Network Transport Layer

[Jojendersie]

Derive a protocol based on UDP to:

• Broadcast information with loss
• Broadcast information without loss
• Send messages/packets to a target w/o loss

[Wumpf]

From my experience with network programming I recommend a few things warmly:

• Don't fiddle with network protocols you're self. Use either RakNet or at least ENet
• you should think now about what a server does and what a client does
• you should think now about a (probably message based) infrastructure that allows you to translate game events in network messages and vice versa.

One does not simply add network functionality to a game! ;) Personally I still think that this one feature is just too much. I've seen in Skytides how difficult network programming can be even, if the whole architecture is made to be network friendly. Of course it is not impossible, but it will definitely fail if underestimated or started too late!

[Jojendersie]

I entirely agree with you. A network architecture must be added very early. I did it once before in ScarlettGamma and came to the solution that TCP is not the gamers choice. RakNet and ENet might offer a better protocol which is worth using one of them.

Well, what remains is the final decision: Network or not? A strategy game with at least LAN support is much better than without. But yes, it would be the most expensive task in this project.

With Network:

• Less intelligent AI suffices
• Increases the value of the game (LAN-Parties.... possible)
• Introduces Work: Network infrastructure, latency robust physics/input, balancing issues (due to different latencies), most simple tasks must be communicated

Without Network:

• AI must be challenging
• Good single player campaign required
• Network will never be a part of that game ;(

[Thanduriel]

Well, what remains is the final decision: Network or not?

My thoughts on this: definitely NETWORK. Our core future is a sandbox which allows the player to be creative. If you build something cool you want others to see it. If i think about about minecraft its far more fun to build on a server even so you just build your own stuff ... While in sp-action ship design errors or scripts not working as intended may be annoying, in lan.matches i can imagine them to be hilarious.

Yes, i dont know much about network programming(i already realized its not that much fun) but yet i dare to close with an ignorant statement: "It has been done before, so we can do it as well"

[Jojendersie]

Yes, we can.

Desgin coming soon...

Wumpf and me are trying to find a solution which will encapsulate the network such that most other things do not need to bother with this explicitly. There is a new wiki-page which will handle the details in future: https://github.com/Jojendersie/Monolith/wiki/Network-Architecture