspberry Pi 2. This requires that you install Windows 10 on your Raspberry Pi 2, but that just makes sense.

 

Never gonna install nsa spyware.

 

I found a statement in another thread by a Unity employee that it should work.

http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/un...al-apps-and-raspberry-pi.353718/#post-2287140

Support for universal binaries on Linux would be nice too. Or does Linux have a more modern equivalent to Microsoft's universal apps? Must admit I haven't kept up to date with it at all.

https://icculus.org/fatelf/

 

Hmm. I don't see how installing Windows 10 on a RPi would ever make sense!

 

Windows 10 on Rasp2 is different than Windows 10 on desktop. so i do not think that will work.

 

So exited!

 

Yes, it is different. But one of the big benefits of Microsoft's new Universal App system is that you can use their environment to build projects for any number of different platforms. And this includes the Raspberry Pi 2. (although not any previous versions of the Pi) The Windows IoT edition that runs on the Raspberry Pi 2 is able to run software that you compile using the Windows Universal App system.

So you would have to...
1. Install Windows IoT on the Raspberry Pi 2.
2. Install one of the latest versions of Unity on a separate Windows 10 machine. (the Universal App target was only recently added)
3. Build your Unity project for the Windows Universal App target.
4. Most likely, take the created Universal App project into Visual Studio, and build that sucker for Windows IoT.
5. Copy that compiled project to the Raspberry Pi 2, and run it.

 

Richard have you tried this workflow?

 

Sadly, no. I only have an older Raspberry Pi B+. So I haven't gotten a chance to dig into Windows IoT at all. I was planning on picking up a Raspberry Pi 2, but I'm really busy at the moment with other things that aren't game-related. So I wouldn't have the time to play around with it even if I did pick one up.

If anyone does have a Raspberry Pi 2, please give this a go and let us know how it works.

 

i have both rasp b+ and rasp 2. i wrote few simple applications for both. afaik there is no gui option for windows 10 rasp 2 edition. it works as target device. it is intended to work as a micro controller device. it is not like a pc. if you install linux it can work as a pc.

 

I don't have one but by default it seems to have some UI stuff like for settings and whatnot just not a full start screen.

 

I have now got a Raspberry Pi 2 and can confirm that Unity projects can run on it Performance seems to suck, but I won't discount it as usable yet! (Currently a cube rotating with no sky box and lowest quality settings gets around 10 or 15fps)

 

That is good to know, TylerPerry. It's unfortunate that performance seems so low. I am curious, what resolution were you running your project at? Scaling a project down to a lower spec, and focusing on 2D elements as opposed to 3D, would probably make for a more viable environment. But some testing would have to be done to know for certain. Still, good to know that the latest Raspberry Pi 2 is a viable platform for Unity builds through Windows Universal Apps.

 

It was running at 1920x1080 I think, I've tried changing the resolution in the config file but it does not seem to do anything. I want to try 480p or something, but It seems that because I'm optimizing to get a cube rotating it won't be usable for even simple 2D games.

I also want to try composite video but I don't have a breakout cable.

 

Ok, seems like it's not hardware accelerated

 

Yeah, that makes sense. I don't think the Raspberry Pi has a separate GPU. It will likely have support for OpenGL rendering, but it will be along the lines of Intel's integrated graphics, where all rendering is being done on the CPU. So you're not going to be squeezing high-level graphics out of the thing anytime soon.

Also, you will have to do more than just tweak a config file for adjusting the rendering resolution. You may have to adjust settings for your in-game camera, and will certainly have to adjust the target rendering resolutions in your project settings.

 

Does anyone have any info on Running a Unity app under Windows 10 IoT on Raspberry Pi 3B?

Can I just compile for Windows and run it? I'm waiting to get my Pi 3B.

BTW I suppose everyone knows Pi 3B has 1 GB ram, runs 4 cores at 1.2Ghz, has Wifi and Bluetooth built in. I think OpenGL 2.0 support in the graphics hardware..... I don't mind being corrected.... or even condescended to.... please chime in.

 

Technically it's OpenGL ES 2.0. Wikipedia has a bit of information on the VideoCore IV GPU but not a lot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VideoCore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL_ES#OpenGL_ES_2.0

 

You can compile and run but rendering does not use the GPU at all so it's mega slow. Microsoft has said they were working on a GPU renderer but that was when the Pi 2 launched and nothing has been said since.

 

They came out with the Raspberry Pi 3 not too long ago I wonder if that would run our Knight O.S. that we are working on, It will have Voice Recognition & Response and I hear that can be a little system intensive ?
Anyone work with anything like that on the Pi 3?

 

I just got a couple Pi3(woot) and just happened to see this thread. One slightly amusing scenario a coworker and I were playing with was running a game server on it with a open wifi network so whoever is in the same area could play games on it.

Not a really practical thing but I think it would be funny opening up your wifi list and seeing "Free Quake 3 server - join us!".

 

It would be cool to try that but with UNET!

 

Assuming you can build Linux headless server on it don't see why you couldn't pretty easily.

 

It's not possible (Unity has no support for ARM linux) but I'm pretty sure that it's possible to do a headless UWP on Windows 10 IOT.

 

With the new experimental OpenGL driver for the Pi would Unity3D be able to run on it now?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=139149

 

This could be interesting:
https://github.com/Microsoft/graphics-driver-samples

 

Or this http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016...ficial-android-support-to-the-raspberry-pi-3/
Android support = can run unity, I think