Multiplayer question

Hey guys! Maybe this question was already asked, I would like to hear fresh answer on this. I know much about Unity except for multiplayer, it is like a black hole for me
I know that there was/is Unet, now we have Relay and Lobby.

• What is the difference between them?
• What is Unet?(in a couple of words)
• What is Relay and Lobby(in a couple of words)
• What else multiplayer solution Unity provides except for those?
• How many players can simultaneously be in a single instance of a level and play together?
• Last but not least, do we have another multiplayer solution except what Unity provides and is it convenient to use nowadays?

Answer from experienced developer appreciated!!!

 

Unet is deprecated. Netcode is the current networking solution by Unity.
Relay and Lobby are part of Unity Gaming Services. You can find info just by searching for that.
Alternative networking solutions are Fish-Networking (more features than any other) and Mirror (said to be easy to use but lacking in some areas).
How many players on a server you mean? Depends on the game. Look at games that are similar to yours that have multiplayer and if you ever wondered why they „only“ support up to XX players there‘s good reasons for that and if it‘s your first multiplayer game, expect to be able to support maybe half or a fourth of that. Typically for realtime action games that means 4-16 players, 64 is stretching it, and 200+ is a serious endeavour even for a team of professionals.

 

@CodeSmile so I should use Netcode in pair with Relay and Lobby?

 

Note that while Unity abandoned UNET, development still continued by the community.
Aka Mirror

 

FishNet at this time offers way more than Mirror and Netcode combined in features and performance. FishNet is regularly improved with performance and features; there's rarely an update that doesn't bring a new feature in. Easy to use is subjective but I believe it to be that as well.

We released FishNet this year but it's already been used in projects sponsored by HUGE companies such as Gamestop, Lionsgate, ect.

 

thank you guys for the answers