Devlog 2013-sep-13

This weeks activities

Dynamic types into Content Editor

I spent the first part of the week adding in the reflection code for dynamic types into the content editor. This still needs work in order to populate the treeview dynamically, but the plumbing in the background as it were, has been done. More work on this expected in the following weeks.


UDP and Networking

A few months ago, I built a network stack in Unity3D, and used it in a game demo. It was great to control multiple players and watch them on each client. I learnt a fair bit about server game programming, server ticks and all of that.

The idea of making SurviveRL multiplayer has been like an itch on my back that needs itching. I have always been against in before, but as I kept relooking at Ultima Online these past few weeks, the idea of making this game multiplayer grew stronger.

Part of the fun with Ultima Online was the multiplayer aspect. With the amount of skills and items in the game, together with the crafting and vendor support, I dont think SurviveRL would be the same without multiplayer.

So, I spent a few days making the groundwork for a UDP stack. This is done. Expect multiplayer support in v0.07a instead of other stuff.

ISO 7816-3 as a Network Protocol

7816 is the standard assumed in smartcards. Part 3, has a great description of the transmission, especially the T=0 protocol (part 3.5). The Answer To Reset (ATR) is a prime example of identification without overcomplicating matters. Link: http://www.cardwerk.com/smartcards/smartcard_standard_ISO7816-3.aspx

7816 can be applied to other areas of transmission, in particular data tranmission across networks. T=0 has a 5 byte hex header, a 255 byte data payload, an ACK, and a 2 byte response. It also has a single (0x60) procedure byte as a keepalive from the client.No compression is needed, as the protocol itself is efficient. Encryption of the payload is possible also, as it can be announced in the header. I spent years working with 7816, and couldnt find anything negative about it.

I will provide an example of how it all works in another post.

There might be other protocols better suited for network packets, but I like 7816, and using it as a network protocol was always something I wanted to do.

v0.07a

The next version then, will include 2 "@"s running around, each from separate clients interacting with a server. 2 is just a ballpark number. 100+ could be there, assuming there is space on the screen for each of them, and that your PC can start 100+ clients.