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Digital Science Academy

Required Materials

Laptop

Each student is required to bring a laptop computer to complete the classwork. Students may not bring a desktop computer to class. Generally any modern laptop should work provided these qualifications are met.

You will need to have Microsoft Windows 10, 8 or 7 installed. No other operating systems are supported.

Your laptop requires OpenGL video support. The game engine currently requires OpenGL 3.0 or higher.

It's not necessary to purchase a new expensive machine to complete the project. In fact, having a slower machine will provide the student an appreciation for using thrift in your software deigns. This is a desirable trait in a software engineer. Doing more with less is an art form. This game engine does not require a discrete video card. Onboard graphics are negatively criticized in the media; however it's perfectly acceptable for the course and your capstone project. The ability to squeeze excellent graphics from these devices will serve you well.

You might consider purchasing a used or refurbished system from a reputable vendor if you're on a tight budget. Larger cities often have computer repair centers that sell used systems.

Also garage sales can be an excellent place to obtain very cheap hardware. (Buyer beware).

Finally, asking around will often land you a system. Friends and family possess old machines that are no longer used. Often you can coax these away from their owners for free. :)

Minimal Windows PC Specifications

Processor: 1.8 GHz processor (preferably dual core or better).

RAM: 2GB or more

Hard Drive Space: 130 GB or more. (A solid state drive is not required).

Video: Must provide support for OpenGL 3.0 or better.

Visit this page for a complete set of requirements:

Visual Studio Hardware Requirements

Books

No textbook purchases are required for the course. Materials for each quarter are provided on the first day of class. An optional list of books will be provided for additional help if you want to dive deeper.

Optional Materials

Make frequent backups of your code. At a minimum create a safe backup after each Task. Backups should be kept offsite in case of fire or theft, etc.

Generally there are two reliable ways to backup your code.

Flash Drives

Purchase a couple of these and keep one at your work space and another at some other location. Each time you add data to one swap the drives.

Online Storage

Several online companies provide a small amount of storage online for free. The size of your finished code archive will be small, probably no more than 2 GB. This is probably the best option for long term storage of your hard work. Below are some vendors that offer free space.

Dropbox

Google Drive

Microsoft One Drive

pCloud

Links

Visual Studio Developer Community

Visual Studio Support

Windows

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