Access Point 3.17.X – Release Notes
Version 3.17.9 – 28th December, 2020: Improvements on the Free Roam support The interface would no longer freeze during a game update initialization The game’s timeout during Demo mode would now only use the “Standby” HMD state. Improvements related to launching Unreal Engine 4 games Version 3.17.8 – 15th December, 2020: Important Access Points adjustments Version 3.17.7 – 23th November, 2020: In the case of multiple dedicated game servers, the operator is now able to select the desired server in the game selection popup Support for Project CARS Pro 0.943 Version 3.17.6 – 13th November, 2020: Hotfix – Crashing Unity games Version 3.17.5 – 11th November, 2020: If bHaptics player is installed, but not running, Synthesis won’t attempt to connect to it (it was adding 4 seconds unnecessary delay at session start) The restoration of previous save files is attempted only once per game per session. Extended Synthesis Engine support for Windows environment variables Proxy – upon Windows restart, wait for available network before entering the connection initialization loop Proxy – automatically detect system time change (including DST) and synchronize with the cloud Remote Windows restart option Version 3.17.4 – 28th October, 2020: Fix – sporadic save game issue with Half-Life: Alyx New Download Cache experimental Access Point feature (under the System settings) Fix – picking a game in the menu could be problematic if the controller doesn’t stand still. This is now addressed. Optimized Access Point support for new game plugins and multiplayer sessions The FPS for the “VR Menu Mirror” desktop window is lowered to 25 Optimized network negotiation process for LAN multiplayer games that don’t utilize the Standalone Game Server module Version 3.17.3 – 12th October, 2020: New: Demo Mode (https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/demo-kiosk-mode/) SynthesisVR Engine Optimization All game launches on Oculus HMDs will be with the SteamVR SDK. Version 3.17.2 – 5th October, 2020: Bigfix: The top back button in the 2D launcher may not go back in the menu Bigfix: Custom game variants do launch with the game default startup arguments Bigfix: Upon Access Point restart, the “Semi-Offline Mode” button doesn’t properly display that the option has been previously enabled. Version 3.17.1 – 1st October, 2020: The Access Points now logs in the cloud the version of the games installed via the Synthesis CDN (so far this was performed only locally on the station) With the Standard and Pro plans, running a game update on one station will also queue the update on all the other stations. This takes off the need to manually update each of them individually. A new “disableFTDI” option is added to the localmanifest cheat sheet The FTDI and USB monitoring support (used with the NFC integration) is now disabled for the CDN version Version 3.17.0 – 28th September, 2020: Fixed random crash to the Standalone Game Server module Improvements to the multiplayer network negotiation process Other stability improvements OpenVR – Updated to version 1.14.15 Added 30 seconds timeout to the remote key activation Improvements to the CDN installation process New under the hood Synthesis Engine provisioning functionalities Display engine data on the session countdown timer. Activate by configuring: “Administration >> Advanced Settings >> Customizations >> Branding & Voice Prompts >> Behavior >> Display a second row on the session timer Example value: svr:playername|Player [pcname] Ready#
Access Point 3.16.X – Release Notes
Version 3.16.7 – 7th September, 2020 Improvements related to session time synchronization ; idle playback ; removing CDN games New functionalities for unannounced projects Version 3.16.5 – 26th August, 2020 Bugfix — VR dashboard may re-open automatically if the VR cursor points outside of the Synthesis menu Version 3.16.4 – 19th August, 2020 Overall improvements to the Access Point and the Voice Chat applications Support for the “Broadcaster” mode of Project CARS Pro Support for multiple dedicated game servers (as in the case of multiple free roam arenas running on the same LAN) Improvements for yet unreleased free roam games as well EXA Verxus (player spawned in the open space due to the server and players being launched simultaneously) Support for implementing a local queue system Synthesis Engine support for the Command Calls Version 3.16.2 – 3th August, 2020 Additional back buttons for the 2D launcher – they can be turned on under: Administration >> [tab] Advanced Settings >> [dropdown] Customizations >> Branding & Voice Prompts >> [tab] Behavior >> Extra Back buttons Improved Session Pause support Support for Project CARS Pro – Version 0.94 Faster detection for manually closed experiences Introducing programable NFC driven event system — allows hooking up third party billing platforms A new localmanifest.json setting allows pausing the session timer while no game is running: “pauseSessionCountdownWhenNoPID”: true, Bugfix – a rare case where the 3D Island launcher doesn’t display the available games Version 3.16.1 – 28th July, 2020 Enable additional (larger) back buttons in the 2D menu: Administration >> [tab] Advanced Settings >> [button] Customizations >> Branding and Voice Prompts >> [tab] Behavior >> Extra Back buttons When running multiple standalone game servers, now you can specify which VR stations the server supports: Administration >> [tab] Arcade Setup >> [button] VR Stations >> [button] Edit (for the stations that has the Standalone Game Server module) >> Serving Stations Version 3.16.0 – 22th July, 2020: Improved resources consumption (RAM/CPU/GPU) Improved handling of a memory leak caused by OpenVR. It was mostly affecting systems that don’t have SteamVR running all the time. As an example, system that run with the Vive Wireless Adapter Improved Synthesis network negotiation processes. As an example, it is now possible to run multiple free-roam arenas or to start 2 or more concurrent Arizona Sunshine Arcade sessions Project CARS Pro PPM tracking – the PPM charges will apply only when the player is racing. This allows, while on a PPM license, to keep the game running all the time. Bugfix – localmanifest.json may get wrongly overwritten Bugfix – the running game may not get properly muted/unmuted when the 2D menu is on front Temporary “SynthesisVR Engine” values can be defined with – and –: -playername=User — will set the player’s name to “User” until the SynthesisVR session is over –playername=User — will set the player’s name to “User” until the currently running game is closed Content studios can define server buttons to show up with the “Standalone Game Server” module. Example – The Raft received new Calibration and Start Game buttons. The “Standalone Game Server” module now has an easy “Close game” button that also closes the game on all connected stations. Bugfix – Offline Mode may not offer session options under specific conditions 2D Menu Changes: The back arrow on the top left is moved to the middle of the top menu and the icon is changed to one better hinting to a “Back” related action A new “Back” button is added under the “Play” button in a game view A new search icon now works from any screen and help the players to easily navigate to a specific title they know they want to play Upon launching a game, the view is automatically changed to the home screen A game category can be set as a Home screen. This allows you to have a “Top games” category and highlight specific titles to your customers. Upon clicking the Back arrow, they can see the full list of categories The voice chat icon is hidden for the single-player sessions The Lobby support is disabled for the single-player sessions Clicking on the SteamVR’s Steam Library and Steam Store icons will bring the player back to the Home SynthesisVR menu
SynthesisVR – Version 3.12 Changelog
Web Administration: New: Google Calendar support New: Checkfront support – https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/checkfront-integration/ New: MailChimp support – https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/mailchimp-integration/ New: “Licenses” tab under the game popup from the “Your Games” page. You now could hide games from the Access Point 3.12.0: SynthesisVR now tracks the HMD idle state and auto removes the time from the commercial use Project CARS Pro – leaderboard support The log file size is altered at 30MB Bugfix: mp4 trailers could be unnecessarily cached for removed games 3.11 Bugfix: some keys from the virtual keyboard results in wrong character New: local options to disable the game start and session launch options – https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/disable-the-session-start-option-from-access-point/ Improved “Auto Pause” support Improved “Mouse Reprojection” position in the VR Mirror Window Improved mouse scrolling in the 2D VR Launcher New: Under the “Content Events”, it is now possible to hide games available for installation. The installation option can be restored through “Your Games” web administration page Improved scrolling in the 2D VR Launcher Increased log level for the Voice Chat application Access Point 3.12.1: Bugfix: if a game delivered through the CDN has an update and the update has a change in the name of the primary executable file, the game will disappear from the list of installed games (until updated) Bugfix: SteamVR loses information about the full path of the currently running game. This causes DRM failure on the Synthesis side. The authorization flow is optimized. Added few more visual touches to the V4 launcher Access Point 3.12.2: Bugfix: keyboard may lag when SteamVR is not running Bugfix: controllers battery and charge status may not show up under “Your Arcade” New: you can set default Chaperone profile through the Chaperones Manager OpenVR updated to support the SteamVR 1.8.20 changes Improved detection for SteamVR false processes – sometimes