Network Object

[Krush_Brother]

Has anybody had any success with the Network object in MMF2?

I've got it working, but it has a terrible lag for such small amounts of information being sent.
And yes, the information is only sent when it's needed, rather than constantly which would be silly.

I'm just curious as to whether the object was left "unfinished" (for want of a better word) because the Moo objects were more widely used.

More importantly for what I'm writing at the moment, can the Moo family of objects be used to communicate between computers on a Network WITHOUT having to access the Internet?
If not, I might have to scrap my current plans.

BTW, I know it's not my LAN, because I regularly have Quake and Duke Nukem battles over 3 computers (1 of them being a Laptop), without any lag at all.

Ta muchly.

Krush.

[Joshtek]

AFAIK the Network object communicates using MailSlots over the SMB protocol. This isn't the most efficient way of communicating lots of data and is not guaranteed.

MooClick uses TCP/IP (the UDP implementation was broken last I heard). It should be better in general and doesn't need Internet access so long as one of the computers on the network uses the "Host" action and acts as a server.

[SEELE]

The network object also has multiple requirements to do with the way your network is setup; i make an effort to avoid it.

however as Joshtek has said mooclick (and several other objects) can fill the role verywell.

[Krush_Brother]

Thanks guys.
That'll save me a lot of time I would have wasted on the Network object.
I'll do some testing with the Moo objects and see how it goes.

Thanks again,
Krush.

[neat_Kliker2]

what would be VERY useful; an extension that can send broadcast packets so all computers on a subnet will pick it up without needing to be connected to a server

[Krush_Brother]

That's better!

I've used the MooGame object, and I've got 2 player network play without any lag, so I'm happy with that for what I had in mind.

For future use with any game that requires more than 2 players I've tested the speed with 6 instances of the program running on the same machine, and the speed is still very good, but I'm having trouble identifying which player object in the 6 instances has sent the data.

To clarify a bit, the app that you are using controls your main character (let's say active 1), and any other people connected to the game are represented in your window by instances of Active 2.
As I say, for 2 player games, what I have now is fine, but when I tried it with 6 instances of the program running, instead of seeing one instance of Active 2 moving in all the other windows, they all occupy the same space.
The same as destroying an active object in an MMF2 app will kill all instances of it if you don't first use a method of picking one.

So although I don't need it for anything right now, it would be good to hear any comments or views on it.

For now though, I can at least get on with the 2 player game I was thinking of.

Lastly, are there any network multiplayer games out there that were created with MMF2?
I'd just like to see how others have got on.

One thing that just occurred to me right now; Are there any differences between MMF2 and MMF2 Developer where the MooApi is concerned?
I really hope not.
Although I intend to upgrade at some point, I'd rather do it because I'm enjoying the program rather than out of necessity.

Cheers.

[Joshtek]

If each instance has their alterable value A set to the player ID of the person they are tracking then you can add a "is player ID alt valuable equal to moo player id" condition to the movement event, making all actions only relate to the instance(s) which met the condition. Personally I'd use MooClick over MooGame.

Lastly, are there any network multiplayer games out there that were created with MMF2?
http://www.tankwarsonline.com/ has network play - it was made with MMF 1.5

One thing that just occurred to me right now; Are there any differences between MMF2 and MMF2 Developer where the MooApi is concerned?
No. Objects don't differ between MMF2 and MMF2 Developer, its just MMF2 Developer has more objects, more features and a more relaxed runtime agreement.

[Krush_Brother]

Hi Josh.

Thanks for that.

I did try using alterable value A to hold the ID originally, but I couldn't find a way to get a handle on the individual players using them with the MooGame.
Thanks to your advice, I used the MooClick instead, and got it working first time.
Not sure what I was doing wrong with MooGame, but I'm more than happy to use MooClick.
Works like a charm.

And I like that tank game.
Demonstrates exactly what I wanted to see.
And I know a fair few people who will want to download that game for their LAN sessions with their families.

Big thanks to all who pointed me in the right direction.
You saved me a lot of time.

Cheers.