Third Party SmartFoxServer Multiplayer Game Engine

I'm starting a new project and I've never done multiplayer before. I have read a bunch of stuff, and Photon PUN is the easiest but more limited/restrictive in what it can do/handle. From what little I know about SmartFoxServer it is between Photon and say UNet (although being deprecated). So more coding involved but cloud based hosting like Photon. And allows to save item/storage, logins, achievements, etc. Correct?

 

SmartFox is not cloud based. You can download the server and host it were you please, including the cloud. I am using it with Amazon EC2, for instance.
It's different from PUN because with Photon all your game logic stays on the client, while with SmartFox you can decide what goes on the client and what on the server side. This can be pretty useful to defend from cheating and various attacks.

Yes, because you have full access to your server's resources you can store data, connect to a local database, etc. With Photon you need to setup a separate server and use external HTTP calls to interact with it.
Also, imho, SmartFox has a larger feature set compared to PUN. Either way, you should probably try them both and see what suits you best.

 

Thanks @MrsPiggy, we couldn't have said it better ourself.

@digiross, you may want to take a look at these resources from our documentation:
- How to create an Extension based custom login
- Custom login with database
- How to setup a connection to an external Database
- Querying the database and sending resultsets
- Maintaining game state across multiple reloads

Hope this helps.

 

If you are running SmartFoxServer under macOS Catalina, you may experience issues with the launcher and the standalone version of the AdminTool.

These will be fixed soon; meanwhile take a look at this blog post for workarounds:
⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/smartfoxserver-2x-and-macos-catalina/

 

The new version 2.13.7 of SmartFoxServer 2X is available for download at this url:
⏩ https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=updates

We fixed an issue in the server-side JavaScript API, causing a SFSLoginException not triggering the related event on the client side.

 

Hi everyone.
Im developing a real time multiplayer game kind of "BRAWL STARS", im using unity and smart fox to sync character position.
My question is how to sync character position so smoothly and almost accurately in real time using smart fox.
I also heard about network interpolation and extrapolation concepts and also in smart fox unity examples they have used this concept. I want to know more about these concepts and any tutorial or c# code or full explanation will be really helpful.

Other than this network interpolation and extrapolation concepts is there any way to sync character position so smoothly and almost accurately in real time??

Any kind of help is appreciated.

 

Hi @ysshetty96,
we have a couple of in-depth tutorials that will guide you to learn these concepts (and more) and apply them in a real-time multiplayer game.
You can head to our documentation website: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/introduction
and check the "First Person Shooter" and "SpaceWar" game demos. From there you will be able to download the relative projects and follow along with the tutorials.

Just one note: if you're new to multiplayer development jumping right into these examples can be daunting. If so, please make sure to follow all the examples in the Unity section in order. This way you will start from the basic concepts and slowly make your way to the more complex stuff.

Good luck!

 

Please can anyone say that how to setup the whole SmartFox matchmaking in unity?

 

Check our documentation:
1) How to create/ join Rooms: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/DevelopmentBasics/join-and-create-rooms
2) Server side Game API: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/AdvancedTopics/game-api
(explains match making, invitations, quick joins etc...)

Also you can learn many of these concepts from our Examples here:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/introduction

If you have other questions let us know.

 

There only problem I can see with sfs2x is fact, that on server side you have to code in Java while Unity is c# based.
Still don't know why this is not c# based solution :/

 

SmartFoxServer was created in 2003. At the time Unity didn't even exist and C# was still in its infancy In any case Java was chosen to make sure the server could run anywhere, i.e. on any Windows, Linux, or Unix derivatives running on 32 or 64 bit platforms.

If you know C# already you should be able to write Java code pretty much instantly. They have a very similar syntax and in fact C# borrowed many concepts from it.
If you really can't stand the idea of writing server side code in Java you can opt for Javascript instead, which is even simpler.

 

you can still write your server code in unity instance using smartfox c# api

 

Interesting. You mean by using a Unity executable on the server side? Have you done this before?
Could you give me an example of the flow of a typical request/response exchange?
Also do you think it's scalable enough?

 

yes, there is documentation on their forum about running simulation inside unity instance.
it is not as scalable as the java server.