causing the game not ending at the end of the session Access Point 3.12.3: Hotfix Access Point 3.12.4: PCPro license related optimizations Access Point 3.12.5: Addressed a case of double Refresh upon ending a session On HMD Idle state, any running game will get muted and will be unmuted upon shaking the HMD New precise announcement settings through the localmanifest.json file: “customAnnouncementInSeconds”: {“30”: “Custom Message 30 seconds before the session end” }, Access Point 3.12.6: A new localmanifest.json setting that would automatically mute any running game if the HMD goes idle: “hmdIdleMute”: true, Added support for group installation of CDN delivered games. This makes sense in situations like the newly released educational bundles (containing 40+ experiences) Use localmanifest.json to disable the Synthesis Project CARS Pro leaderboard tracking: “nopcpleaderboard”: 1, Added API functionalities for setting local, session-based parameters. Can be used to set Synthesis Engine parameters http://localhost:8080/control/setKeyVal/:key/:value Access Point 3.12.7: Improvements related to the Oculus support Access Point 3.12.8: Custom SteamVR Deployment – https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/install-steamvr-off-steam/ VR Server Mode 3.12.0: Bugfix: a session with 12+ stations may not start properly If the Server Mode is disconnected (arcade is offline) it will retry the connection 30 times and then give up FreeSWITCH updated from 1.9.0 to 1.10.1
SynthesisVR Version 3.11 Changelog
What’s new in 3.11 On the experience type settings, you’ll find multiple new options: Define specific number of allowed stations – you can set specific allowed combinations of stations. As an example, if you want to enforce PvP games, you may want to set this option to an even number of stations – 2 ; 3 ; 6 ; 8 Maximum number of stations in a session – self-descriptive Pause session on HMD idle — if the headset goes idle, Synthesis will pause the session time on the specific VR station. The counter will be resumed upon moving the HMD Intro video (webm URL) — specify the full URL of a webm file. This file will be played in the headset as soon as a session start. Can be used to give your customers an initial walkthrough. Outro video (webm URL) — specify the full URL of a webm file. This file will be played in the headset as soon as the session end. Can be used to guide your customers on how to remove the VR equipment. Access Point new functionalities: Support for the Intro and Outro video options When the “VR Menu Mirror” is enabled, it will automatically pop up on the desktop while the player is looking at it. It will also get hidden when the player is back to the game Minimize button added to top left of the “VR Menu Mirror” window. Useful to get back to the desktop while the player is looking at the menu. “VR Menu Mirror” can be navigated through the keyboard. Supported keys: left,right,up,down arrows + Enter + Backspace. The hotkeys work, regardless of what application is on focus. This makes Synthesis a good solution for racing simulators without native VR input (controllers) “VR Menu Mirror” displays a cursor representing the controller position inside VR Bug fix: SynthesisVR Access Point may crash under the following conditions: the V4 interface is in use there is an ongoing session one of the stations isn’t running any game another station starts a game The V4 interface may freeze when the player does fast clicking on the search icon Optimized Search capability in the V4 interface Others: Better scrolling inside the VR Menu Support for SteamVR being installed on a different drive than C: Added an additional layer of DRM verification – this is supposed to bypass a SteamVR bug, where it sometimes starts the games as standalone processes and this causes DRM verification failure (PCPro as an example). If you are currently running any version prior 3.10 – update instructions https://synthesisvr.com/knowledge-base/update-synthesisvr/
SynthesisVR Updater Detected As a Virus by Windows Defender
We have got multiple reports where the new “SynthesisVR Updater” tool brings false-positive virus alerts by Microsoft Defender. As result, Windows Defender wrongly put the updater executable under quarantine, braking the new update process. We brought the case up to Microsoft and, after an additional verification, they excluded SynthesisVR Updater from their virus definitions. Here is the official response from Microsoft: Analyst comments: We have removed the detection. Please follow the steps below to clear cached detection and obtain the latest malware definitions. Open command prompt as administrator and change directory to c:\Program Files\Windows Defender Run “MpCmdRun.exe -removedefinitions -dynamicsignatures” Run “MpCmdRun.exe -SignatureUpdate” Alternatively, the latest definition is available for download here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/definitions Thank you for contacting Microsoft.
