How to stay below 500 msg/sec limit while using VoIP

appmechanic
edited March 2016 in Photon Voice
Hello,
I'm developing a game similar to Second Life on Unity3D v5.3.3 Engine. Its multiplayer (obviously).
Using Photon as my multiplayer solution. The game is VoIP capable. Using DF Voice for VoIP.
A room can contain upto 50 members. However, only 1-2 members can speak. This voice data has to reach all the 50 members in the room. Unfortunately, Photon has a limit of 500 msg/sec. Using only text to chat is fine and stays below the 500 limit. However, the problem arises when using voice to chat.
The limit is crossed easily with voice data. Is there any way i can limit the voice data being transmitted so that it stays below the 500 limit?

Answers

  • For your information, we launch our Photon Voice package this week.
    In the end messages are creating bandwidth - this is the major cost factor. You will most likely have to split gameplay- and voice-data.

    And yes, Voice is a separate package and needs a separate subscription.
  • Photon Voice also has a limitation of 500 Msg/sec. I don't see any point in using Photon Voice. Text chat is hardly used in my game.
  • Bluntly said: Photon Voice will just ignore the msg/sec limit until we figure out what are more reasonable numbers for this type of service.
    On the other hand, Photon Voice will not keep you from bombarding clients with messages until they break, so it's in your interest to keep things reasonable.

    We got voice/talk detection, so you don't have to stream everyone's silence. Also, if you want to understand each other, it's best practice that only 1..2 players talk at the same time. We won't shut down an app, because sometimes everyone shouts out at the same time ;)
  • Aside from that: PUN/Voice are not exactly made with MMOs in mind. The Photon Cloud is for room-based games, which means (for us) that a smaller number of players interact.
    If you want a Second Life type of experience (a world where you could stumble into anyone being at the same place seamlessly), this is not the right tool for the job - unless you segment things into smaller areas with just a few players interacting.
    Depending on your needs, you might want to look into using Photon Server and the MMO project as a basis for your game.
  • Photon Voice isn't free? I see a buy now buton on photon voice page. Clicking the link opens a unity store with blank page.
  • The base Voice asset is free and can be used with 20 CCU. For higher CCU values, you will need a paid subscription.

    There has been a slight delay with publishing the asset - it should be available in the asset store on the next days.
  • What about the scenario where we need a permanent sound streaming prefab, like a radio-station, sepparate from the players' voices ?

    As far as I understand, you can´t assign Line-In entries to the VoiceRecorder, only microphones, so the radio streaming would be an extra.

    How can I integrate it in the scene ? There are a number of Assets in the Store that provide live radio streaming functionality but I need to know if those packets, coming from the radio streaming - will impact on my msg/sec limit, or they´re considered sepparate.

    Same goes for the static sound sources - background music, sound of the wind, sound coming from the cars, urban areas, etc. - are they counted when the msg/sec limit kicks in ?
  • Hi,
    You should avoid transmitting audio data available on all clients like audio samples (wind, cars etc.) or online radio station. Handle all this things locally, synchronize them periodically if required via RPC.
    PhotonVoice lets you set audio clip instead of microphone as audio source. But as I said, it's hardly needed in production and should be used for debug only.