Two or more computers connected together via cable bound or wireless communication links for the purpose of information exchange.
54
votes
6answers
7k views
How to write a network game? [closed]
Based on Why is so hard to develop a MMO?:
Networked game development is not trivial; there are large obstacles to overcome in not only latency, but cheat prevention, state management and load ...
32
votes
8answers
5k views
Is the TCP protocol good enough for real-time multiplayer games?
Back in the day, TCP connections over dialup/ISDN/slow broadband resulted in choppy, laggy games because a single dropped packet resulted in a resync. That meant a lot of game developers had to ...
30
votes
8answers
2k views
How are deterministic games possible in the face of floating-point non-determinism?
To make a game like an RTS networked, I've seen a number of answers here suggest to make the game completely deterministic; then you only have to transfer the users' actions to each other, and lag ...
29
votes
4answers
2k views
Movement prediction for non-shooters
I'm working on an isometric 2D game with moderate-scale multiplayer, approximately 20-30 players connected at once to a persistent server. I've had some difficulty getting a good movement prediction ...
24
votes
8answers
9k views
How can I make a peer-to-peer multiplayer game?
How can I make a p2p multiplayer game?
I would like to have a server-less multiplayer game. But then, how all the clients know each other?
Why the p2p-protocol is so famous in file transfer but not ...
21
votes
9answers
1k views
Techniques to prevent non-official clients in network gaming?
In multi-player network games, what techniques exist to try to ensure that users are connecting with the official client application, and not some hacked client app?
I realise there is probably no ...
20
votes
2answers
1k views
How to network this entity system?
I have designed an entity system for an FPS. It basically works like this:
We have a "world"-object, called GameWorld. This holds an array of GameObject, as well as an array of ComponentManager.
...
18
votes
9answers
1k views
Real-time Debugging Techniques
There's nothing quite like the routine of tweaking a variable, compiling code that takes a few minutes, executing the code, realizing that your tweak was in the wrong direction and repeating the ...
17
votes
4answers
606 views
Tricks in game mechanics to avoid dealing with network lag compensation?
Implementing network lag compensation is hard, how to avoid it?
Maybe it's possible to use tricks and build game mechanics in such a way that lag would be percieved as a non critical or even as a ...
16
votes
9answers
821 views
How do/should MMOs handle disconnection during PvP?
In an MMO (not even necessarily an MMORPG) what are some techniques for dealing with players disconnecting in the middle of PvP?
In particular - how do you avoid adversely affecting people who get ...
15
votes
4answers
3k views
Best strategy (tried and tested) for using Box2D in a real-time multiplayer game?
I am currently tackling real-time multiplayer physics updates for a game engine I am writing. My question is how best to use Box2D for networked physics. If I run the simulation on the server, should ...
15
votes
4answers
1k views
What is involved for a simple UDP game?
I once tried to write a simple game with UDP in a week as a throwaway test. It went horribly.
I threw it away early. The main problem i had was restoring the game state of all players/enemies/objects ...
14
votes
9answers
5k views
Adding multiplayer to an HTML5 game
I am interested in making a game that I currently have a co-op experience, however I'm curious as to the best method of implementing this in HTML5.
I have made games before using straight C sockets, ...
14
votes
2answers
818 views
Should the game host be the authority, or another dumb client?
When designing a networked multiplayer-game where one player hosts and others connect, there are two strategies I'm aware of:
Have the host-player's game be the authority, with all other players as ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
How to make a multiplayer game work reliably behind NAT?
Even games that are 100% client/server sometimes have issues when the client is behind NAT. Peee-peer games are even a bigger issues. Some games need to use multiple transports (such as UDP and TCP) ...
13
votes
5answers
4k views
Lag compensation with networked 2D games
I want to make a 2D game that is basically a physics driven sandbox / activity game. There is something I really do not understand though. From research, it seems like updates from the server should ...
13
votes
4answers
530 views
How to protect your real time online shooter from potential bots
I'm looking to create a multiplayer top down shooter. While I've read about different topics, I can see them I've got some real challenges ahead, but I'm all up for it.
One thing I can't understand ...
12
votes
4answers
557 views
How can I assign entity IDs in a robust way in a network game?
I'm working on an entity system for a networked game and I'm assigning each entity a unique 32-bit integer id that I can use to serialize references to entities and the entities themselves.
Currently ...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
Should I keep login server apart from game server?
I'm thinking of making a MMO server, and I've been looking at how other games structure their network. One of the things I've noticed is that there's always a Login server and then the game server(s).
...
12
votes
2answers
293 views
Are there tools for testing multiplayer code?
Are there reliable tools that can simulate real life-like network conditions e.g. networks with different bandwidth, different latencies, packet loss etc...?
11
votes
3answers
2k views
Client side prediction + sync
So I've read Valve + Gafferon and literally hundreds of pages from Google but for whatever reason I can't get my head around client prediction.
The basic problem to my understanding is:
Client A ...
11
votes
3answers
865 views
Turn-based board game server references?
Are there any good references/books to recommend about how to build a turn-base game server? It's something like a chess server for pairing chess players and keep game states. In the past, for example ...
10
votes
3answers
752 views
How do I efficiently code both the client and server at the same time?
I'm coding my game using a client-server model. When playing on singleplayer, the game starts a local server, and interacts with it just like a remote server (multiplayer). I have done this to avoid ...
10
votes
2answers
478 views
Do I need to implement IPv6 support for my game?
I'm going to implement network features for the game I'm currently working on, now I'm wondering if I need to implement IPv6 support or just having support for IPv4 is enough?
10
votes
2answers
4k views
What are the networking possibilities with XNA and Xbox 360?
