This document is to provide a brief overview of what VRSL does, how, and why. From there you can decide what you need to do to start using it.
A DMX Pipeline using VRSL will look something like this. This chart shows both an overview of both a performance and a dummy rig use case.
There are a few ways to subvert this pipeline for more complex / dedicated solutions, and some will be covered elsewhere on this wiki. For the most part though, what you do will very closesly resemble this chart.
DMX via Video
What powers VRSL is the ability to transmit DMX data contained within a video stream. It is done this way as it is the best way to achieve the following goals:
- Having all players within their own instances of a world be synced.
- Allowing a given world to display data that any given user wishes.
- Allowing for live performances.
This method is the best because:
- Just by using a VRChat video player, all of the syncing work is handled.
- Video players of this nature can also accept streams, which allows for live performances to be possible.
- As VRSL's fixtures are GPU based, DMX data recieved like this can be instantly sampled into GPU data and thus never leave the GPU for the entirety of its processing. This results in entirely hardware-accelerated computation with nearly unrivaled performance.
Documentation Table of Contents
As mentioned earlier, there is much flexibility in how to use VRSL. This section will outline where to go depending on what you want to know about.
All of these require a VRSL-Compatible Unity Project and the VRSL Artnet Gridnode.
- Using the Gridnode
The VRSL Gridnode is an Artnet compatible device used to convert Artnet DMX into the DMX via Video used by VRSL. It is required for VRSL's use, and can be acquired here.
- TekOSC, DesktopDupe and Dummy Rigs
For starting out or programming a show, you are not required to run a stream to use VRSL. This is because either TekOSC or uDesktopDuplication can be used to treat the grid node locally as the incoming feed for VRSL.
- Your First Stream
Once you have prepared your show, to show it to others all you have to do is stream your video. This page contains information about streaming and minimizing latency.
- Lighting Your World
Another part of VRSL designed for ease-of-use is the process of setting up your world to support VRSL fixture control. This page will guide you through equipping your world with VRSL light fixtures.