Unity Summer of Code

Hi wonderful people!

We've decided to have a summer-of-code like going on this summer (called Unity Summer of Code to celebrate our amazing originality).

Take a look at http://unity3d.com/usc/ for details and feel free to post any questions here.

Let's get this thing going...



Edit as of Monday, July 13th:
The application deadline has passed, applications are no longer being accepted. Thanks to those that did enter, good luck!

 

Pretty cool, is their a preferred document type that we should send our application documents in (.doc, .docx, .pdf, etc...)?

 

Excellent idea! Kudos to UT for doing this!

 

Would the community be interested in saying what they plan on submitting? Like, I already have some Facebook integration stuff I could use for this, but if someone else plans on doing that, then I would find something else, like Editor tools or game logic.

I just don't want overlap when it would be better if we diversified.

 

Are teams allowed? In otherwords, if a group of two or more people submitted and were approved would multiple pro licenses be available? One for each team member?

Can a trial version be used to construct submissions, or is this for existing license holders only?

--J

 

I love the idea! is this activity limited to PC/Mac (deployment targets), or are iPhone (et al.) submissions acceptable?

Thanks,

Galen

 

Nope, just make sure it's in a common enough format and we'll take it from there (we have Office/iWork/etc. so it's all good!).

Sorry but no, this is an individual effort.

We are not opposed to folks making submissions based off of trial license usage. With that in mind, we are looking for folks that have some Unity experience already so being an existing license holder definitely puts those folks at an advantage.

We have no specific restrictions with respect to deployment targets.


Keep the questions coming if you have them!

 

Thanks, Tom, for clearing that up. I'm definately interested.

 

Could you clarify what you mean by "teams aren't allowed"? I could enter individually, but would like to be able to accept help from a friend who's also into Unity development if at all possible. Ideally I'd be able to add his info to the application as well, but if necessary can only include my CV, etc. in the application, and accept his help on my own terms if my proposal gets approved.

Is that acceptable?

 

A couple of questions:
a) Will you accept already-made components (possibly with some new upgrades or features)? For example, the RTS engine I have on my site, with a little more documentation, could fit this bill, and I'd be willing to make it free for USC.

b) Can we make more than one submission and, if so, will you consider accepting more than one from one person?

 

I want to enter this, but I have a few questions. First, I have two ideas, can I submit two development plans and concepts with my email, and so that if someone else already has used one of my ideas you've accepted, I can use the other one? Also, is there an age limit? I'm only 15(can use parent's info for cash, licenses, etc.), but I sure would like to do this project both to improve Unity so I can use the features I have in mind(which I think would make using Unity easier and better in general) and for a little cash and Unity Pro. And I want to submit my ideas on the forum so people can see what I have submitted, so would that also be fine?

 

When do we start? When do we finish?

 

Can I apply with already started project, or do I need to start a "fresh" one ?

 

This is a program meant for individuals, as in one person working on a code project under the guidance of an assigned mentor. It is ok if you want to have someone on your end help you, but in the end the payment/license award goes to the _individual_ that officially submits for consideration.

We will consider those submissions but this is more about a combination of efforts, the mentorship as well as the result. Submitting already produced components sort of reduces the mentorship side of things and while that won't by definition rule you out it may possibly count against your application. But in the end it might prove worthwhile so submit anyway and we can consider it along with all the other submissions.

You are free to offer as many submissions as you like, but in the end we will only accept one submission from any individual. This is about quality, not quantity and so we'd rather work closely with you on one project and make sure that it turns out really well.

As per my answer above, yes, you're free to submit multiple ideas.

Yes, you must be at least 18 years old as of today, July 7th, in order to participate.

See my reply above, in-progress projects are not by definition ruled out, but you do need to have some clearly defined additions as this program is as much about mentorship as it is the final result. Otherwise this would be little more than a "let us buy your code" project, which it's not.

 

Hehe... Well, the project is started, but I think its only 10% done Lots and lots of features are missing, but it is a good start.

I'll send my entry tomorrow

 

Then you're on track as there is a lot to add so get your submission lined up and submitted, good luck!

