Name	Description	Example
`AWS_CLOUD_GAMING_PROFILE`	The AWS profile to use corresponding to a profile in your AWS config (usually ~/.aws/config). Defaults to `personal` This profile should have permissions to create the appropriate resources in AWS, including CloudFormation stacks, and EC2 instances	`AWS_CLOUD_GAMING_PROFILE=uber-sandbox`
`AWS_CLOUD_GAMING_SSH_KEY`	The name of some key pair that exists in AWS and that you have locally in your `~/.ssh` directory	`AWS_CLOUD_GAMING_SSH_KEY=team-building`

CDK Variables

Modify the following properties in the cloud-gaming-on-ec2 stack:

Parameter Name	Description
`ACCOUNT_ID`	The AWS account ID you want to use
`REGION`	The AWS region in which you want the resources created
`VPC_ID`	The ID of the VPC you wish to deploy the instance into
`SUBNET_ID`	The ID of a public subnet that you want your instance deployed into
`SUBNET_AVAILABILITY_ZONE`	The availability zone of the subnet you provided

Running the application

To run the application, simply run

./cloud-gaming.sh

from the root directory and follow all instructions/menu choices and the script will take care of everything else!

Debugging

The scripts output logs to /tmp/cloud-gaming.log for easy debugging and auditing.

Note that CDK specific logs are output for each CDK task (synth, bootstrap, deploy) in their own log files to make debugging the CDK easier:

synth outputs logs to /tmp/cdk-synth.log
bootstrap outputs logs to /tmp/cdk-bootstrap.log
deploy outputs logs to /tmp/cdk-deploy.log

Customizing the EC2 Instance

Change the Instance type

To change the instance type, simply create a new stack that subclasses the base.ts, and override the getUserData() and getInstanceType() methods to change the type, and customize the user data for the instance. Just make sure to add the new call to this stack in cloud-gaming-on-ec2.ts

Log into instance desktop

You can log into the desktop of the instance via the Manage Personal Instance menu in the cloud-gaming.sh script.

Managing instance state

All personal instance management can be achieved via the Manage Personal Instance menu in the cloud-gaming.sh script. This includes

Checking the state of the instance (started, stopped, terminated, etc.)
Start the instance
Stop the instance

Managing the Stream

There are two types of streams this project enables: Personal and Shared

Personal Streams

A personal stream is a Steam Link stream to your personal EC2 instance. This is ideal for online multiplayer games where players all play on their own machines.

You can start a stream to your personal instance via the Stream Settings menu in the cloud-gaming.sh script. This will prompt to start your personal instance if it's not already started.

Shared Streams

A shared stream is a Steam Link stream to an instance that multiple people are connecting to at once. This is ideal for couch co-op games like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, etc. where everyone needs to be on the same machine.

You can either be a host or a player in a shared stream.

Hosts host the shared stream on their EC2 instance, and players are the other players connecting to that same instance.

The Stream Settings menu in the cloud-gaming.sh script will guide you through the setup of either the host or player stream for a shared stream.

Note: A Shared stream will not overwrite your settings to connect to your personal instance. You'll just have to change back to your personal instance in Steam Link via the Gear icon -> Computers menu.

Troubleshooting

I can't connect to my instance again after rebooting

Your public IP may have changed, so you may be blocked from the security group. To correct it, simply re-deploy the stack and skip the setup steps again. This will update the security group with your current public IP address and allow you access to the instance again.

Built With

Bash - Shell that all the scripts are written in
Node.js - JS runtime for CDK
TypeScript - CDK stacks and constructs are written in TS
AWS CDK - AWS Cloud Development Kit is IaC using familiar programming languages. It's used to define the EC2 instance
AWS CLI - Used to manage the EC2 instance; e.g. get credentials for instance, start/stop/restart instance, check instance status, etc.
Whiptail - Used to create a TUI for the user
Dialog - Used to display tail boxes for long-running processes like CDK deploys
NICE DCV - High-performance RDP for connecting to EC2 instance desktop
Xvfb - X Virtual FrameBuffer, used to open a connection to your instance via NICE DCV in the background. Necessary to allow SteamLink connections to your instance
Steam Link - High quality, low latency stream from your machine to your EC2 instance that forwards all inputs, controllers or otherwise.
Flatpak - Used to install Steam Link (Ubuntu only)
xdotool - X11 automation tool to minimize the terminal
pulsemixer - Used to mute NICE DCV running in Xvfb so there's no echoing of sound between Steam Link and NICE DCV
nc - Ping the EC2 instance on port 8443 to see when NICE DCV is running