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Coordinated App Launch (CAL)

Coordinated App Launch (CAL) allows users to form groups and launch your social app together from Oculus Home.

There are two steps to using CAL in your game, integrating the CAL API and configuring CAL on the Oculus Developer Dashboard.

Coordinated App Launch is only available for Gear VR apps at this time.

Integrate CAL API

When users launch a CAL-enabled app from Rooms, your app will receive information about the users in the room, as well as the unique roomID created for the session. This information is sent with the launch intent. You can also retrieve this information from the following method:

ovrLaunchDetailsHandle handle = ovr_ApplicationLifecycle_GetLaunchDetails();
if (ovr_LaunchDetails_GetLaunchType(handle) == ovrLaunchType_Coordinated) {
    ovrID roomID = ovr_LaunchDetails_GetRoomID(handle);
    ovrUserArrayHandle usersHandle = ovr_LaunchDetails_GetUsers(handle);
    ...
}

Or if you're using Unity:

using Oculus.Platform;
using Oculus.Platform.Models;
                
LaunchDetails launchDetails =
    LaunchDetails(CAPI.ovr_ApplicationLifecycle_GetLaunchDetails());
if (launchDetails.LaunchType == LaunchType.Coordinated) {
    UInt64 roomID = launchDetails.RoomID;
    UserList users = launchDetails.Users;
    ...
}

These methods are synchronous and will return results immediately.

Note: To test your integration during development, you can simulate a CAL event by using the following command on your phone:

adb shell "am start -n com.your.package.name/.YourMainActivity -e intent_cmd \
'"'{"ovr_social_launch":{"type":"COORDINATED","room_id":"123","users" \
:[{"id":"4","alias":"janedoe1234"},{"id":"7","alias":"johndoe5678" \
}]}}'"'"

Replacing com.your.package.name/.YourMainActivity with your app's package name and initial activity, and the 'users' array with the IDs and user names of your own test users.

You can use this CAL information to place the group in a shared VR session.

If you plan to use Voice Chat (VoIP) in your app, you'll need to determine how you will be handling the transition from Rooms to your app. Please see Parties for more information.

Configure CAL

To configure CAL select your app in the Developer Dashboard and navigate to CAL in the Platform tab.

Select 'Supported' to enable CAL and choose the required minimum and maximum users to allow in the launch of an app session. The number of users allowed will depend on the type of app you are creating. For example, a game of Chess should require both a minimum and maximum of 2, while an open-ended multiplayer game could accept groups between 1 and 4.

Enter the minimum version code for the first build that supports the CAL API. For the approval process, the build can be in any of the testing or development channels.

Once CAL support is enabled and a supported build is uploaded, any account on that release channel will be able to test the feature in Rooms.

After the configuration is complete and API integrated, you can submit the app for CAL review. Please send an email requesting review to submissions@oculus.com. When the app is approved you will have the option of setting the Public field to 'Yes' enabling public use of the feature.

User Experience Recommendations

We recommend that your app immediately places users into a social experience. Also, if your app offers multiple game modes or options, we recommend that you set a default mode so users are taken to a social VR experience as soon as possible. If session or game customization is available, present these choices after the users can hear and see each other.