Hi everyone,
I am planning an ambitious XR project to build a full-scale digital twin of our university department. The core loop of the application is to create a persistent virtual campus where students can put on an XR headset, synchronously enter their respective lecture halls to attend live classes, and have their attendance automatically verified and logged.
Because this is a large-scale project, we are starting with a localized Proof of Concept (PoC) restricted strictly to our own department. We will be using RealityScan / photogrammetry data to construct the environment mesh, which will then be imported into Unreal Engine 5.
Before we freeze our tech stack and commit to specific mobile optimization pipelines, I want to ensure our foundational architecture is solid. I’d love to get your thoughts on three high-level architectural pillars:
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RealityScan Asset Management Strategy: What is the best workflow for handling raw photogrammetry data within the master level structure? Is it wiser to assemble individual room scans as standalone actors within one persistently loaded map, or utilize a Level Streaming / World Partition approach to keep the memory footprint low right from the start?
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Network Replication Topology for Large Groups: For a virtual classroom setting supporting 30 to 50 concurrent student avatars, what networking topology handles player sync most efficiently without massive rubberbanding? Should we lean toward a traditional Dedicated Server model, or look into external multiplayer engines (like Photon or Epic Online Services) that specialize in multi-user spatial presence?
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Secure Client-to-Backend State Syncing: We need the XR client to securely log attendance details back to the university’s central database. To keep the client lightweight and secure, should we execute direct REST API calls over HTTP from the client runtime, or should all database mutations strictly route through an authoritative middle-tier server?
If anyone has built multi-user educational platforms, simulation environments, or large-scale digital twins in UE, I would greatly appreciate your advice on how to structure this pipeline before we start coding.
Thanks!