Larger Than Life
As soon as I started the assignment I ran into a weird issue. I had made all models children of a parent game object named Scale Factor. By multiplying transform values by 10 I was able to scale the entire level up to 10 times its original size. But when I clicked play, the models all looked their original size.
// Original
// Scaled up by 10 supposedly
I eventually decided to move the entire room off to the side and recreate the table. By copying and pasting existing models and scaling them up and placing them on the table I was then able to click play and enter a strange new world.
The first thing I looked at was the cat. When it’s its original size, its rough texture can be seen when you get close to it. When it’s 10 times its size it’s a lot more noticeable. I also noticed that the whiskers weren’t positioned properly on the cat’s face and went ahead and fixed that before moving on. The cat does not have a collider (it’s not necessary for the original one) so I didn’t try any kind of interaction with the model.
The key that I had made myself looked flawless when enlarged. Its texture was very smooth and the teeth were properly positioned and spaced. I walked over to it and I was given the option to pick it up. I thought that I would be able to pick it up over my head and feel like Superman. But when I grabbed it, it collided with the table and fell off of it.
Next I walked over to the torch. It looked … eh… ok. When it’s small enough to fit in my hand it looks nice and realistic. When it’s larger than I am it looks very primitive. Granted it’s just 2 cylinders and a particle system, but when enlarged the particle system isn’t correctly scaled so it draws less attention to the flame and the body become the point of focus. I again attempted to pick up the model and I again dropped it off of the table.
Lastly, I viewed my self-made octopus and oh my, I thought it looked bad when I made it (I just needed any single random self-made model for A range criteria) but when it’s enlarged it looks hideous. The tentacles don’t look good because they’re just cylinders and should have at least been capsules. They aren’t positioned at the bottom of the model because the head is a capsule and should have had a cylindrical base to it. I notice a lot more details that could be improved upon when in my enlarged world.
There are some issues with navigation and manipulation at such a large scale. I attempted to interact with a few objects and I dropped most of them off of the table. It’s difficult to move large objects around because it’s really hard to judge distances. Navigation wasn’t too bad because I was using the VRTK Simulator, but had I tested on an HTC Vive I wouldn’t have been able to walk across the entire table. In this case teleporting or joystick navigation would be essential unless you don’t need to view each object close up.
Despite those issues though, there are potential applications for scaled up VR. Imagine an engine being modeled. To see how an engine works or look for some minor defect in a component, this would be very useful. If a human body were to be modelled, a surgeon could teach how to perform a surgery with more precision. Anything that’s difficult to analyze because it’s too small would be good to scale up in VR.
// Don't do it cat