 

What sort of timeframe would we be looking at attempting to finish our project in?

Will you be listing the accepted projects as they are accepted or finished?

Sammual

 

Applications are due July 13th, we will notify everyone of their accepted or not status by July 20th, projects are due by midnight August 31st. That allows for six full weeks of development time from the date of acceptance notification, but nothing is stopping folks from tinkering between now and July 20th.

We will announce the accepted projects on July 20th, from there we will require all accepted parties to make regular blog posts discussing their progress so folks can keep tabs on what's going on. Those posts will appear on our blog, whether via provided accounts or via some sort of aggregator effort on our part. Then upon completion we will do another announcement and of course post all completed projects to the Resources area on our website for all to download and use.

 

Things at work are a bit to busy right now for me to give this a shot but I can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

The things I most hope to see are;

What StarManta can do to his RTS engine in 6 weeks with UT help.

Tempest's Facebook integration (Six weeks and UT help should get us lots of examples of cool things we can do with Facebook data).

A old school TBS Hex map wargame Template game engines (Fantasy General / Panzer General).


Sammual

 

SUPPORT for UNITY 3D SUMMER of CODE CANDIDATE !

In support of Unity 3D’s "Summer of Code" initiative, we at www.dimeRocker.com would like to offer free office space for a lucky Vancouver candidate who receives support from Unity for their project.

You will be surrounded by like-minded Unity heads, given a desk chair in a cozy corner for you and your laptop, as well as full access to our humble amenities, including coffee throughout the week, and beer on Fridays.

Our offices are located in historic Gastown above the Steamworks Brewpub overlooking the Burrard inlet.

Those lucky individuals chosen by the gang in Copenhagen can forward their resume and brief description of their Unity-supported project to j.joly@overinteractive.com

We encourage other similar minded folk in other parts of the world to do the same in their community to help make this a Unity initiative a success!

 

"Hola amigos", im interested too in the Unity Summer of Code, today i´ll finish my Template "Ball Game" Engine. I´m two month old with this Game Engine but i must admit that this one´s the "easiest to use" game engine i ever seen(and I saw a LOT of Game Engines).

This Template maybe aid a lot of indie developers ´cause the most of them (or initiate indie developers) almost ever try to create a ball game for one or other reason.

"Ball Games" or (as i called) "Geometry Games" is the easiest and quickest way to create a game. And they´re very popular on Ipod and Web Application games.

it isnt the coolest idea, but the USC reason is got new resources to the newbie unity developers i mean... an this si very interesting for a newbie.

Thanks for the oportunity, HiggyB and all Unity staff!!!

 

This sounds like a fantastic opportunity, and should help Unity users get started much more quickly in future.

What would be the terms for the payment? Would it be paid in full within 30 days of deadline? What if the submission was not considered to be of acceptable quality?

 

How often do the submissions and question get reviewd by Unity staff and responded to? Only responses I am getting to my questions so far has to be automated messages and not from someone internal. I have updated my ticket to include a brief design document and link to a demo project, maybe the automated system is on perpetual response? That or someone is simply forwarding the same email to me over and over about "have a question read the front page", but unfortunately it doesn't answer either my question from the initial response, nor my design document questions. Just curious.

 

I'm very likely in. By definition, even being here as long as I have been, am still a indie developer (I suspect, and given my coding skills you all know that's true). I have started writing my proposal and am curious to see if anyone actually posts their proposal idea in abstract form here.

 

When it says pro license + 4000, is that a pro license of either Unity product (the regular engine or iPhone add-on) or just the regular engine?

 

Quoted for agreement and from the blog...

"If your project is accepted, Unity will pay you..."

Sounds like paid upon acceptance (ie 7/20-ish). What happens if the project isn't complete by 8/31?

 

Payment will be made upon project completion. If for some reason the effort turns out to be problematic and not up to our quality standards then we'll have to review those situations on a case by case basis. That may result in an extended deadline or perhaps non-payment. Throughout the effort we will be in regular contact and be on top of any problems early on so there shouldn't be any last minute surprises along these lines.

