Platform setup
Before we begin building the solar system, we must setup our computer environment to build the runtime application for a given VR device. If you have never built a Unity application for Android or iOS, you will need to download and install the Software Development Kit (SDK) for your chosen platform. An SDK is a set of tools that will let you build an application for a specific software package, hardware platform, game console, or operating system. Installing the SDK may require additional tools or specific files to complete the process, and the requirements change from year to year, as operating systems and hardware platforms undergo updates and revisions.
To deal with this nightmare, Unity maintains an impressive set of platform-specific instructions to ease the setup process. Their list contains detailed instructions for the following platforms:
- Apple Mac
- Apple TV
- Android
- iOS
- Samsung TV
- Standalone
- Tizen
- Web Player
- WebGL
- Windows
For this project, we will be building for the most common mobile devices: Android or iOS. The first step is to visit either of the following links to prepare your computer:
- Android: Android users will need the Android Developer Studio, Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and assorted drivers. Follow this link for installation instructions and files: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/Android-sdksetup.html.
- Apple iOS: iOS builds are created on a Mac and require an Apple Developer account, and the latest version of Xcode development tools. However, if you've previously built an iOS app, these conditions will have already been met by your system. For the complete instructions, follow this link: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/iphone-GettingStarted.html.