Photon Integration

Photon is the multiplayer networking system your VR fangame uses to handle real‑time communication between players.
While PlayFab manages accounts, data, and backend systems, Photon handles everything that happens inside a multiplayer room — movement, syncing, voice, room creation, and player interactions.

This page introduces how Photon works, why VR fangames rely on it, and what you’ll learn in the Photon Integration section.

1. What Photon Does

Photon provides the core multiplayer features your game needs:

• Real‑time networking

• Room creation and joining

• Player spawning

• Syncing head and hands

• Syncing cosmetics

• Voice chat

• Custom player properties

• Room properties

• Region selection

• Matchmaking

• Event broadcasting

Photon is the backbone of your multiplayer gameplay.

2. Why VR Fangames Use Photon

VR games require:

• Fast, low‑latency networking

• Smooth hand/head syncing

• Stable room systems

• Customizable player data

• Cross‑platform support

• Easy room creation

• Reliable voice chat

Photon provides all of this out of the box.

It’s lightweight, flexible, and perfect for Gtag‑style movement and physics

3. How Photon Works in Your Game

A typical Photon flow looks like this:

1. Player launches the game

2. Game connects to Photon servers

3. Player joins a lobby

4. Player joins or creates a room

5. Photon spawns the player prefab

6. Player syncing begins:

   • Head

   • Hands

   • Cosmetics

7. Room properties define the game mode

8. Custom properties define the player’s identity

9. Photon handles all real‑time communication

Photon is responsible for everything that happens inside the multiplayer session.

4. Photon + PlayFab (How They Work Together)

PlayFab handles:

• Accounts

• Data

• Inventory

• Currency

• Moderation

• CloudScript

Photon handles:

• Multiplayer

• Rooms

• Syncing

• Voice

• Movement

Together, they create a secure, scalable multiplayer system.

PlayFabID is used as the Photon UserID to prevent identity spoofing.

5. What You’ll Learn in This Section

The Photon Integration section includes the following subpages:

1. Setting Up Photon

How to install Photon, connect Unity, and configure your multiplayer settings.

2. Room Codes

How to create, join, and manage private/public rooms using custom codes.

3. Player Syncing

How to sync:

• Hands

• Head

• Cosmetics

4. Networked Movement

How to replicate VR movement smoothly and efficiently.

5. Custom Player Properties

How to sync player data (name, badge, color, cosmetics) across the room.

6. Room Properties

How to define game modes, map names, and room settings.

7. Photon + PlayFab Authentication

How to securely link PlayFab accounts to Photon multiplayer.

8. Region Selection

How to choose the best Photon region for performance.

6. Best Practices for Photon in VR

• Use PlayFabID as Photon UserID

• Keep send rates reasonable (VR is bandwidth heavy)

• Use custom properties for cosmetics and player data

• Use room properties for game mode settings

• Avoid sending large data packets

• Use RPCs sparingly

• Use Photon events for global actions

• Optimize your player prefab for networking