I know that XNA for Xbox 360 has limited access to networking, rumored to only allow communication via a propitiatory Microsoft protocol to other Xbox 360 units.
What are the networking possibilities ...
10
votes
1answer
640 views
Implementing network smoothing
We are making a multipler first person shooter.
The client sends it's position to the server at a fixed rate (currently at 10Hz). The server sends a single message contatining all player's positions ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
Should I write my own physics engine, because of networking integration?
I'm currently developing a top down, realtime, zombie shooter. I'm coding this in Java, using JBox2D as my physics engine. I have been coding the networking this week, and am now up to the physics ...
9
votes
5answers
1k views
Network layer libraries [closed]
I'm looking for any network layers that are available to add to my game, either free or with fair pricing for indie games.
By network layers I mean some sort of library which I can interface with, ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
MMO techniques, algorithms and resources for keeping bandwidth low?
Are there any resources and documentation on how current MMOs handle the action and movement data from the compression to the handling on the client?
Any resources for movement prediction algorithms?
...
9
votes
5answers
664 views
Networking Pong Clone
I have the fundamentals of TCP sockets, UDP communication etc, but can't find much on how to apply these to a real time game environment.
I have a Pong clone, with 4 players, and need to synchronise ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Online multiplayer game basics
I'm currently working on a c# online multiplayer game in real-time. The aim is to have client/server based connection using the UDP protocol. So far I've used UDP for players' movements and TCP for ...
9
votes
1answer
316 views
Client Side Prediction
I have a question regarding Client Side prediction.
Most tutorials and explanations assume that the Client sends messages like "Move my player up by 1 Position", but what if I send messages like "Set ...
9
votes
1answer
381 views
How to keep a data structure synchronized over a network?
Context
In the game I'm working on (a sort of a point and click graphic adventure), pretty much everything that happens in the game world is controlled by an action manager that is structured a bit ...
9
votes
2answers
238 views
Server-side Input
Currently in my game, the client is nothing but a renderer. When input state is changed, the client sends a packet to the server and moves the player as if it were processing the input, but the ...
8
votes
3answers
916 views
Is knowledge of hacking mechanisms required for an MMO?
Say I was planning on, in the future (not now! There is alot I need to learn first) looking to participating in a group project that was going to make a massively multiplayer online game (mmo), and my ...
8
votes
4answers
318 views
Can packet latency fluctuate?
Can the time it takes for a packet to be transmitted from a client to the server fluctuate?
8
votes
6answers
2k views
Which server platform to choose
I'm going to write a server for an online multiplayer with these requirements:
Pretty simple turn based game (think a card game) that is played entirely on the server (security reasons)
Must be able ...
8
votes
3answers
4k views
Best solution for multiplayer realtime Android game
I plan to make multiplayer realtime game for Android (2-8 players), and I consider, which solution for multiplayer organization is the best:
Make server on PC, and client on mobile, all communition ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Networking in Flash games. Socket or Stratus?
Working on a prototype for a Flash game that will use networking communication. It would be better to use Peer 2 Peer connection, since it will be a multiplayer game.
Has anyone used Stratus or tried ...
8
votes
2answers
433 views
How to find a game server in the LAN network with IPv6 technology?
Back in the IPv4 days, people simply used broadcast packets check if there are any server available in the network as described in this answer. But in the IPv6 protocol they've dropped broadcast ...
8
votes
3answers
295 views
How to prevent a hacked-server from spoofing a master server?
I wish to setup a room-based multilayer game model where players may host matches and serve as host (IE the server with authoritative power). I wish to host a master server which tracks player's ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the best ways to serialize and unserialize network messages for C/C++ multiplayer game?
We are using JSON right now and want to move to a binary format for some types of messages between client and server.
Should I just read structs into the socket? Use proticol buffers/thrift?
How ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Networking in real-time strategy games
What is the current state-of-the-art to network real-time strategy games?
I seem to recall that a few years ago, some AAA titles only transmitted the player inputs (Starcraft 1, Age of Empires). ...
8
votes
3answers
906 views
What is involved in creating a real-time multiplayer platformer game?
I'm creating a platformer game that has a "co-operative" feature which I'd like to work over networks / the internet.
Now I've read up on network game programming including articles like What every ...
8
votes
3answers
918 views
Is there a pattern for writing a turn-based server communicating with n clients over sockets?
I'm working on a generic game server that manages games for an arbitrary number of TCP socket-networked clients playing a game. I have a 'design' hacked together with duct-tape that is working, but ...
8
votes
1answer
274 views
Running both the server and the client within the same process
Question
I have just started working with Lidgren and networking for the first time, and I've come to the realisation that it is possible to run both the server and the client within the same ...
8
votes
2answers
737 views
Network Multiplayer in Flash
Flash has come a long way in the last decade, and it's a well-kept secret getting a Flash game to connect to a multi-client server for chat and/or basic avatar movement in real time.
Why has the ...
8
votes
2answers
437 views
What are the restrictions of 3g online games
I am looking into make a 3g online multiplayer game for the iphone. Multiplayer is my main focus but I have noticed all game apps require wi-fi. Dose anyone know if this is simply an issue with the ...
7
votes
3answers
591 views
Prevent players from wallhacking in an online FPS?
Why do we still moan on wallhackers in multiplayer first-person shooters?
Isn't it possible to perform occlusion culling for all players server-side? For example, send player xyz information to ...
7
votes
3answers
3k views
Tips for communication between JS browser game and node.js server?
I am tinkering around with some simple Canvas based cave flyer game and I would like to make it multiplayer eventually. The plan is to use Node.js on the server side.
The data sent over would ...
