Photon Integration: Setting Up Photon

Setting up Photon is the first step in enabling multiplayer for your VR fangame.
Photon handles real‑time networking, room creation, player syncing, and communication between all players in a session.
This page explains how to install Photon, connect your Unity project, and prepare your game for multiplayer.

1. What You Need Before Starting

Before setting up Photon, make sure you have:

• A Unity project

• A Photon account

• A Photon App ID

• Your VR rig or player prefab ready to be networked

Once these are ready, you can connect your game to Photon’s servers.

2. Installing Photon in Unity

A. Using the Unity Asset Store

1. Open Unity

2. Go to Window → Asset Store

3. Search for Photon PUN 2

4. Download and import it

B. Using the Package Manager

1. Open Window → Package Manager

2. Click +

3. Select Add package from disk

4. Choose the Photon package folder

Once imported, Photon will automatically open a setup window.

3. Connecting Your Project to Photon

1. Create a Photon account at the Photon Dashboard

2. Create a new Photon App (PUN)

3. Copy your App ID

4. In Unity, open PhotonServerSettings

5. Paste your App ID

6. Select your default region (usually us or usw)

7. Save your settings

Your project is now linked to Photon’s cloud servers.

4. Basic Multiplayer Flow in Photon

Photon uses a simple and predictable flow:

1. Connect to Photon

2. Join a lobby

3. Create or join a room

4. Spawn the player prefab

5. Sync head, hands, and cosmetics

6. Handle room logic

7. Disconnect when leaving

This flow is the foundation of all multiplayer behavior.

5. Setting Up the Player Prefab

Your player prefab must include:

• PhotonView (required for networking)

• PhotonTransformView or custom sync scripts

• VR rig (head + hands)

• Cosmetic loader

• Custom property sync

This prefab is spawned when the player joins a room.

6. Photon Settings You Should Configure

Inside PhotonServerSettings, configure:

• App ID

• Region

• Send Rate (30–60 recommended for VR)

• Serialization Rate

• Auto‑Sync Scene (usually off for VR)

• Lobby type

• Room TTL (time to live)

These settings affect performance, stability, and bandwidth usage.

7. Best Practices for Setting Up Photon

• Use PlayFabID as Photon UserID

• Keep send rates reasonable

• 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

• Keep your player prefab lightweight