 

Four new entries in our showcase, all by the guys at FR9: Cruzaletras / Chinchón / Poker / Bingo
All games are available at their website: https://www.fr9.es

 

With the end of 2019, in order to wish happy holidays to all our customers and friends, we're glad to announce a great 25% discount promotion on all ⏩ SmartFoxServer 2X perpetual licenses and add-ons!

 

SmartFoxServer 2.14 is available!
SmartFoxServer 2X 2.14 is out with new features, bug fixes and a focus on improved performance for all http-related services. Especially the BlueBox and Websocket where you can expect a performance boost in the range of 60-100%.

Additionally we are launching the beta version of the new HTML5 AdminTool which will soon replace the old Flash-based version.

You can consult the release notes and download the new release from here. Also make sure check these new articles talking about the recent changes and the new Admin Tool:

• SFS2X 2.14 boosts performance for all web services
• The new AdminTool (beta) is available

 

We just released v1.7.13 of the SFS2X C# client API for Unity / .Net / Mono / Universal Windows Platform.
This new version fixes an issue with the MMORoom objects in a scenario where multiple Rooms are joined simultaneously.

You can download the API at this url: https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=client

 

We are featuring a new game in our showcase: it's Temtem, by Crema Games.

Temtem is a massively multiplayer creature-collection adventure inspired by Pokémon. Players explore the area capturing the eponymous Temtem creatures and command them in battles against other Temtem controlled by an NPC or another player. In the game, players assume the role of a novice Temtem tamer who starts their journey around the six floating islands of the Airbone Archipelago while facing the threat of Clan Belsoto, an evil organization that plans to rule over the islands by force.

Check it out on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/745920/Temtem/

 

New entry in our showcase: Fhacktions, by Posibillian Tech.

Fhacktions is a location-based team battle mobile game, set in a not so distant future ruled by factions of hackers (the game is a mix location based and MOBA).

Fhacktions received the “Best Audio” Award in Indie Prize USA in 2017, and was Finalist in “Best Multiplayer Game” in Indie Prize in Singapore and Indie Prize Kiev in 2017.
It was one of the winners in the Google Play Indie Games Festival 2018, being selected one of the 15 best games launched in Android in LATAM.
Fhacktions was also selected as one of the TOP 20 games in the Global Top Round in Malaysia in 2018.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fhacktions
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fhacktions/id1203339402

 

SmartFoxServer 2.15 is out now!
SmartFoxServer 2X 2.15 is now available with new features focused on improving the performance of UDP protocol and more.

Additionally, the new HTML5 AdminTool has left the beta phase and it is almost ready to replace the legacy Flash-based version.

You can consult the release notes and download the new release from here. Also make sure to check this new article providing an insight of the changes which further improve the UDP communication in SFS2X:

• SFS2X 2.15.0, UDP update

 

When browsing multiplayer solutions for unity, everyone boasts performance.

What makes your service different than the rest ? Having established games to showcase definitely helps, but looking at mirror and darkrift 2, I feel like perhaps you can tell me what makes you better than the competition before I try it out?

Ontop of this I wanted to ask, in 2018 you had an article on your site posted About running headless unity instances in conjunction with your service. https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/best-of-both-worlds-sfs2x-server-side-unity-for-realtime-games-p1/

My question is, if you do this you can write game logic in unity, but if you don't do it this way, the back end logic must be written in Java ? And given using Java alone vs a headless unity server, you'd have better performance with the Java implementation?

 

Does it support LAN hosting without internet available? Is there an example on your documentation?
I was implementing Mirror but it isn't so smart and noone is supporting me so I'm thinking to change and this is a good solution!

 

Yes of course. Any connection will work, be it in a local network or over the internet.
As regards examples, every example we provide comes configured to run locally (IP address 127.0.0.1, which is the local machine) and can be used over any network as well.

You can check the tutorials here:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/introduction

 

In terms of performance we have spent 15 years optimizing the server and working with clients small and big to support their multiplayer games. We have learned a lot in terms of scalability issues, performance etc... and have continuously improved the product to support their needs.

