February 23 Packet Optimization - Weekly Devlogs
Packet optimization and sycnrhonization continues for multiplayer.
Work on multiplayer continues. Since multiplayer is such a large and involved thing that requires significant rewrites that break things, I'll be writing devlogs weekly but uploading new updates whenever I'm able to.
This week was spent on optimizing packets to be as small as possible. It used to be that the entire world was sent from the server to the clients piece by piece, which was a massive amount of data to send. It also meant the world didn't load in until the packets were received which slowed everything down. Further, it was possible to "max out" the network data, causing pieces of the world to not load. All this was pretty unnecessary since about 99% of the world is randomly generated and only a tiny portion is generally modified by players. It's ideal to have as much as possible handed on the client-side, and only use packets to resolve synchronization issues. This required some significant rewrites of the current multiplayer code, so I was doing that.
Fortunately now everything is more or less smooth. The server browser is working and the connectivity issues and errors have been resolved so you can connect to other servers and jump around at each other. What remains now is hunting down de-synchronization spots and writing multiplayer code to resolve them, which can be kind of a long and tedious process. Thanks for your patience during these rewrites.
Shout outs: Stacey, Adam Fowler, Amanda Kettles, Angelo Anderson, Appreciate Witch of Life, AstroLass, bilbens baggo, Brian Nunziato, Bryan Sheairs, Brysen Packer, Bryson Waits, Burlyfighter, Caitlin W., chris wilson, Christopher Allbritton, CJMAXP, Connor, Dalton Elliott, Damon Carrington, Daniel Edwards, Darrya Keshvari, David Schraff, Dragons With Jetpacks, Elisa Martinez, eric sun, Ezzela1891, Federica Frezza, Gordon Alexander Fallon, Gundar Wez, Iofire, Irate The Pirate, Ivee Quinn, Jade Arrowood, Jake Lane, Jeremiah Walker, Jess, Joe Dalby, John Nazario, JollyGamer, Jonathan Lekse, Jordan Brazeal, Josh Braden, Joshua David Maddox, Justin Snyder, Kerry Melton, Kevin, KFB_Patreon, KingHavok1217, Kingyo Senpai, Kyle Clark, Lisa Tucker, Liz Fontain, Lizzie, Lou Bliss, Luke P, Mario Pizzamiglio, Mark L, Matt Price, Matt Yates, Max Hops, Maxwell Mayer, Michael Hamilton, Millergendraft, mtnman1979@aol.com, Mx Charlie, Mylon Schroder, Nahellion, Nathan, Nicholas Zamora, Nick Soucy, Phil Mehl, Phillip P Torchia, Pythor Sen, R., Rachel Anderson, Ray Bissonnette, Remora Jewel, Robert Rich, Robert Skadsem, Ryan Flagg, SallySparrow132, Sarah Holland, Serafina Moon, Shane Andrews, ShortyMcgibble, Sik Makoyi, Siren, Stefan Gottschalk's, Steve Rosenlund, Stuart, Syn21, That Video Editor Nic, thea musing, Trev909, Vedie V, Vincent Drone, Warren Clarida, Wesley Muncy, XMrMonkyx ., Zachary Burgess-Hicks, zachary gee, Zealot23, Zee Livezey
Their contribution stands as a beacon of hope for all adventurers!
