Installation Guide

Welcome to the Installation Guide for the Flow SDK. This guide outlines step-by-step instructions for a straightforward download and installation process directly from the Unity Asset Store to your Unity project.

Make sure you have followed the Pre-Requisites guide first to ensure you're all ready to go.

Currently the Flow SDK is in a closed Beta. Want access? Contact us to arrange a demo.

Installing Manually Instructions (Not Available)

Installing Manually

Open Unity Hub and select “New project”.

In the templates window ensure the editor version is 2021.3.29f and select the 3D (URP) template.

Setting the Player Settings

Setting up for an Android build: Go to File > Build settings. Under platform click android then press the change platform button to change to android.

Next Press Player settings and navigate to other settings. Apply the below settings to the android section in player settings.

• Turn off “Auto graphics API”

• Remove Vulkan so OpenGLES3 the only choice

• Change “Texture compression format” to ETC

• Change “Normal map encoding” to XYZ

• Turn off “Apply display rotation during rendering”

• Change “Scripting backend” to IL2CPP

• Turn on “Use incremental GC”

• Under Target Architectures turn off “ARMv7”

• Turn on ARM64

• Set the “Install Location” to Automatic

• Set “Active Input Handling” to Both

• Under the scripting defines section add “CURVEDUI_UNITY_XR”

• Set “Managed Stripping Level” to Low

Installing Packages

Begin by ensuring that you have added the Pre-Requisites for Flow SDK Setup | Essential-Unity-Packages to your project.

We suggest that you create a “Third-Party Plugins” folder in the root Assets folder to keep all of your external packages in one place.

Unzip the “Luminous Flow vX.X.X” zipped folder that has been provided to a location of your choosing.

Copy the “Luminous Flow” folder and copy it to your Unity project that you have created, in the location shown below.

In the Unity Editor, navigate to the Package Manager through the menu bar at the top of the screen: “Window > Package Manager”, then click the plus icon and select “Add package from disk…”.

Navigate to the Luminous Flow folder which you just added to your project. Select the “package.json” file and hit the “Open” button. Alternatively, double click on the file to select it.

Import the other 2 asset packages, Flow-Foundation and then Flow-Lobby by double clicking on the package whilst the Unity Editor is open. These can be located in the folder which you unzipped previously.

Back in the Package Manager, click the add button and select “add package from Git URL…” and enter the text https://github.com/needle-mirror/com.unity.xr.openxr.git

In the Package Manager, look at the menu bar and click on the “Packages: “ dropdown menu. Select Unity Registry from the drop down and you will be presented with available Unity Packages, sorted alphabetically by default. Search for and add XR Interaction Toolkit 2.4.3 to your Project by left clicking to select the package, then clicking the “Install” button in the bottom right of the window.

Add Oculus XR Plugin 3.3.0 in the same fashion.

*Only if you want to develop for HTC Vive devices*
In the package manager click the add button and select “add package from Git URL” and add “https://github.com/ViveSoftware/VIVE-OpenXR.git?path=com.htc.upm.vive.openxr ”

It is now required that you restart your Unity Editor.

Whilst your editor opens, you will be prompted to use the new Input System. Accept this dialog and the Unity Editor will restart once more.

If a dialog is shown regarding errors in the project, ignore it and continue.

In the Project tab, navigate to “Packages > Luminous Flow > com.luminous.core”, then right click on the folder and select reimport.

Enabling Addressables

Navigate to “Window > Asset Management > Addressables > Groups” and Enable Addressables. If this option is not available, Addressables are already enabled for the project.

Setup From Provided Project File (Recommended)

During the early access we are providing Flow as an already pre configured project, this will help you get started easily.

Download the project from the provided download link that is included in your welcome pack.

Unzip the project.

Unity Hub

Open Unity Hub and click the drop down next to “Add”, then select “Add project from disk”. Locate the project folder you just unzipped (It should be named “Flow-Template-v0.0.XX”) and select open.