Also we don't just boast performance per se, we also back it up with actual data and tests that can be reproduced, so it's not just marketing babble. We have spent a whole lot of time on these matters and we still do.
If you want to dive into the details and ask more questions you're more than welcome to do so:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/Overview/white-papers
https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/sfs2x-2-14-boosts-performance-for-all-web-services/

Mirror is a replacement for UNet which is an entirely different thing from SmartFoxServer.
We provide a client/server approach, with a dedicated server that can scale in the hundreds of thousands CCU on a single server and offers a ton of features, such as user/room management, match making, MMO api, security, remote administration, custom server side logic, access to storage and databases etc, etc.

I am not familiar with DarkRift, so I can't comment on that.

Yes SmartFoxServer is a dedicated game server, so it can scale way better than an headless Unity instance.
The comparison however is almost useless, as they are two entirely different approaches.

If you need tight integration of the server code with Unity you will need to run at least the game logic within headless Unity instances. This however doesn't complete the picture as you still need many other services such as log-in, match making, chatting, user management, security tools (for banning, kicking, filtering spam etc...)

All these are provided by SmartFoxServer and that's why we wrote and proposed an hybrid system with SmartFoxServer as "orchestrator" and standalone Unity instance as game servers.

Hope it helps

 

Last question: How 100CCU limit works? It works on LAN/Personal dedicated server?
Thank you for your time and answers!!

 

The limit always works the same, no matter if it is a local network or not: max 100 concurrent users are allowed to connect to the SmartFoxServer instance.

 

Thanks for replying.

Does the 100 ccu only apply when someone is using the multiplayer part of the game? Can someone play a single player portion or change settings and not use up a ccu slot ?

Also in regards to my previous question about headless unity, you said if you need tight integration with your game logic you'd need to do this right ? Can you give an example of a game idea that would need tight integration and a game example idea that wouldn't ?

My own mini project is a game like rimworld, simulation base builder, but the entire simulation is done server side. Small multiplayer game, like civilization, just a few people in a lobby/game at a time. Turn based. Perhaps you can tell me how you'd approach using your own service in regards to a game like this ? Headless vs Java, despite lots of simulation being a big draw on performance.

Also you talk about hundreds of thousands of people per instance I believe you said, this is only for the part smartfox runs right ? Lobbies, friends list, etc? Not actual game logic ?

 

When you're playing in single player mode you don't need to interact with the multiplayer server, therefore you won't connect to it. So yes, single player mode won't affect the CCU count.

Tight integration means that you need the world data on the server side. For example to perform physics, collisions, checking nav-meshes etc...

On the other hand a card game uses more abstract data and doesn't depend on Unity's world data.

It sounds like your game could be developed with a Java Extension without the need of headless Unity servers. The client will send their "actions" to the server which can validate it, execute the simulation and update the other clients.

Everything, game logic included.
For a turn-based game you can expect to be able to handle several thousands of CCUs even on a low spec machine, such as dual core server with 2GB of RAM or a t2.micro/small under AWS EC2.

Hope it helps

 

If making a game with the new DOTS, will there be any problems using this service ?

 

From our understanding, it is possible to mix ECS and OOP using an hybrid system. Read this thread for example: https://forum.unity.com/threads/how-pure-does-pure-ecs-have-to-be.545162/

So... if you need to go with "pure ECS", this is an issue because our API are not ECS. Otherwise you shouldn't have problems in your project.

 

Websocket has become very popular thanks to the ubiquity of HTML5 technologies on desktop, mobile and even consoles. Additionally game engines such as Unity, with its WebGL build, has pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved in web-based games allowing many developers to release their titles for the browser.

In a new article in our blog, today we review a series of steps to set up Websocket in SmartFoxServer 2X and avoid potential pitfalls, especially when testing locally.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/sfs2x-and-websocket-for-html5-and-unity/

 

SmartFoxServer 2X 2.16.0 is now available as a cumulative update patch for all previous SFS2X 2.14 and 2.15 installations.

The focus of this release is the final version of the new HTML5 AdminTool, which now officially replaces the legacy, Flash-based tool. We completed the porting adding the last module, Analytics, but we also added a long-awaited feature: it is now possible to integrate your own custom administration modules in the AdminTool!
Read all the details here: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/Gettin ... om-modules

Download SFS2X 2.16.0 from here.


