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Will there ever be an iPadOS version of Unity Editor?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Randy-Edmonds, Mar 24, 2020.

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  1. Randy-Edmonds

    Randy-Edmonds

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    The iPad Pro is getting so fast...

    upload_2020-3-24_15-25-27.png

    ...and, as of iOS 13.4, Apple is fully embracing "mouse" support on the iPad.

    The CPU and GPU are fast enough that I could do Unity iOS development on it (it's actually faster then my 2013 MacBook Pro).

    All this raises the question, Will there ever be an iPad version of the Unity Editor?
     
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  2. Murgilod

    Murgilod

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    Extremely unlikely.

    Also, it doesn't really take much to outdo a 2013 MacBook Pro, even the high end models.
     
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  3. Randy-Edmonds

    Randy-Edmonds

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    There is a lot of talk about Xcode for iPad.
     
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  4. Murgilod

    Murgilod

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    Okay, so? Apple's personal dev tools don't really mean much in the grand scheme of things. The simple fact of the matter is that there are probably fewer people running iPad Pros than there are running Ubuntu and even getting a Linux IDE took ages.
     
  5. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    ios dev on ios would be great!
     
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  6. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    From Apple? Way back when I did iOS dev they had a very clear stance about not allowing code compilation on their mobile devices.
     
  7. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    I believe there will never be an iPad version of Unity Editor.

    Mostly because mobile devices with touch controls are poorly suitable for this kind of work.
     
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  8. Ryiah

    Ryiah

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    Would it truly be great though? I have a touch screen laptop and while it's acceptable for occasional development and play testing using the keyboard and trackpad, it's completely unusable for anything requiring any degree of precision with the touch screen and I simply don't see that being any different for iOS.
     
  9. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    Are you not able to use a keyboard / mouse with an iPad Pro?
     
  10. Ryiah

    Ryiah

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    You can use them. Is typing on a keyboard attachment a comfortable experience?

    Edit: A little bit of searching shows there is an HDMI adapter for the USB-C port. You could hook it up with a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor.
     
  11. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    You can hook a normal computer with a keyboard a mouse and a monitor too.
    What's the point of trying to do that with iPad?

    I mean mobile devices follow slightly different paradigm which makes workiing with multiple applications on them uncomfortable.
     
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  12. angrypenguin

    angrypenguin

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    Well, I do it on my Surface on a regular basis, so... yeah? I don't know if there's attachments of an equivalent design to that, though.

    Well, if an iPad is what you've got I can understand wanting to use it.
     
  13. Antypodish

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    Maybe when person is highly mobile. But as mentioned, I don't imagine any sensible work without keyboard and mouse. Sure there are foldable and small versions of IO hardware. But even screen size...

    Yeah, that's an option, if there is no other alternative, like a laptop.
     
  14. Murgilod

    Murgilod

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    A 13 inch iPad Pro starts at a thousand bucks and that'll only get you 128gb of storage. The 11 inch model starts at $800, but if you're slapping a monitor, keyboard, and mouse on top of either of those you might as well get literally almost any laptop.

    Not to mention the earlier stated issues like code compilation, things like porting the Unity Editor to iOS, and the really limited amount of people who are going to be using an iPad Pro for this sort of thing in the first place.
     
  15. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    But why? Why would you want to code on iPad? It is uncomfortable.

    I had a tablet before, and while it is possible to attach usb devices to it, I don't recall having an urge to program on it. This thing has specific uses, and text editing is not one of them, even with keyboard attached.

    For mobility I suppose default choice would be a laptop.
     
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  16. Ukounu

    Ukounu

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    This kind of rhetoric reminds me of...
    "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." – Ken Olson, 1977
     
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  17. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    Unfortunately, iPad is not an improvement compared to PC/notebook.

    So trying to switch to one makes me thing about writing program code on a clay tablet, stuffing it into image recognition software, and then compiling that on a cloud solution with subscription fees, only to receive program output via snail mail delivered by a drone.

    Very novel indeed, but not very useful or efficient.
     
  18. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    I bought a Brydge keyboard for my iPad 10.5. Nicest laptop I ever owned.
    (ios needs a little more time to develop files and folders. It's a start)

    Keyboards and mice have had bluetooth for like a decade now, Fred Flintstone.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
  19. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    A "little more time" to "develop files and folders" in 2020. Yeah, sure.

