Requirements, Installation and Quick Start¶
Installation¶
Use Unity 6.3 LTS, Unity Input System, and Unity UI (uGUI / TextMeshPro). The supplied visual and game samples use the Universal Render Pipeline (URP). Install the Unity Registry packages through Package Manager and enable the Input System in Player Settings. Core session, input, lobby and gameplay integration is not inherently tied to URP. Smart UI Focus & Navigation is included.
Before opening UI samples in a fresh project, use Window > TextMeshPro > Import TMP Essential Resources. Unity UI supplies the TMP APIs; this separate import supplies the default fonts, materials, shaders and TMP Settings used by the examples. Couch does not bundle those standard resources. If compatible Essential Resources are already present, keep them and your TMP configuration; do not overwrite them unnecessarily. No TMP Examples & Extras import is required. This is a one-time customer setup step.
Quick Start¶
- Open Setup Wizard. Choose Create New Lobby for an editable supplied presentation, or Integrate Existing Canvas for your own saved UI.
- Characters: assign a Character Catalog and Maximum Local Players. Use Generate from Prefabs... if you have no catalog: add your playable prefab assets, choose an existing Assets folder, Review Plan, then Generate Reviewed Assets. Assign the resulting catalog back in the Wizard.
- Lobby UI: choose a supplied style, an existing customer-owned Assets folder and a new asset name. For Existing Canvas, assign its shared Start Button and the required controls for each player.
- Gameplay: choose your saved Gameplay Scene, enabled in the project scene configuration. Open Gameplay Scene Additively lets you inspect its Gameplay Player Setup. Configure representation and input on those existing components using Chapter 7 — Gameplay Representation and Spawning and Chapter 8 — Gameplay Input Integration. API-only consumers can use their own game integration.
- Cameras: leave management disabled to keep your cameras, or Enable Shared / Split Screen Camera Management and assign the required gameplay references. Your game supplies camera follow/framing; see Chapter 10 — Shared and Split Screen Cameras.
- Review and test: resolve blocking issues, review output paths, scene-file changes and project scene-list changes, then Apply Setup. Use Open Lobby Scene, save, and Test Lobby in Play Mode. Join, choose characters, confirm every joined player, then submit the shared Start Game control.
The Wizard copies a supplied scene/prefab or wires your Existing Canvas. It configures the catalog, capacity and gameplay destination; optional camera wiring uses an existing gameplay setup. It does not create gameplay movement or configure input adapters. Save existing lobby/gameplay scene edits after Apply. Scene wiring supports Undo; created assets and project scene-list changes must be reviewed separately when reverting.
Default lobby controls¶
| Source | Join | Browse characters | Confirm | Leave |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyboard A | Q | A / D | F | G |
| Keyboard B | P | Left / Right | Enter | Backspace |
| Gamepad | Start | Left stick / D-pad | South face button | Select / Share / Create |
| Generic joystick / supported HID | Controller Profile Join | Profile navigation | Profile Confirm | Profile Leave |
Down moves focus toward shared Start in the supplied lobbies (S for Keyboard A, Down for Keyboard B). Moving UI focus does not clear Ready. Start requires at least one joined player, all joined players Ready, and their input available; Rocket Rumble additionally requires two players. Two logical keyboard roles share one physical keyboard. More players need compatible controllers. Gameplay controls are configured separately and can differ from lobby controls.