I own the commerzial version of a5... so the multiplayer mode is very new to me.

I looked a little bit at it and there appeared a question:

is it able to let the player make a server, connect to an existing sever or play alone without restarting the engine with other parameters? the player should be able to choose this in the main menu of the game, not with setting different start parameters....

if you know AOE for example... in the menu you can choose between "single player", "Join existing multiplayer game" and "Create new multiplayer game"... I don't know, if I understood something wrong with the multiplayer stuff, but it seems to me, that something like that isn't able to do with a5. you always have to know, if you want to be a server, a client, or a single player at the start of the engine.... that's not good.

ps.: I am a little bit confused since I am able to use the multiplayer mode

greetings knex

I am going to try to answer you with my bad English .

I realized a workshop in 3 parts for the mode multiplayer. Both first parts are ended for the month by aout and are at Conitec for check and translation.

The first part is technical and resumes all the possible connections (nullmodem, modem, ipx and tcp).
The second part consists of the creation of a game of trick tap toe (game in the tour for 2 players).

The third part, a little more difficult to implement, will be a shooter for 4 players. I advanced well and it should be ended quickly.

All this to say that I a little studied the mode multi-player and that I can bring you some answers.

There are not other solutions that to launch the mode multi-player with -sv and/or -cl in the line of command.
I admit that it has a small puzzling side but one makes there very fast.
But this has nothing of exceptional. If you look at the example Maze 3d supplies with the SDK directx8 of Microsoft, there is a program to launch on the machine server and another program to launch on the machine client.
You can on the other hand manage in the starting up, a picture of wait of connection of the players with possibility of choosing its colour, accepting or refusing a player, and starting the game when you have your number of players

workshops are always good... thanks for them!

so I can forget my idea, making a multiplayer game where you can choose a server you want to connect out of a list in the main menu (like in UT). a normal multiplayer game isn't in multiplayer mode, when you are in the menu... it switches to multiplayer mode, when you join the level... or am I wrong? i can't belive that a5 can't do that... so you never can make a 'professional looking' multiplayer game with a5

greetings knex

make a seperate program... make a seperate program that is a menu and have it run the client/server programs... and just because it isnt in a5 doesnt mean it wont be in a6...

al1:

This is great news, I want to learn more about developing internet games. For my website it would be very cool for visitors play a online game!

Nemo

Knex, no that is not the case. You need to scan the server ports in a .dll and create a list of your servers. Or have what we have a root server that does that and your client always connect to ours.

It is not impossible to do.

As for running the game in single, multi or along from a menu, this can be acheived with a front loader menu.

Have the front end menu load up with just what you want them to do. Join a world, create a new one or play alone. Then have a5 run the correct script.

Hope this helps.

Also your way off about not being able to make a professioal A5 multi-player game. We are actually doing it. Just because a feature is not exact nothing stops you from producing the exact effect you want in a .dll.

so something like I want would be possible in a dll... that would be great....

I don't have the SDK... but I'm learning C++ in school... so maybe I buy it in some time.

thx for your answers!

greetings knex