Update SynthesisVR
For those with versions 3.8 or lower Download the latest version found here: http://synthesisvr.com/download/ Download the file that is labeled “Full Version” Once downloaded, install the software over the current version as per this article: When you need to do future updates, please follow the guide below. Otherwise you are up to date. For those that are on version 3.8.1 or later. NOTE: You can still follow the steps above to update, the guide below is a more automated process after the first update using the below method. Refresh your station if you haven’t in a while. Once you do, you should see at least one Content Event ready to install. Click on that button to find the Synthesis VR Update program. Choose the directory you want to install the Updater and then click on Install on the bottom. This will place a shortcut to the program on your desktop. Method 1 Simply launch the program through the desktop shortcut and SynthesisVR will go through and update the Access Point app. Method 2 Go to your VR Stations section in the Administration section: Simple: Advanced: If an update is available for your station will see that you need to update as indicated below: Click on the “Update To x.xx” and you will be taken to the Your Arcade section and see something similar to the following. Note that if you have more stations that need to be update, all stations will be shown: If you don’t want to update a certain station, click on the big red x and it will be removed from this update process. Click on the “Select a Game” drop down and choose “SynthesisVR Updater”. Note that you could also choose “Don’t change he game” instead of the big red x so skip this station. Also another note is that you only need to do this on one Station and it will aggregate to the other stations in the list so this does not need to be done for each station. Once all stations you want update are selected, click on the OK button. At this point, all stations selected will launch the updater and update the Access Point to the latest version. IMPORTANT: Once all stations have been updated (or while they’re update, or even before they’re updated) you will need to update the Server PC. To do that, you can follow the instructions found here: Future Updates Once you’ve updated to the 3.10 and later versions of SynthesisVR, you would be able to update the Access Point automatically using the method above but it will not be necessary to use the Content Events to download as you will have the installer installed (with the exception of if they installer itself needs to be updated.)
SynthesisVR Version 3.10 Changelog
What’s new in 3.10: Fixed Bug – Synthesis may refuse to further launch games if the save game directory for a launched title isn’t accessible for writing Changes – improved network negotiation process New – Added “Internal Communication Type” selection New – Added Station status icon under the “Your Arcade” page New – Added Station Shutdown button New – Added “Start PC” button (read more) New – More status icons on the “VR Stations” page The installer will open more ports to the Windows Firewall Behavior – upon starting a session without a pre-selected game, the VR Interface will automatically popup Why do we think this is a big deal? Internal Communication Type You’ll find the new option under “Administration >> click on your arcade name >> Settings tab >> SynthesisVR Internal Communication Mode”. It has 3 states: RWS (RESTful Web Services) – Legacy WebSocket – Performance WebSocket with RWS Fallback – Default For the past 2+ years, RWS is the primary method for communication between the VR Server Mode and the Access Point desktop application. As long as our RWS implementation works pretty stable, the need for consistent communication emerged and so, WebSocket support is now added. Here are a few things that WebSocket does better: Some of the Android based standalone HMDs have a strict firewall in place. If the HMD can’t be reached via RWS, we wont be able to control it via SynthesisVR. With the WebSocket, the connection is initiated from the device out to the VR Server Mode – it does the trick. The RWS communication isn’t suitable for controlling stations outside of your arcade. The WebSocket integration gives this limitation a room to improve. The RWS implementation involves a timeout state that applies when a station is not accessible. If the “WebSocket” option is selected (the one mark for “Performance”), you’ll enjoy faster web commands. With WebSocket, we are able to detect things much faster. Enjoy the new green circle in front of each station on the “Your Arcade” page. It indicates the station is ready to be controlled. WebSocket now took the network negotiation control from the UDP communication (the UDP communication is still available as an automatic fallback option when the VR Server Mode is not present). Our advice is to switch to the “WebSocket – Performance” option, restart the VR Server Mode and Refresh all the stations. Then run few sessions and, if you don’t face any issues, stick with it. The Legacy option shouldn’t be used unless it is absolutely necessary to get rid of the WebSocket support. Speaking about the network negotiation process Not only it got WebSocket support, but it also got a lot of stability improvements. Previously, it was necessary to stop a session before – indeed uncomfortable and we do appreciate all the feedback we have received. With the new version, you will experience much more flawless operations. And while on the networking side of things The installer will open some extra TCP and UDP ports. If you still face any communication issues (like station not starting via the web administration), check the “VR Stations” page. It will hint you if you have a Windows firewall that could be blocking the connection. You can remotely shut down or start the VR stations To be able to remotely start a PC, please make sure it is configured for “Wake on Lan” Enjoy!
Access Point 3.9 – Release Notes
Version: 3.9 Release Date: 5th June, 2019 Download | Version 3.9 Critical Bug Fix: The 2D Launcher may hung upon restart of SteamVR versions 1.4+ The PC identifier may not make it up to the pc settings, resulting in specific CDN games not working properly New “Access Point” Functionalities: Version 4.0 Beta 1 – new VR Interface Version 4.0 Beta 1 – support for “Game Plugins” Fruit Ninja VR – CDN Support New Module: “Standalone Game Server” – purposed for Free Roam games Version 4 – New “Web Administration” Functionalities: Configure “Game Plugins” Install existing plugins How To Activate Version 4 Install an existing Game Plugin