FULL RELEASE NOTES

Server Side
[FIX] Websocket session's buffer size now matches the maximum request size configured in SFS2X.

Admin Tool
[NEW] Final version of the new HTML5 AdminTool which officially replaces the legacy, Flash-based tool.
[NEW] Added the Analytics module.
[NEW] Added experimental support for custom AdminTool modules.
[NEW] Updated module icons.
[FIX] Wrong global Room count under the Dashboard module.

 

With the release of SmartFoxServer 2X v2.16 and the final HTML5 version of its Administration Tool, we introduced a long-awaited feature: support for custom administration modules.

In the latest article on our blog we provide a brief introduction on the subject and a walkthrough of the development and integration workflow of the modules.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/developing-custom-admintool-modules/

 

The need to communicate between an Extension and a remote server via HTTP/S is quite a common use case. Since SmartFoxServer already comes with embedded HTTP API, in the latest article on our blog we show how simple it is to integrate web requests in your server side code.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/integrating-http-requests-in-sfs2x-extensions/

 

Long time user of SmartFox here - Since 2010, I've just started public testing the latest version of our app and all through development its been working perfectly,

it's still going perfectly apart from one slightly concerning message appearing in the console now:

[SFS > WARN] Message size is too big: 2793950, the server limit is: 500000

Is there a way to debug this message so I can see what command the extension response message thats sending me this huge message?

Excellent server, have never felt the need to look elsewhere in the 10 years of running out games

 

Hi,

This is a message coming from the client side, which exceeds the configured limit for incoming packets.
Debugging this is not possible because the server only dumps the details for packets with size < 1024 bytes. Dumping such huge messages would be overkill.

If you're sure your clients doesn't send such large messages what you're seeing is probably some kind of hack where somebody is trying to send large amounts of data for who knows what reason.

In any case you can still see more details if you change the logging mode to DEBUG:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/GettingStarted/log-configuration

Thanks

 

The new version 2.16.1 of SmartFoxServer 2X is available for download at this url:
⏩ https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=updates

What's new?
- Fixed an issue in AdminTool's Extensions Manager and Servlet Manager modules preventing the action buttons to show up when connected to a SFS instance running under Windows
- Added a Disconnect User button in the AdminTool's Zone Monitor module, alongside the Kick and Ban buttons.

 

COMING SOON... ;-)

 

We just released patch version 2.16.2 of SmartFoxServer 2X, which is available for download at this url:
⏩ https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=updates

What's new?

Fixed a corner case in which an Extension causes, during the init phase, an exception of type java.lang.Error, derailing the rest of the boot process.
In the AdminTool, fixed an issue which causes, under certain circumstances, all log lines in Log Viewer's Runtime Log tab to be grouped in a single row in the table.
In AdminTool's Extension Manager, Servlet Manager and Server Configurator, an issue caused file uploading to fail if connection to server is encrypted.

 

According to firewall configuration, what are the requirements in order to be able to connect a unity client (android, ios, uwp and web) to a smartfox server? Is there any inbound (server -> client) rules to be added, on only outbound rules (client to server) are ok?

Having used unet by the past forced to add both inbound and outbound rules in order to be able to connect to a gaming server. Problem with that is inbound rules are refused by most enterprise security policies, wich is not very good if you plan to deploy serious games or such enterprise based applications.

Another question about websocket on smartfox, can they be used by all unity clients, or is it webgl builds only?

 

Hi,

SmartFoxServer 2X uses the following ports by default:
TCP/UDP 9933 for the standard SFS2X protocol
TCP 8080 for WS (websocket) and HTTP tunneling
TCP 8443 for WSS (websocket over TLS)

So your server and client(s) should not be blocking those port values.
Typically it's mostly a server side issue, as most devices don't run firewalls besides maybe some desktops/laptops. (Windows and MacOS default firewalls don't block outgoing connections by default)

WebGL only builds.
For non WebGL builds you can also use BlueBox (our HTTP tunneling system) to help clients that have restricted network access (firewalls/proxies).
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/GettingStarted/bluebox

Hope it helps

 

it helps, thank you.