    If you hacked it and installed linux on it, then at least I'd see the point.
     
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  20. wetcircuit

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    True. ios is not a developer environment. Screen too small for me to do graphics work, and interchange of files between open programs is non-existent.

    But the inverse can also be claimed about Unity on desktop:
    AR will never truly develop to its potential while being crippled by desktop development.

    Can't be out in the world developing the next gen of mobile whatever when you have to lug around a 23" 4k screen, 2 external hdd, a full-sized keyboard, and a trackball…. tsk tsk.
     
  21. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    And that apparently makes me fred flintstone.

    You're assuming that AR must mean "mobile", while mobile as it is now is likely not the technology suitable for AR application in the first place and a different device will appear in the future. That is, assuming the AR will catch on.

    It isn't hard to imagine a setup where an AR devices are controlled by a central node which communicates with nearby clients wirelesly and handle the presentation being received by them. The central node would be a desktop, or an equivalent of "AR server"

    Besides, desktop workstation is a development tool. It is supposed to be powerful first. By butchering iPad and removing iOS from it, you'll get an awkward version of desktop. However, like @Murgilod already said, there are laptopts for that already. So what's the point?
     
  22. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    Also, DUH ever heard of Visual Scripting, Fred Flintstone?

    iu-114.jpeg

    What could be more natural than A TOUCH SCREEN where I can pinch/zoom, scroll, and connect nodes with my hands? Programming would be 100x faster than the ol' 1-finger scratch-n-sniff poketty-poke with a mouse button.

    What century y'all living in? Y'all still sticking your feet out the bottom of your stone-age car to make it go! :p

    (Actually, I'd probably use the pencil for this. The Apple pencil is kind of amazing really)
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
  23. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    Yeah, it is S*** for most tasks, shines in 5% of application, has horrible readability compared to code, does not scale well and people trying to use it often try to convince themselves that they're "totally not programming", then spent hours organizing spaghetti in the perfect way, except doing that requires more self-discipline and willpower than learning C++.

    The example you provided is a shining example of poor design in a visual scripting tool, although there are worse ones out there.

    It is a decent tool for learning cable management though.
     
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  24. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    Your feet are dirty.
    iu-9.gif
     
  25. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    Programming with visual scripting is significantly slower by default, and a more natural interface to using only two fingers on one hand (while ignoring other hand and other 8 fingers) would be an input device that requires no muscle movement and allow me to input things at at least 50 thousand characters per second.

    That would be a start.

    Sadly, that requires brain computer interface and retina projected HUD. HUDs exist, not widespread, BCI is not even on a horizon.
     
  26. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    No, I just have clearer vision of efficient programming in the future. iPads and visual scripting aren't it.

    Anyway, do you have anything better to do compared to trying to taunt me?
     
  27. wetcircuit

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    Yeah, I would add some buttons on the side of the tablet, and a couple on the pencil… Wacom Centinq does it right.
     
  28. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    Dude, lighten up. We are having fun here.
     
  29. Antypodish

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    How do you even follow efficiently this mess?
    Arrows left, arrows right, up and down all over the place.
     
  30. Ukounu

    Ukounu

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    And smartphones, with their tiny screens and bad sound speakers aren't an improvement for watching movies compared to cinema theaters, so there isn't a single chance most people will prefer to watch movies on their mobile devices instead of going to cinema, right? ;)
     
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  31. wetcircuit

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    It's called "body mapping' and 'muscle memory'. Let's look at your code and see if it's easy to find everything.

    How do you remember which drawer you put your socks in?
     
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  32. Antypodish

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    It works, if you got constant layout. If you start changing it, you need readjust and relearn.
    I tend to no move socks between drawers. They got constant storage location.
     
  33. wetcircuit

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    Oh, I see, So you've only ever made 1 game.
    And then you just remake the exact same game every time.

    That's a… strategy... for innovation.

    Not sure why you can't build node-projects consistently or logically. I guess that's just you.

    Also assuming someone else does the grocery shopping in your household, as you might get awfully lost and confused.
     
  34. Antypodish

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    Not only you are unable to replay to quotation, looking for an argument out of thin air, you appears have no much idea about DOTS. Otherwise your comment would be rather more thoughtful.
    Besides, because I posted few information on the forum, it tells you nothing what I have done in past and not. So please stay aside with absurd remarks.

    Are you tend looking for arguing, or can we stick to the thread topic?
     