Unity Editor

The First time opening the Project Template you will get a warning about errors. You can safely click ignore here. This is because the pre requisite packages have not been installed yet.

Once the project is loaded in the Editor, import the Pre Requisite packages into your project.

Once all the packages have been imported, close and open the unity editor.

Now all the prerequisite packages are included reimport Flow by going to the project window finding packages and then right clicking on the Luminous Flow Package and click reimport.

Flow Setup Window

Once the Project has loaded navigate to the Luminous Flow Setup window through the menu bar at the top of the screen: “Luminous > Flow Setup”.

Introduction

On the introduction screen press next to continue.

Platform

In this section, you'll find options to change the platform you wish to develop for. This starter guide has assumed that you will be building an Android application. Please choose another platform here if that assumption is not valid.

Selecting the change platform button will change the Unity Editor platform to switch to the correct configuration based on your selection. Note: this can take a few minutes to complete.

Keep in mind that your choice isn't set in stone. You can always come back and change your platform selection at any stage of development.

Credentials

The Server Base Address and Tennant ID are crucial for linking your Unity projects with Luminous Portal, our content management system. If you don’t have a Tennant ID yet, you can obtain it from the Luminous Portal management system or your admin panel.

During the closed Beta your Tennant ID and connection string will be provided for you.

If your project includes multiplayer elements, Photon IDs (PUN/Chat/Voice) are essential for integration with Photon's online multiplayer services. These can be acquired from your Photon dashboard as set up earlier: Pre-Requisites for Flow SDK Setup | Photon-ID-Keys

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

Branding

Want to white-label your content? We have got you covered. Using the Branding page, you can customise the theme of your application. From logos to teleport colours, you can personalise the experience of your users with customized branding.

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

Lobby

The Lobby is a hub environment where you meet other users and select your scenarios. Any application created using Luminous Flow should first load into a lobby scene. We provide you the choice of which lobby you would like to use, which can be selected here. The lobbies provided within Flow are free to be customized or used as a template to build your own from scratch, though we suggest that first time users remain using one of the given lobbies initially, so as to be able to focus purely on content creation.

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

Scenario

Scenarios in the Flow SDK act as organizational frameworks for your VR modules, making your content structured and easy to navigate.

What is a Scenario?

• Collection of Modules: Think of a Scenario as a folder containing a series of related modules (playable scenes). Each Scenario groups Modules that share a common theme or objective.

• Example Scenario - 'Engine Repair': If you're creating multiple Modules focused on repairing different parts of an engine, these can be collectively named under the Scenario 'Engine Repair'. This title gives users a clear expectation of the content.

• Organization and Clarity: Scenarios are not just organizational tools but also serve as thematic guides for users. For instance, another Scenario such as 'Wheel Maintenance' would house modules specifically about wheel-related maintenance tasks.

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

Modules

Modules are the heart of your training content in the Flow SDK, where the hands-on learning and interaction take place.

Understanding Modules:

• Core Training Elements: A module is essentially a self-contained unit where specific training tasks or interactions occur. It's the space where users engage directly with the content you've designed for learning or skill development.

• Adding Modules: In this section of the SDK, you can add new modules that you wish to develop. Each module should focus on a particular task or set of tasks that align with your overall training objectives.

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

Localisation

Flow supports easy localisation using the Google TTS API and Google Translation API. Here you can add those keys and then select which languages you would like to support.

Choosing a single main language is also supported if you do not wish to localise your content initially. You always have the option to do so at a later stage in your development cycle!

Press Apply settings when you have filled out the relevant fields.

After pressing apply settings you will get a warning about it deleting everything. We can safely continue as we have not generated any audio files or translations yet. You will also get some other dialogue boxes that you can safely press continue on.

Getting Going

Now your Flow SDK is set up and ready to use! Press finish to finalise the set up.

Next Steps

Congratulations now you're ready to play and test your set up. Use the Testing a Module guide to help you test your newly made template modules, or continue to Setting up your first Module to start developing your own content.