Third Party SmartFoxServer Multiplayer Game Engine

Thanks for the answer.

 

We have just released SmartFoxServer 2X 2.17.0, codenamed “Flash Farewell” as we have cut the remaining ties with the old Flash-based Administration Tool.

It seems that many users forgot about the termination of Adobe Flash on Jan. 12th 2021 and have found themselves unable to reach their servers with the legacy Admin Tool. This release is particularly targeted at those users, as it packs all the recent updates in one installer.

Read more about installation and migration to SFS2X 2.17.0 in our support forum post.

Download and release notes.

 

Good day
An example as in the video is available for download

 

Hello @btckey. Please check this example in our documentation: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/mmo-demo

 

That demo wasn't created by us, so no, we don't have it, sorry. Anyway, from a SFS2X point of view, it uses the same logic described in the example linked above.

 

Good day

1)
The PhotonServer does not allow you to unite a large number of players in one room for example 500+
SmartFoxServer 2X will give me the ability to combine 500+ in one room?
My game is made in Unity 3D, WebGL
I am currently using ObjectMovement from example

2)
How to sync character animation ?
I did not find this in any of the examples, only movement.

 

Hello,

Yes, SFS2X provides MMORooms which are a special type of Room that can handle thousands of players via an AoI (Area of Interest) mechanism. Players in these Room will not listen for every other player's updates, but only for those whose current position falls within the AoI.

More details here:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/AdvancedTopics/mmo-rooms

There isn't a pre-baked mechanism for syncing animations. Typically what you need to do is adding the animation id/data to the movement data you're sending from client to server and vice-versa.

The MMODemo and SpaceWar game examples demonstrate two real-life use-cases for the MMORoom:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/mmo-demo
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/spacewar

The relative code can be downloaded from our website or through the relative example pack in the asset store.
( https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/network/smartfoxserver2x-multiplayer-sdk-17261 )

Cheers

 

Good day
A lot of mistakes FirstPersonShooter

Unity 2018.2.2f1 (64-bit)
1) Unloading broken assembly Assets/Plugins/UWP/SmartFox2X_UWP.dll, this assembly can cause crashes in the runtime
2) Assets/Game/Scripts/NetworkManager.cs(26,10): error CS0433: The imported type `Sfs2X.SmartFox' is defined multiple times
3) Assets/Game/Scripts/NetworkManager.cs(134,32): error CS0433: The imported type `Sfs2X.Core.BaseEvent' is defined multiple times
4) Assets/Game/Scripts/NetworkManager.cs(194,39): error CS0433: The imported type `Sfs2X.Entities.Data.ISFSObject' is defined multiple times
5) Assets/Lobby/Scripts/LobbyController.cs(151,32): error CS0433: The imported type `Sfs2X.Entities.User' is defined multiple times

Unity 2019.4.20f1 (64-bit)



This is generally treated ?

 

Hello. You need to assign each DLL to the related build target. Please check the "Unity" paragraph on this page: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/GettingStarted/client-api-csharp

 

These errors occur on the newly downloaded FirstPersonShooter
Try to run your own FirstPersonShooter and get a bunch of errors
your FirstPersonShooter doesn't work for Unity 2019.4.20f1 (64-bit) and higher ?

 

The example works fine in Unity 2019.4.20f1 and higher. You just need to delete the Assets/Plugins/UWP folder if not needed.

Otherwise you have to assign each DLL (Assets/Plugins/SmartFox2X.dll and Assets/Plugins/UWP/SmartFox2X_UWP.dll) to the appropriate platform in the Inspector panel as in the picture you shared above.

For example assign the selected SmartFox2X DLL to Editor and Standalone only, then select the SmartFox2X_UWP DLL in the UWP folder and check WSAPlayer only.

The reason why you need to to the above is that Unity doesn't keep the DLL-platform association when we export the project to create the examples package you got from our website.

 

Good day.

I don't understand how to sync animation over the network (UNITY WEBGL).

You do not have a single line of code in the Sfs2X documentation for animation, I also did not find information on Google or YouTube, I am very amazed that I did not find anything, it is very strange that no one provides a description of how animation works for UNITY + Sfs2X.

The FirstPersonShooter examples use an outdated animation system, and it does not suit me, SpaceWar is also incomprehensible to me.
I made changes to the PlayerController script by adding an animator with one "walk" animation.
This works for me, but doesn't work for others (they don't see my walking animation).

