Photon Integration: Player Syncing

Player Syncing is the core of VR multiplayer.
It ensures that every player in a Photon room can see each other’s movement, head direction, hand positions, and cosmetics in real time.

Without proper syncing, multiplayer feels broken — players appear jittery, delayed, or out of sync.
This page explains how syncing works, what Photon handles, and how your game should structure its networked player rig.

1. What Player Syncing Does

Player Syncing ensures that each player’s:

• Head position

• Hand positions

• Body orientation

• Cosmetics

• Animations

• Gestures

are visible to everyone else in the room.

This is what makes VR multiplayer feel alive and interactive.

2. How Photon Syncing Works

Photon uses a combination of:

A. PhotonView

Identifies which objects belong to which player.

B. Serialization

Sends position/rotation data across the network.

C. Ownership

Determines who controls which objects.

D. Custom Properties

Syncs cosmetics, names, badges, and other player data.

E. RPCs (Remote Procedure Calls)

Used for one‑time actions (e.g., emotes, sound effects).

Together, these systems create smooth, real‑time multiplayer.

3. The Networked VR Rig

A proper VR rig for multiplayer includes:

• Head (tracked by headset)

• Left Hand (tracked by controller)

• Right Hand (tracked by controller)

• Cosmetic Attach Points

• PhotonView

• Sync scripts (custom or PhotonTransformView)

Each part must be synced separately for smooth movement.

4. Syncing Frequency (Send Rate)

VR requires higher update rates than flat‑screen games.

Recommended:

• Send Rate: 30–60

• Serialization Rate: 30–60

Higher rates = smoother hands
Lower rates = less bandwidth

Your game must balance both.

5. What Should Be Synced

A. Head

• Position

• Rotation

B. Hands

• Position

• Rotation

• Optional: finger tracking

C. Cosmetics

• Hat

• Badge

• Material

• Holdables

Cosmetics should be synced using Custom Player Properties, not transform syncing.

6. What Should NOT Be Synced

• Full player body (VR doesn’t track it)

• Physics objects (unless necessary)

• Large data packets

• Constant RPC spam

• Uncompressed data

Photon is fast, but VR can overload it if you’re not careful.

7. Player Syncing Subpages

This section contains three detailed subpages:

1. Syncing Hands

How to sync controller positions smoothly and avoid jitter.

2. Syncing Head

How to sync headset movement and orientation.

3. Syncing Cosmetics

How to sync hats, badges, materials, and holdables using Custom Properties.

Each subpage explains the exact setup and best practices.

8. Best Practices

• Use PlayFabID as Photon UserID

• Sync only what is necessary

• Use interpolation for smooth movement

• Use Custom Properties for cosmetics

• Avoid syncing physics directly

• Keep your player prefab lightweight

• Test in rooms with 6–10 players to check performance