Okay greets,

I've been lurking around here since A4, and have finally gotten enough work to afford to plunk down some cash for a game design engine. I have messed around with 3DGS up to version 5 and have just downloaded the A6 demo on my new PC.

Before I go ahead and start shooting checks around and spending my meager allowance (the wife says I have to be frugal) I was curious as to whether or not A6 has ironed out the major issues with Multiplayer. I'm talking about having a game that connects over IP, allows 10 - 12 players to connect and play a decent game (plays at 40 - 60 FPS locally).

Does A6 provide a basic MP framework that takes care of synchronization, timing, and movement or am I left to develop everything from scratch?
Are the templates finally useful, or is it still like it was in A5?
Also, is GameSpace worth the $$? They are always spamming out their "Bundle-Wares".

Appreciate any info.
Cheers,

Mark

I dont really know about the framework, but I can answer your questions as far as number of players and FPS. The number of players depends on the version you buy. Standard and extra do not support multiplayer games. Commercial - 200$ - suports 1-4 players, and professional - 800$ - supports unlimited players. You can also buy populace, for 150$ i think, that works with any version.

The FPS largly depends on the type of game you have made. If you have shaders, particle effects, and hi-def modeling everywhere, you game will not run very fast unless you are running a high-end computer on a LAN or through cable/T1.

I dont know about the templates, I never use them...

About gamespace, I dont feel that it is worth it. However, this is my PERSONAL opinion. I tried gamespace light, and did not like it at all.

Sorry, those are the only ones i can answer, maybe someone else can pick up where I left off .

Hmmm, thanks guys. Appreciate your candor. It sounds like things haven't progressed much on the multi-player side in over 3 years. Why is that? I would think it would be a MAJOR development focal area.

800 bucks is a lot to fork over without provisioning a working methodology. Has anyone gotten a working MP game beyond 4 players or is everything just totally solo?

Guess I need to start posting in the "Other Tools & Engines" area. That is a real shame. I was quite pleased with the results I was (finally) getting with A5 before I gave it up. I have some really good design docs, and a single player space game (doesn't EVERYONE) that is about 60% complete. It's playable, and runs well, but wouldn't amount to much without some serious AI and of course, multi-player. Stupid bots are only entertaining for a day or two.

Cheers!
Mark

there are tutorials but not really focused for mp except maybe 10 players and remember u nedd a server too so it is hard 2 do