Code (CSharp):

1. using UnityEngine;
2. using System.Collections;
3.  
4. public class PlayerController : MonoBehaviour
5. {
6.     public float forwardSpeed = 10;
7.     public float rotationSpeed = 40;
8.     static Animator anim;
9.  
10.     // Dirty flag for checking if movement was made or not
11.     public bool MovementDirty {get; set;}
12.  
13.     void Start()
14.     {
15.         anim = GetComponent<Animator>();
16.         MovementDirty = false;
17.     }
18.  
19.     void Update ()
20.     {
21.         // Forward/backward makes player model move
22.         float translation = Input.GetAxis("Vertical");
23.         if (translation != 0)
24.         {
25.             this.transform.Translate(0, 0, translation * Time.deltaTime * forwardSpeed);
26.             anim.SetBool("walk_front", true);
27.             MovementDirty = true;
28.         }
29.         else
30.         {
31.             anim.SetBool("walk_front", false);
32.         }
33.  
34.         // Left/right makes player model rotate around own axis
35.         float rotation = Input.GetAxis("Horizontal");
36.         if (rotation != 0)
37.         {
38.             this.transform.Rotate(Vector3.up, rotation * Time.deltaTime * rotationSpeed);
39.             MovementDirty = true;
40.         }
41.     }
42. }

Please write how can I make the animation synchronized over the network for all users.

1) Without using the .jar server extension (so I can quickly test the application)
2) Using the .jar server extension (so that I can write something better and correct in the future)

Also, this information will be very useful to anyone using UNITY + Sfs2X.

Please write an example in the form of C # scripts for a more accurate and quick understanding of animation synchronization over the network.

Thank you.

 

First of all it is important to understand that in most cases the animation is just a state of an object, just like its color or its shape (see our Object Movement example). This means that the animation system you use on the client is not related to the networking system (in our case SmartFoxServer). You have to learn how to transfer, for example, the state "walking" to other clients, and when the movement stops, transfer the state "standing" in the same way.

The most common way to do this in SFS is using User Variables: specifically, when you click the button to make your character move, you have to set a variable (lets say it is called "anim") to a given identifier ("walk", "run", "stand", "crouch" - can be a string, a number, or even a more complex object).

In the Spacewar example, a User Variable is used to show or hide the engine flame when the up-arrow key is pressed or released. As mentioned before, in the Object Movement example two User Variables are used to set the color and shape to show.

The FPS example uses a slightly different approach: instead of using a User Variable which is automatically synchronized among clients, the animation state is transferred to the server through an Extension request, and the server-side logic is in charge of sending this back to the other clients (see AnimationSynchronizer.SetAnimationState() which in turn calls Networkmanager.SendAnimationState()).

Our suggestion is to go through all the tutorials to learn step by step the techniques we discuss. Jumping directly to the more complex examples is very difficult unless you already have a good understanding of networking in games.

 

We just released v1.7.14 of the SFS2X C# client API for Unity / .Net / Mono / Universal Windows Platform.

This new version fixes an issue with Unity's Nintendo Switch build target. Due to the System.Net.Http namespace not being supported by Switch, the connection encryption initialization failed (SmartFox.InitCrypto). We introduced a new API specific to all Unity builds (except WebGL, which still requires its own DLL) which overcomes this issue.

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

 

Overcast dashboard update
We have recently rolled out a new Overcast update introducing domain name management so that custom domains can be associated with SmartFoxServer instances launched in Overcast.
You can find all the details about domain name management in our updated documentation.

What's next in Overcast
With this new update we have also laid the groundwork for what is coming next, namely SmartFoxServer Clustering. We have now finalized the architecture of the system and most of its API and we are entering the testing phase.
In the next months and after the summer vacations we'll be working on new AdminTool modules, further integration with the Overcast HQ and documentation. If all goes smoothly we will be ready for an open beta by the end of 2021.

 

We have gone through a full review to the SmartFoxServer documentation: now all code snippets are written in C#.
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com

 

We just released v1.7.15 of the SFS2X C# client API for Unity / .Net / Mono / Universal Windows Platform.

In this version we added support to [NonSerialized()] attribute in class serialization, to exclude fields that should not be serialized. More information here: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/AdvancedTopics/class-serialization

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

 

A new article in the Overcast series is available on our blog: how to use a database server alongside SmartFoxServer.

In this first part of the article we focus on launching the database, populating it with some test data and configuring SmartFoxServer to connect to it. In the upcoming part two and three we will deploy an Extension in SmartFoxServer to test the connection with a query.

https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/using-a-database-in-overcast-part-1/

 

When running SmartFoxServer on machines with large amounts of RAM, developers often have questions about strategies to make use of all resources, and how to optimize garbage collection.

