VR Multiplayer Template Quick Start Guide

Unity’s VR Multiplayer Project Template serves as a starting point for virtual reality development leveraging Unity Cloud Gaming Services to provide online connectivity and multiplayer features.

The template configures project settings, pre-installs the necessary packages, and includes various Samples that demonstrate how to set up a project that is ready for a variety of Multiplayer VR use cases. Refer to the XR Project Setup and VR Project Development in Unity documentation for additional information.

This template supports the following Unity editor versions:

• Unity 6 and Later

Unity directly supports the following VR platforms:

• Meta Quest (2, 3, and Pro)
• OpenXR compliant devices

The VR Multiplayer Project Template uses the following Unity packages:

• XR Hands - Defines an API that allows you to access hand tracking data from devices that support hand tracking.
• XR Interaction Toolkit - A high-level, component-based, interaction system for creating XR experiences. It provides a framework that makes 3D and UI interactions available from Unity input events.
• XR Plugin Management - Used to streamline XR plug-in lifecycle management and, optionally, provides a build time UI through the Unity Unified Settings system.
• Netcode for GameObjects - Provides networking capabilities to GameObject and MonoBehaviour workflows.
• OpenXR - An open, royalty-free standard developed by Khronos that aims to simplify AR/VR development by allowing developers to seamlessly target a wide range of AR/VR devices.
• Multiplayer Services
  • Authentication - Provides anonymous and platform-specific authentication solutions for supported platforms.
  • Distributed Authority - Allows the responsibility for managing object interactions and state updates to be shared across multiple clients or servers, rather than being controlled solely by a central server. This enables a flexible and scalable multiplayer experience, reducing overall network traffic and allowing easy implementation of host migration.
  • Vivox - Voice and Text Chat (Vivox) service for multiplayer enables better cooperative and competitive multiplayer experiences by letting your players talk through in-game voice or text chat.

Create a project from this template

To create a project using the VR multiplayer template:

1. Open the Unity Hub.
2. Select New Project.
3. Under Editor Version, select Unity 6000.0 or newer.
4. From the list of templates, select VR Multiplayer.
5. In Project name, name a new cloud project or Connect to existing Unity Cloud project. You must connect your project to Unity Cloud to automate gaming services set up.
6. Complete the other Project Settings and select Create Project.

When your project opens in the Unity Editor, Unity will prompt you to follow a tutorial to configure your project.

Use the Sample Scene

The VR Multiplayer Project Template contains a scene named SampleScene located in Assets\Scenes. This scene’s Hierarchy is pre-configured with GameObjects that allow your application to manage controller, hands, and head tracking, locomotion, and interactions with networked spatial UI and virtual objects.

You can use this scene as a reference, or you can remove the example assets from it and use it as a starting point for your own project.

Sample Scene Hierarchy Overview

The following image shows the Hierarchy window of the SampleScene, expanded to display the GameObjects the scene is pre-configured with.

The VR Multiplayer template Sample Scene in the Hierarchy window.

XR Interaction Setup

In the Sample Scene, XR Interaction Setup (MP Variant) is the main GameObject for configuring the Camera and origin point of the XR experience in Unity.

The XR Interaction Setup (MP Variant) includes the following additional configurations nested within the Camera Offset gameObject:

• Input and visualization systems for Controllers, Hands, and Offline Player Avatar.
  • Support for Poke, Near-Far, and Teleport interactors.

The Locomotion GameObject contains providers for Turn, Move, Teleportation, and Climb locomotion.

XRI Spatial Keyboard

The XR Interaction Setup (MP Variant) contains an XRI Global Keyboard Manager prefab, which provides a customizable, movable and scalable instance of the referenced Keyboard Prefab to enable text input in the project.

The XRI Global Keyboard Manager prefab in the Inspector window.

The XRI Spatial Keyboard shown in the Hierarchy window.

The Keyboard prefab in the Game view.

Network Manager

The NetworkManager is a required Netcode for GameObjects (Netcode) component that has all of your project's netcode related settings. Think of it as the "central netcode hub" for your netcode enabled project.

The Network Manager component in the Inspector window.

Networking

XRI Network Game Manager

The XRI Network Game Manager prefab is responsible for tying together the connection functionality between Netcode for GameObjects (NGO), Unity Multiplayer Services (MPS), Vivox, and XR Interaction Toolkit (XRI).

The XRI Network Game Manager prefab.

Player Avatars

Player Avatars are virtual representations of participants (players) whose position and movement are replicated in real time to facilitate interactions as well as verbal and/or non-verbal communication with others sharing a virtual space.

The VR Multiplayer Template project includes an XRI Network Player Avatar prefab to get you started. It provides a stylized model with mouth articulation and support for both tracked controllers and/or hands, via the XRI and XR Hands Packages respectively. In addition, avatars utilize the Player Name Tag prefab to display individuals’ names, as well as microphone status indicators.

XRI Networked Player Avatar Example

The following image shows an example Networked Player Avatar.

Example Networked Player Avatar in the Inspector.

Networked Interactables

There are various objects within the scene that the user is able to interact with. In a multiplayer context, these are called Network Interactables, which require an additional set of components to facilitate multiplayer interactivity and feedback.

Networked Interactable Example

The following image shows an example Networked Physics Interactable. This high level component is built to be extensible and offers a number of flags for synchronizing the XR Grab Interactable over the network.

An example Networked Physics Interactable.

Teleportation Setup

Teleportation allows users to move within the sample scene without experiencing the discomfort common while walking in VR. There are teleportation areas and anchors already set up in the scene Hierarchy, located in Environment > Teleport Area Setup.

