MMF2 - The Online Side

By Code6, for Puchisoft.com, Last Update: June 30, 2007

Introduction

This article has some fun information as to how to get some basic multiplayer online things done with Clickteam's MMF2. You may also wish to check out MMF - The Online Side, the prequel to this guide, which went over how to do online stuff with MMF1.5.

If you are missing any extensions, just use MMF2 Add-On Obtainer, the best way to get MMF2 extensions.

Going Online

One of the wonderful things you can do with programming is make something that talks to other programs over the internet. Multiplayer games are very popular these days. Unreal Tournament3 or Quake Wars anyone? So, which extension should you use for MMF2 to make online games? Well, there are up sides and down sides to all your options. Here are some comments on the main online extensions:

MooClick: This is a great choice for your first MMF2 Online game. In fact, I would say it is usually the best choice. Remember, you're not going to make WoW as your first multiplayer project - there is a learning curve to this stuff. The good thing about this is that it uses it's own low level protocol, which does a lot of things for you. For example, there are concepts of Channels on each server, which are like 'Rooms' full of other people. So you can easily get a list of people in your room. This is also the downside. If you want to make a C++ server, or need a very high level of bandwith efficiency, this is not the one to use. However, servers have been done in Java, which is still faster than MMF2 servers.
MooGame: Think MooClick, but less advanced features. You get a few more game-related features...but I have never gotten any of these to work. I've been asking people for years to disprove my theory that MooGame is simply broken by sending me an example of its dead reconing in action. I have not received any good news, so my opinion on this extension, sadly, remains an unfavorable one.
MooSock: This does not have an underlying protocol, unlike MooClick/MooGame. So you can even use this to connect to an http server. This means you'll have to do everything youself though.
AQ Client: Like MooSock, but improved, giving you more powerful control over your packets. Again, this and MooSock should not be used for your first multiplayer game. Right now, AQ Client is only in alpha release, and features some problematic bugs. Also, the author put the project on hold. So if you want to be hardcore and use a C++ server with raw communication, my recommendation is to wait on a debugged release of this extension. If you don't want to be hardcore just yet, use MooClick.

My First Online Application: Chatroom

Ah, the chat room. The chatroom features all the basic things of an online game, you must realize. Most games will use these aspects: You pick a name, you connect to a certain channel/room/area, and you communicate with people in that room. In a chatroom, you just communicate chat. It's not much more in a game; You just also communicate things that you are doing, like walking. Just a few more messages, really. Not a big step up at all from a chatroom. Well, at least in concept. Hehe.

Right then, so pick your poison (extension) and make a chatroom. I also recommend doing this when you first try out a new way to do a multiplayer game. Personally, I am right now getting into AQ Client and making a C++. And guess what I'm making first? Right, a Chatroom.

Now it's your turn to pick an extension. I recommend MooClick if you are new to the online scene. It comes with MMF2, so you already have it.

MooClick - Easy - So you picked MooClick to make a chatroom in. [Coming Soon]

MooSock -Advanced - Alright, you must realize that this will be a bit more difficult. Instead of providing my own example, I recommend an example made by Andos: Online Client and Server. He did a lot of great work on the username registration system. There isn't quite a chatroom feature there, but you can add it. Just use MMF2 Add-On Obtainer to get the needed extensions for opening the sources in MMF2.

AQ Client - Expert - Yes, AQ Client is a lot like MooSock and could easily be used just like MooSock was in Andros example (that is, have an MMF2-made server). However, when using the AQ client, you have the ability to make a server in C++, also using the AQ Library. That is why I gave this example the Expert rating. At the time of writing this article, the AQ Client is still in alpha, but you can watch my progress on this example here. I basically pioneered actually trying out the whole AQ Sock deal. Once again, let me remind you, this extension is NOT YET STABLE.

Time to Game: Multiplayer Walking Around

You now have an understanding of how to make chatrooms with MooClick. We're going to use this concept to make an exciting game: Multiplayer Walking Around. Hehe. Ok, maybe not that exciting for gamers, but I'm sure you'll be excited to walk around and see other players walk around on your screen. [Coming Soon]

Let Players find Player-Hosted Servers: Master Server

If your game let's users host their own game server, you probably want to give players an easy way to find such servers. You want to show them a list of servers that they can join. If you played any Unreal Tournment or Quake multiplayer game, you know what I'm talking about.
The secret is that this is actually really easy to do with MooClick. If you think about it, this is a feature that is basically build in, you probably just didn't realize it. Well, have a look how it's done yourself. Master Server Example.

Outro

Thanks for reading my little guide on MMF2 and going to its Online Side. Hence the name, yes? ^_^ I hope you found this useful, and so on.

Check out Puchisoft.com to see some of the wonderful things I'm making. If you have any questions or wanne talk about stuff this guide talks about, feel free to do so at the Puchisoft Forum. Please use the programming section to talk about programming, which this would be! Thanks. :)

History

June 30 , 2007 - First Release