When you email that addy it goes into our bug/email tracking system so each send generates an automated confirmation email. I'm personally the one to do a first pass review on all submissions, you just submitted yesterday so relax a bit and wait for it, you've not been lost/forgotten/other.

I'll be doing a pass today as we have a few submissions, including yours, already in the queue.

If someone has Pro already and wants Unity iPhone Advanced then we'll be flexible on that and meet your desire. It's all the same on our end.

 

Thanks Higgy, you all are the greatest, and I think this is an awesome opportunity for Indies, the fact that Unity is putting there best foot forward and doing this is outstanding.

 

Great initiative, really. I'm too busy on current projects to participate, but here are some suggestions :


1) an evolution of the pixellightmapper script that would manage lighting and shadowing of objects and terrains together, possibly with HDR lighting, AO...

2) an audio/video chat module that would work with the web player

3) a mesh sculpting/painting tool that would allow to modify any object in the editor

4) a huge library of image effects

5) a full rain/snow sytem that would affect the environment (wet objects/terrains, snow layers...)

6) volumetric fog...

7) some natural erosion scripts for the terrain editor


I know, I know, dream is free...

Anyway, good luck to the participants and thanks UT for making the summer even more exciting !

 

I have one doubt. Today I finally end my Template "Ball Game" Engine and in the 1º therm to the submission says "Formulate a concept and create a basic development plan". ¿Can I send the "project document" in his place? (and the Project too...).

 

If your project is "complete" then it's not really an appropriate submission. The Unity Summer of Code is not a program through which we're simply looking to buy code/scripts/projects. The point of this program is for you to submit an application based on project work that you'll do this summer under the mentorship and guidance of Unity Tech staff. The goal being focused as much on the mentorship and learning opportunity for the applicant as it is about the end-result we post on our site later this year.



And a note to those that have submitted already: I've cleared the queue and have sent a reply to everyone that's applied so far (or that's sent in questions). If you don't see a reply from me, using the address usc@unity3d.com, then drop me a PM so we can sort that out. Thanks!

 

Sent my submission. One question I have is how much time would you require that each person needs to be able to put in each week?

 

Well... as fate would have it I will be submitting a proposal to do exactly that. 8)

In fact I've already done some exploratory work into editor scripts that perform optimised hydraulic, thermal, and shoreline hydraulic (beaches) erosion on the entire terrain. But I'd like to make it into a brush-able tool as well - as running lots of erosion iterations on an entire terrain object is reaaaaallllly slow.

Alternatively, was also thinking of proposing a proper headless server for multiplayer networking - maybe using Photon - but I guess that might not be directly Unity-ish enough for this kind of project. Plus, I think it would be a struggle to get something worthwhile done in a short timeframe.

 

"Enough". There is no fixed amount of time, but if during the process we feel that not enough is being put in, the project is being ignored, etc. then we'll have to take that up with the participant and sort things out. While we don't want to put specific hours-per-week requirements in place, the candidate does need to put in sufficient time to complete the project at a quality level worth posting to our site.

 

If a candidate is accepted, do you use tools such as vault or another change control tool where we can upload code to as it is complete or an area (other than the bug system which has mega limitations) where we can email packages to or files / content to? Possibly do you use Hamachi? Will all of this have to wait until we all find out if we are selected ?

 

Yup, it's called the Unity Asset Server.

We'll set up access and provide trial licenses as necessary so accepted applicants can easily commit/share code with their mentor. If both parties (candidate/mentor) opt to choose another solution then so be it, that will be up to the two of them to decide.

 

Proposal has been sent.

Looking forward to seeing the different proposals. I think this program will give Unity a real boost.

 

proposal sent too.

it´s the first time that I participate in an event like this...

I´m little worried if there are gramatical errors (my english writing isn´t too perfect) or if I left something.

Maybe I´m Worrying too many.

 

Are there any guidelines on what a "basic development plan" should contain? The basic concept? Feature list? Schedule? Preliminary designs?

If I send several but related suggestions (different variations of the same thing, basically, for you to choose from), do you prefer them all in one submission, or separately?

