Building Multiplayer Games in Unity

Take a deep dive into creating large-scale, multiplayer games with Unity 3D, using Mirror Networking and a variety of powerful transports. You will learn the fundamentals of RPC/Command multiplayer architecture and dig deeper into networking and data persistence to achieve scalable, highly performant, large-scale, multiplayer games in Unity.

This book explains how to develop multiplayer games using Unity within a commercial or enterprise environment. You will take a look at the networking fundamentals behind multiplayer games, including packets and the importance of keeping packets small. Next, you will look into Mirror Networking and see how to leverage a variety of transport layers to achieve large-scale, multiplayer games. Using Unity 3D as the core focus, you will get an understanding of the RPC/Command architecture and how you can utilize different authoritative structures to best suit your needs. You will also learn how to scale your architecture and explore industry-leading methods of deploying your game to the masses. You will also get a solid understanding of networking principles.

The book wraps up with advice from leading experts who shed light on past mistakes and provide valuable insights for your next project. This book breaks down daunting concepts into easy-to-understand pieces of knowledge to help you create your first multiplayer game. It is a must-read for any developer looking to understand multiplayer games and networking.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

● Learn advanced multiplayer concepts and how to use them

● Understand the key concepts for creating multiplayer virtual experiences

● Know the basics of computer networking and how to employ them

● Deploy large, scalable multiplayer infrastructures for your games

● Gain insights from other industry professionals

Who Is This Book For

Intermediate to advanced Unity 3D developers looking to understand multiplayer networking and deploying large-scale products. Having a solid understanding of C# and Unity is required, and having an understanding or prior experience with networking principles such as IPv4 would be advantageous.

DYLAN ENGELBRECHT is a Unity specialist. Born and raised in South Africa, he has worked at the top enterprise VR development studio in South Africa, and he’s currently working at the largest game development studio on the continent. He has in-depth knowledge of commercial and enterprise game development, with work showcased by invite at Comic-Con Africa and rAge Expo. He is an avid gamer who enjoys immersive experiences and real-time strategy games.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Sub-Topics

● Why you should care about the contents of this book

● Prerequisites & Resources

Chapter 2: The Messenger Pigeon, Packets, and a Trip Around the World

Sub-Topics

● Introduction to networking

● Understanding packets

● How packets of data get transported across the world

● IPV4 and UDP

● The transport layer

● The firewall

● The importance of keeping your packets small

Chapter 2: A Hall of Mirrors and Apathy

Sub-Topics

● What is Mirror Networking

● Understand where Mirror comes from and why it was created

● Learn the limitations of Mirror

● Break some of those limitations with Apathy● What is Apathy and where to get it?

● The client, the server, and the host

Chapter 3: The Chain of Command

Sub-Topics:

● Game server architecture

● Authority

● Understanding the chain of command

● Remote Procedure Calls (RPC’s)

● Commands

● Syncvars

● Syncvar Hooks

● Mirror Events

● Creating our first multiplayer game

Chapter 4: Memory of a Goldfish

Sub-Topics:

● What are database engines?

● Relational vs non-relational databases

● A few popular relational database engines with their pros and cons

● A few popular non-relational database engines with their pros and cons

● Designing the database

● Connecting to the database from your game server

● Storing information

● Retrieving information

● Serving information to your players

Chapter 5: Scaling Up, A Lot

Sub-Topics: ● The cloud

● AWS

● Google Cloud

● Azure

● Unity Multiplay

● Hosting your databases

● Understanding the bottleneck

● How Apex Legends created the perfect launch

● Stress testing and stress clients

● Things to consider, like security

Chapter 6: Insights From the Masters

Sub-Topics:

● 10 Mini-stories and interviews of game developers

Chapter 7: Challenge What You Know

Sub-Topics:

● 2 beginner multiplayer challenges

● 2 intermediate multiplayer challenges with user data persistence

● 1 advanced multiplayer challenge with user and world data persistence

Chapter 8: Conclusion

Sub-Topics:

● Next steps for the reader

● Best wishes and thanks