trigger on multi-machine setup

Good morning,

I have a multi-machine setup consisting of three PCs, each running Unreal Engine 5.4 (same project) and Aximmetry DE 2024.3 on each.

Everything is currently working correctly. However, I now need to trigger an event in the Unreal Engine 5 project, simultaneously across all three PCs, from Aximmetry.

Is there a built-in way to achieve this within Aximmetry? Perhaps by connecting the three Aximmetry instances remotely and triggering the event simultaneously? I'd like to explore Aximmetry's capabilities before looking into third-party solutions or Unreal Engine-specific methods.

Thank you for your assistance.

Kind Regards,

Alain Majdalani

AlainMajda

Eifert@Aximmetry

Hi Alain,

In a multi-machine setup, UI interactions in Aximmetry, such as those in the Pin Values panel and Control Board, are synced across machines. This synchronization ensures that as long as you start events through UI interactions, they should work without issues.
However, issues can arise with events that are time-dependent, particularly if they are timed from the startup of a compound or Unreal Engine, as Aximmetry does not ensure simultaneous startups of the compounds and Unreal.
Additionally, note that this does not guarantee synchronized frame output. For example, if you are using SDI capture cards to output the Aximmetry-rendered picture, you can use genlock to ensure frames are synchronized.

Note, there are also various ways to make events happen only on certain computers or send information from one computer to the other.

Warmest regards,

AlainMajda

Thank you for your answers! The production will be live on tape, so I'm not planning to do timed events. Manually triggering them will work.

You mentioned various ways to make events happen on only certain computers, etc. Could you please elaborate? Are you talking about triggering the information from one Unreal Engine instance to another? For example, similar to how multiplayer networking works within Unreal? Or is it something different?

Thanks again,

Kind Regards,

Alain

Eifert@Aximmetry

Hi Alain,

I was referring to solutions available in Aximmetry's Flow Editor.
Note that Aximmetry does not use Unreal's multiplayer networking. While it is technically possible to implement Unreal's multiplayer networking in your Unreal project for Aximmetry, it is excessive and probably inflexible for virtual production purposes.

What I meant to say is that you can create Flow Editor logic that will only run on a specific computer. You can achieve this by identifying the computer using the System Params' Engine pin. For example, you can create the following logic to play different videos on each machine:
trigger on multi-machine setup

Additionally, you can use the MultiMach_Transmit_Video compound to send videos from one remote computer to another. For more information, visit: https://aximmetry.com/learn/virtual-production-workflow/multi-machine-environment/advanced-information-and-features/transmiting-videos-from-render-to-control-machine/

Also, when using Set ... Pin modules, since these modules use the UI, any pin they set will apply to all machines. By combining these modules with the System Params' Engine pin, you can easily send information from one specific computer to another.

Note, that when working in a multi-machine environment, the Aximmetry Renderer window has a Peeker option. This option will show the value of the remote machine when using peeking (holding down CTRL) in your controller machine, making it easier to develop with the modules I mentioned.

Warmest regards,

trigger on multi-machine setup

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