Building and Deployment

When your study is ready, you build it into an application participants can run, on a computer or in a web browser. These pages cover building and deploying, loading assets with Addressables, launch options for Windows builds, the server that authorizes participants and stores their data, keeping scenes running smoothly, and tools for testing.

📄️Addressables

The simulator uses Unity’s Addressables system to manage assets at runtime. The Addressables system lets you mark assets (such as scenes or ScriptableObjects) so Unity can load them by reference when needed, rather than including them directly in scenes. This is a standard Unity feature for managing runtime content.

📄️Building the Application

While you can test your project in the Unity Editor, you often need to run a build outside the Editor. Playtesting in the Editor often suffers from reduced performance due to the Editor's own overhead, and some issues only appear in a standalone build. Creating a build is also an essential step when preparing for deployment or release. To test your project properly and prepare it for distribution, you need to build the simulator.

📄️Deployment

After you have completed and tested your WebGL build locally, the next step is to deploy it so that others can access it over the network. Deployment involves uploading the build files to a web server or hosting platform where participants can open the build in their browser. This section covers how to host your build on a server.

📄️Server

The Remote Server works alongside the simulator to manage participants and store study data. It provides two functions: authorization, which verifies participant identities before they can access your study, and data collection, which stores the data generated during each session.

📄️Command-Line Arguments

You can pass command-line arguments when you launch your built application to change how it runs. Only Windows standalone builds read command-line arguments; they do not work in WebGL builds.

📄️Scene Optimization

Techniques and Unity settings for improving scene performance, with practical guidance for WebGL and lower-end platforms.

📄️Debug Tools

Tools for testing scenarios in the Editor, including the Debug Manager, spectator camera, performance monitor, and key triggers.