Lastly, what programming languages/technologies does one need to know in order to create, for example, editor extensions?

Edit: Any preferred page count?

 

Maybe It´s too late, but here is one amazing idea me (and I´m sure many other people) are willing to see:

* Avatar building subsystem template

If I had enough 3D experience I would apply this idea myself, but my background is in software development, so I´ll apply something that I have a chance to be successful.

R.

 

I sent in a proposal -- and kept it as short as I could: 1) because I'm lazy, and 2) because if I can't get the basic idea across in a few hundred words I don't think using more words will help and/or the idea is too ambitious to realistically attempt in the timeframe.

 

It will be exciting to see the great resources that come out of this! Wishing a productive and enjoyable summer to all those who get chosen.

 

Hi everyone,

I'm new around here, but I saw the above post and thought I might be able to help.

I'm currently trying to build a freelance proofreading resume, so if any of you would like a native English speaker to read over your proposal and make suggestions/corrections, I'd be happy to help (at no charge). All I ask is that you allow me to put your name and the title of your proposal on my resume. The deadline for submissions is only six hours away, but as long as your proposal is only a few pages I should be able to turn it around quickly.

And in case you're wondering, I will not steal your ideas or share them with anyone.

Please PM me if you'd like my help.
Ehren

 

To everyone that submitted last last week or over the weekend: I'm going to go through everyone's submissions today and offer replies ASAP, thanks!

We are a company full of non-native English speakers and so a few typos or grammatical errors won't put us off a solid idea (as long as the writing is in fact good enough to get that idea across of course).

No, there are no firm guidelines but you've hit on a few good items to have if possible. The goal with asking for a basic dev plan is to have you, the submitter, demonstrate that you've thought about things a bit, that you're giving your submission due consideration and not just "spamming" us with random spur of the moment thoughts.

Hmmm, tough to say. If they are "too similar" then it will be best to make it one submission and include the variations as options to be fleshed out or something. If they're not "too similar" then they're best left as separate submissions. You'll be walking a fine line there no matter what so do your best and we'll do ours in offering proper consideration of your ideas.

You need to be verse in scripting in Unity, so that means C# and/or JavaScript primarily (Boo of course would be welcome as well).

"Enough". Don't think of any of this as "I need to submit X lines of text" or "Y pages". Please do avoid long rambling blobs of text, we're not looking for 100 pages of thoughts. But with that in mind, please be complete and offer a proper description so that someone who's never spoken to you can understand what you hope to make if accepted.

 

Reminder: all applications are due today by 11:59pm CET

Please make sure that you pay attention to your own time zone as the deadline is based on CET (Central European Time). For example, those on the west coast of the USA must submit by 2:59pm PDT, long before our own midnight.


Don't be late! Don't miss out!

We have a high number of submissions and late applications will not be accepted!

 

Just to clarify: Is it CET or CEST (Central European Summer Time)? Or in other words, how long do we have left?

 

Two hours as of now.

I've just sent in my application.

 

I just submitted my proposal. Some ideas I had for projects that I'd personally find useful:

• Integration with physical computing platforms like Arduino and Wiring. The ability to have a Unity game affected by outside sensors makes for so many interesting possibilities. Such integration could be created using C/C++ plugins, but it'd be convenient to have a system that's "plug 'n play."
  
• Slick integration with databases, including the ability to view both local and remote databases in a window phpMyAdmin-style and watch as data changes. Right now I typically send data to a remote PHP script which talks to the database, but it'd be nice to cut out the middleman.
  
• A Cutscene Editor to facilitate easy creation of realtime cutscenes. It'd be like taking an extremely stripped down version of Final Cut (well, for the initial release) and allowing in-game cameras to act as the footage, dividable into clips and placed on a timeline view. This is the project I actually proposed. Perhaps I'll post the plan after the judging date for those interested.

A question: is it known how many participants will be accepted, or is this dependent on factors like the number of applications?

 

Oh my goodness!

I just sent the e-mail! Did I make it? Did I?

Damn you different time zones

 

testing for CET time?