  35. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    Are you changing the subject to DOTS so you can hawk your links?
    I'm sorry, I'll have to report this as spam. It's clearly off-topic.
     
  36. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    You don't. You print it on paper and place it on the door, with a red label "don't do this ever again". Then you throw darts at it. And when your employees produce spaghetti, you make them wear a t-shirt of shame which ahs this picture printed.

    That's its only use.

    If you want a slighlty better example, this is the stuff I came up with on unreal side while implementing unity shader material.

    upload_2020-3-25_16-47-49.png

    upload_2020-3-25_16-48-22.png
    upload_2020-3-25_16-49-18.png

    This is "staticToggleBlendColor":
    upload_2020-3-25_16-48-58.png

    Basically, it is an equivalent of a circuit design. Also it is annoying to work with.

    This:
    upload_2020-3-25_16-50-10.png

    Is functionally equivalent to this:
    Code (csharp):
    1.  
    2. return float3(n1.xy + n2.xy, n1.z * n2.z);
    3.  
    The verbosity of visual scripting is astounding.

    On related note, apparently that's why VHDL/Verilog exists.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_description_language

    Does your sock drawer have two hundred thousands drawers that rearrange themselves in random order every day while changing shape and color? Because things do not stay in place and change all the time.

    Muscle memory is not different from normal memory, and that one stops working when program becomes book sized. In case of programming it is a dead end approach.

    And yes. In well organized program you can quickly find everything. Be it a toy project or multi-hundred-megabyte behemoth. Doesn't work the same way with visual scripting though.
     
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  37. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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    Umm… no. No they do not.

    My node projects (in whatever app) do not "re-arrange themselves" nor do they "change shape and colors at random". That has never happened. Nope. Not once.

    If yours do… well… idk what to tell you. Something is very wrong in your home.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
  38. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    Then you should learn programming before praising visual scripting and claiming that it is the future.

    Unreal engine, for example, is 300 megabytes of code. That's over one hundred books worth of material telling computer what to do. Windows OS repository hosts 3.5 million files in it.

    And "stone age" code handles this kind of complexity perfectly. Try rewriting this kind of project in a visual scripting tool and see how it goes.
     
  39. wetcircuit

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    'Kay. Lots of people already do.

    This is like using a bluetooth keyboard on ios – or the Earth being round. Your irrational denial isn't preventing normal people from doing it.

    Hope that helps.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2020
  40. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    Proof, please.

    An example of a hundred megabyte project converted to visual scritping language.

    It doesn't help.

    Because my opinion is that of a rational normal person.

    Have fun.
     
  41. wetcircuit

    wetcircuit

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  42. neginfinity

    neginfinity

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    1. I said HUNDRED megabytes code. The complexity of the examples you provided is nowhere close to that.
    2. Additionally, they wrote actions using classic programming, which is visible on their screenshots.

    So, none of those people qualify.

    ----------

    I have no idea what your problem is, but if you're having a bad day, I suggest to find something better to do rather than jumping at random thread, derailing it and being combative towards everybody.
     
  43. wetcircuit

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    If you really want my approval so badly, why don't you go in the kitchen and make me a sandwich?

    I bring it back on topic ––> Visual programming might be great on ios.
     
  44. AcidArrow

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    That's not the topic.

    The topic is if there will be a Unity editor on iPadOS.

    The answer is no.

    The end.
     
  45. wetcircuit

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    I agree. The full Unity editor is not even a pipe dream.

    But I already am programming my music score for my Unity projects on ios. I am doing (some) 3D scans, and I record facial mocap on my iPhone. And of course I have to physically connect the device to the Editor to do certain things.
    Xcode is what I hate. It's a clunker.

    What I'd like to see is maybe the shader graph on ios… (Substance Designer would also be fun, or Painter if it used the pencil).

    Horses for courses. There are a ton of applications where a tablet could be the input device. Maps are already re-invented on a tablet – does anyone really carry around a paper folding map?

    Y'all can keep saying 'no no no no no' but the app store says yes Yes YES!
     
  46. AcidArrow

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    Sure, I mean modern Unity's features are already just fancy toys, mostly, so porting them to tablets just makes sense, I guess.
     
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  47. zombiegorilla

    zombiegorilla

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    Closed because pointless, and petty arguing. Pro tip: do not resort to name calling if you want stay here.
     
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