Regarding 'large' data transfer best practices, do you have some guidelines?
For instance can the technology handle this use case:
For a mariokart like game, one user will occasionnaly upload/broadcast some rather large files (500kb to 2Mo in size). The broadcast would happen to a limited group (1 to 10 users).
Would you recommand to use http upload/download, or do you think the smartfox server can handle it?

 

Hi,

I would probably recommend to use HTTP uploads, as the SFS2X protocol is more fine tuned towards fast delivery of small packets rather than larger data transfers.

Small files within 100-200Kb could be sent via SFS2X protocol as well, if it is more convenient, but for larger files I'd use HTTP. So as a general rule, file transfers are better handled via HTTP.

Cheers

 

Patch version 2.16.3 of SmartFoxServer 2X is now available for download at this url:
⏩ https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=updates

What's new?

• By default Bitswarm events BitSwarmEvents.PACKET_DROPPED are no longer triggered, as they are rarely utilized and can use up performance in high traffic servers with lots of outgoing packet loss. Developers can manually enable the event via config/core.xml adding the following:

  <triggerDroppedPacketEvents>true</triggerDroppedPacketEvents>

• In the AdminTool, new Words Filter File Manager added under Zone Configurator > Words Filter. It allows to create, edit and remove word files for the Zone's Words Filter. Word files are now identified by a .words.txt extension. This will not affect your active words file, but new files created with the AdminTool will use this convention from now on
• Fixed an issue with uploads over HTTPS that eluded the previous patch (which also dealt with the issue).

 

We are happy to announce the launch of Overcast, a dedicated cloud-based hosting service for SmartFoxServer 2X that provides a complete stack to build and run rich multiplayer games at any scale.

With Overcast developers can deploy any number of SFS2X instances in the cloud, world-wide, with a simple web-based interface. Each instance runs in its dedicated server with unlimited CCU and provides 100% of the SmartFoxServer 2X features.

For a full presentation of the service make sure to read this introduction to Overcast.

 

On our blog we started a short series of articles in which we will be taking a look at how Overcast works, how to get started and and how it can help new or existing projects based on SmartFoxServer.

The first article in the series provides an intro to Overcast, presenting the scope of the project and its high level features:
https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/introducing-overcast/

The second article describes how to launch SmartFoxServer in the cloud, access its AdminTool to configure a new Zone and connect to it from Unity writing a few lines of code:
https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/launching-smartfoxserver-in-the-cloud/

Happy reading!

 

In the third article in the Overcast series on our blog we walk you through the process of deploying a game on a cloud server. Using an existing example for Unity, you will learn how to configure both client and server in 4 simple steps, with a demo tic-tac-toe game running in your browser by the end of the article.

https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/how-to-deploy-a-game-in-overcast/

 

Hi, I want to ask 3 questions about your product.

First one is, aside from Overcast, if I did not understand it wrong the user need to utilize his/her own server. By that how you can enforce CCU limitation?

Second one is, for Overcast you are giving some approximate DAU numbers for your offers. In your 2015 blog post you gave 1 CCU ~= DAU / 75 formula but the info given in Elastic Licence page is 1 CCU ~= 20 DAU. So which one we should take into consideration?

And the last one is, I have plans for a multiplayer RTS game which I am working on its gameplay mechanics. I want to have ~10 or ~20 players per game. Is that possible to manage something like this with your product? A similar project https://store.steampowered.com/app/1022450/War_Selection/

 

Overcast aside, SmartFoxServer gets its license from a license server. The license has a a CCU limitation.

The DAU-CCU conversion is always very approximate. The number of CCU can be easily calculated by SmartFoxServer at any one time, and it is possible (through load testing) to evaluate the maximum number which can be reached with a specific server configuration, custom server-side code, etc.
The number of DAU adds a lot of approximation, because you have to speculate on the activity of users during a day, making a lot of hypothetic assumptions. In the blog post form 2015 we provided the CCU = DAU / X formula, where X was a value between 50 and 100. On the elastic license page instead we decided to be less conservative, considering X to be equal to 20. Actually I don't recall the ratio behind those values in the blog post, but there's a chance that we changed our mind a little over the course of the years based on added experience. I think you can take the CC = DAU / 20 formula as a reference.

Yes sure.