Teleportation Areas

Teleportation Areas designate specific surfaces for the user to move upon. The SampleScene’s Teleportation Areas are configured using the Teleportation Area component, which references the GameObject’s Mesh Collider component to define areas to teleport to.

Teleportation Area Example

The Floor GameObject in the Hierarchy provides an example for a Teleportation Area, it is located under Environment > Level > Geometry > MainHallArea > MP_Level > Floor.

Floor GameObject in the Inspector window.

Teleportation Anchors

Teleportation Anchors, on the other hand, constrain the user’s view in terms of position and rotation while teleporting. You can find multiple of these in the sample scene, which are already set up for you.

A teleportation anchor in the Scene view.

A teleportation anchor in the Inspector window.

UI

The sample scene contains various world space UI examples which allow for both near and far interactions with UI elements such as sliders, dropdown menus, toggles, and buttons.

There are multiple UI prefabs in the Hierarchy, located under UI > World Space Canvas, which demonstrate how you can combine UI elements for different use cases such as message boards, media players, object spawners, informational panels, notifications, and leader boards

UI prefabs from the Sample Scene in the Hierarchy window.

Spatial UI

Users have the ability to move the canvas in space with the Spatial Panel UI prefab by leveraging the XR Grab Interactable component, which provides the ability to grab the canvas by either the header or handle at the bottom of the canvas via the direct or ray interactor.

Additionally, the UI will reorient itself to face the user (billboard) with the Turn To Face component, which is on the prefab by default. The Network Billboard and Client Network Transform components allow for other participants to have a shared view of the Spatial UI transforms as it is being manipulated by someone else.

Spatial Panel UI Example

The following image shows the Spatial Panel UI prefab in the Inspector window.

Spatial Panel UI prefab.

Mini Games

The VR Multiplayer Template project contains multiple Mini Game examples, leveraging a collection of assets that demonstrate how to best utilize the VR Multiplayer Template’s features.

The VR Multiplayer Template Mini Games shown in the Hierarchy window.

Multiplayer Testing and XR Simulation Tools

Multiplayer Play Mode Setup

Multiplayer Play Mode is a Unity Package that allows users to test multiplayer gameplay without building the project. It creates virtual players all within the same editor instance.

Recommended Installation

1. Backup your project folder or use a version control system such as Git or SVN.
2. Navigate to Window > Package Manager > Unity Registry > Multiplayer Play Mode. Then select Install
3. Multiplayer Play Mode should now be installed.

Refer to the Multiplayer Play Mode Documentation for in depth details.

NOTE: When creating Virtual Players, make sure you have unique tags for each virtual player created, otherwise authentication will have issues.

XR Device Simulator

The XR Device Simulator converts mouse and keyboard input and uses it to drive simulated XR controllers and head mounted display (HMD).

Installation

To install the XR Device Simulator:

1. Go to the Package Manager (Window > Package Manager).
2. Select the XR Interaction Toolkit package.
3. Open the **Samples **tab.
4. Click on the Import button next to XR Device Simulator.

Upon clicking the Import (Or Reimport to have the latest version) button, you will see a Samples\XR Device Simulator folder added to the Project window. The XR Device Simulator prefab in this folder is the asset that you will add to the scenes where you want to simulate XR input.

Refer to XR Device Simulator for more information.

XR Project Configuration

Various presets are used to accommodate graphics & rendering requirements for different platforms. By selecting the target platform from Build Settings (File > Build Settings), i.e. Windows, Mac, Linux or Android, different URP Config Settings are automatically updated.

In addition, by selecting the target platform in Build Settings, OpenXR feature groups and interaction profiles are preconfigured. By default, the Android build target updates the settings for Meta Quest support.

Project Settings configured for Meta Quest.

For standalone PC VR, numerous interaction profiles are already configured. If you don't see your platform listed, add your interaction profile manually by clicking the + button.

Project Settings configured for PC VR.

Remove example assets from the scene

To remove example assets from your project:

1. In the Project window, open the Assets folder.
2. Right click the VRMPAssets folder.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the pop-up that appears, click Delete.

Standalone builds

When running the build multiple times on the same PC simultaneously, players will need to launch the executable while passing in the command line argument -playerArg:<UNIQUE_ID> where <UNIQUE_ID> is any unique string.

Local Only (Offline & LAN) Support

The Session Manager component located on the XRI Network Game Manager prefab allows changing the SessionType between Distributed Authority (default) and Local Only. Local Only allows for a direct connection and can be used for both offline or LAN environments. Local Only bypasses the Unity Cloud connection and therefore will not take advantage of host migration or Vivox Voice Chat.

Session Manager Session Type configured for Local Only.

Upon launching the application, if set to Local Only or no internet is available, the users will be greeted with a new window for Local Connection. Press Host Local Room to create a new room based on your IP. press Join Local Room to join a room based on the entered IP address 127.0.0.1 is the default for easy testing on same device setups.

Local Connection UI window.

Known Issues

Known issues:

• Multiplayer Play Mode and ParrelSync cannot be used together. If you encounter errors with MPPM, exit the editor and delete the library folder.
• Versions of Multiplayer Play Mode before 1.4.x can result in errors being thrown on startup.
• Resetting objects after throwing them over the edge will cause them to occasionally get stuck in a kinematic state.
• On certain PCVR setups users may encounter xrLocateSpace: XR_ERROR_TIME_INVALID resulting in poor performance and frame stuttering.
• There is a known issue with Multiplayer Services version 1.1.4 and 1.1.5 that can prevent users from rejoining when using Distributed Authority.