Configure the Windows Instance

Setting up a Windows instance on your cloud environment is similar to setting up a real machine. This section walks you through setting up TightVNC for your remote connection, then the audio and video components you’ll need.

Note

You can find these instructions on the Desktop of the game machine under the 0 - Genvid Documentation shortcut.

Change the VNC password

The default VNC password is set to 1genvid6. Although the port is not accessible outside the trusted IPs set by the system (which is only the external IP of the developer machine IP by default), it is still a good idea to change the password to something only your team knows.

To modify the TightVNC configuration, click the TightVNC icon in the notification area of the taskbar.

TightVNC Icon Toolbar

This opens the TightVNC configuration dialog where you can change the Primary password. After making your changes, restart TightVNC for them to take effect.

TightVNC Configuration

See also

Tight VNC Documentation

Install the Virtual Audio Cable

Because the instance doesn’t have real speakers Genvid uses virtual drivers. You can install them using the Install VBAudio shortcut added to your desktop during the Genvid MILE SDK install process.

Note

The default setup with the free VB-Audio driver has an audio resolution of 16 bits.

  1. Double-click 1 - Install VBAudio.

    Run with PowerShell

  2. Click Yes on the Windows Security dialog box.

    User Access Control

    A window will pop up and the script downloads the installer and starts it.

  3. Click Install Driver on the VBAudio installer appears.

    VBAudio Install Driver

  4. Click Yes on the Windows Security dialog box.

    Windows Security

  5. Click OK when the installer finishes.

    Note

    Don’t reboot yet. That can wait until after you install the video drivers.

Install the NVIDIA GRID Drivers

To install the NVIDIA GRID drivers, launch the 2 - Install NVIDIA GRID Drivers from the desktop. This opens the NVIDIA Web Page for the Driver.

NVIDIA Driver Download page

  1. Click the Download button. After, you will see the NVIDIA License Agreement.

  2. Click Agree & Download to accept and save or directly run the installer.

    NVIDIA Driver Download and Run

  3. When the Windows Security dialog appears, click Yes.

  4. Accept the defaults to start the installation.

When installation finishes, you’re prompted to reboot the machine. Restart it now to finish the setup. The machine only needs a few seconds to restart and you can reconnect to it.

Set Up the Display

Once you reconnect, launch the 3 - Change Desktop Resolution link on the desktop. This will open the Screen Resolution window.

The new display named NVIDIA VGX should now be visible.

  1. Set the main display of the virtual machine to NVIDIA VGX.

  2. Set the maximum resolution to 2560x1600.

    Setting the maximum resolution to 2560x1600 ensures that the video stream and overlay are aligned. This won’t affect your game or stream resolution.

    Configure NVIDIA display.

  3. Click OK.

  4. If you had to change any settings, you will get a dialog window to confirm changes. Click Keep Changes.

Launch the 4 - Manage 3D Settings link from the desktop to open the NVIDIA Control Panel. You can then select 3D options you want. We recommend you at least set power management to favor performance.

  1. Go to 3D Settings -> Manage 3D Settings.

  2. Select Prefer maximum performance under Power management mode.

  3. Click Apply.

    NVIDIA 3D Settings

Time Source

By default, the machine is configured to sync its clock with AWS’s recommended time server: 169.254.169.123.

See this AWS News Blog article for more information.

Finish Customizing the Game Machine

You can now customize and install any runtime libraries or special software you want on the machine. Although you can update the game later, you can save some setup time if nothing is likely to change.

Note

Don’t install anything on the Z: drive, as it will be scrapped when we terminate the instance.