In this first article of two, we provide some guidance to better understand of the basics of memory configuration in SmartFoxServer 2X:

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/sfs2x-memory-settings-and-garbage-collection-part-1/

 

Part 2 of the article in the Overcast series discussing how to use a database server in now available in our blog.

In this new chapter we are going to explore the API that can be used to query the database from server side, using SmartFoxServer 2X Extensions.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/using-a-database-in-overcast-part-2/

 

The last part of the article on how to use a database server in Overcast is live in our blog.

We take a look at using the JDBC API to access the database via SFS2X Extensions and briefly touch on local and remote development using Overcast.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/using-a-database-in-overcast-part-3/

 

We just released SmartFoxServer 2X 2.17.2, as a cumulative patch. The patch fixes a couple of issues related to Extension compilation and the AdminTool's Analytics module.

Download and release notes.

 

A minor issue with SmartFoxServer's Flood Filter was reported right after we published the previous patch, so here's another one. It's cumulative, so if you still have to install v2.17.2, go directly with v2.17.3.

Download and release notes.

 

On our blog you will find an in-depth article on memory management and garbage collection in SmartFoxServer.

In this part 2 we take a look at the different Garbage Collectors available, which is the best for a specific use case, and when it’s useful to switch to a different implementation.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/sfs2x-memory-settings-and-garbage-collection-part-2/

 

We just released v1.7.16 of the SFS2X C# client API for Unity.

This new version fixes a crash which could occur in Unity's Android build with il2cpp, due to a Console.WriteLine instruction in the API internal logger.

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

 

Load Balancing SmartFoxServer 2X with HAProxy

The latest article in our blog describes several ways to use the open source HAProxy load balancer in conjunction with SFS2X, to increase the scalability and availability of a multiplayer project.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/load-balancing-smartfoxserver-2x/

 

We have just released SmartFoxServer 2X v2.18.0, which provides several library updates, new runtime, support for M1 Macs, extra features and bug fixes.

» Get the new SmartFoxServer 2.18.0 installer from our download section.
» Read the full release notes here.

 

In the latest article on our blog, we discuss the changes introduced by SFS2X v2.18 to the Room Persistence API, allowing developers to customize its behavior.

⏩ https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/custom-room-storage-with-sfs2x-2-18/

 

I would like to deploy our servers with small CPU/RAM to apply horizontal scaling.
for example: CCU high at 11am, the system automatic add one more EC2 instance, total running instance is 2.
CCU low at 10pm, the system automatic remove one EC2 instance, total running instance is 1.
I have some question:
1. Does SFS support split license?
2. Can user joined SFS#1 can see or play with users in SFS#2?

 

Hi. There are a couple of possible solutions for this kind of use cases, it depends on what you need to do. I'd recommend toget in touch with directly so we can discuss the details. You can use the info@<our-website> email box, adding a reference to this post.

Generally speaking... no, because servers don't share data among each other. Also having users play together across servers is not recommended as it makes scalability a nightmare, due to the extra latency. Typically you want players in the same game to be connected on the same server.

There are multiple solutions and architectures to achieve this, which can include a certain amount of data sharing among all servers, but this topic is pretty broad and it would take a long post to go through all the details.

We have written several white papers on this topic and dissected several common use cases. You can find them in our documentation, here:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/Overview/white-papers

Specifically:

• SmartFoxServer 2X Server Architecture
• SmartFoxServer 2X and Hazelcast integration

Hope it helps

 

We just released SmartFoxServer 2X v2.18.2, which provides several new features and bug fixes:

• [NEW] QuickJoinOrCreateRoom request allows to join a Room by matching its variables to a specific Match Expression. If no match is found a new Room can be created and joined immediately. The request is available in both the client and server-side API.
• [NEW] suppressUserList option for Rooms, suppresses the room list upon joining a Room as well as removing the USER_ENTER, USER_EXIT events. It can be used in special cases where Rooms are not used for User interaction, to save bandwidth.
• [NEW] SFSApi.emptyRoom(...) allows to remove all users from a specified Room.
• [NEW] client side LagMonitor can be configured to work as a keep-alive mechanism. By default it is turne d off. It can be activated via AdminTool > Zone Configurator > General > Enable Keepalive.
• [FIX] issue when sending error codes from server side, causing a cast exception on the client side with a subgroup of client side errors.

We also released C# API v1.7.17, adding support for QuickJoinOrCreateRoomRequest.

You can download the v2.18.2 server patch here and the v.1.7.17 C# API here.

 

Hello, i just downloaded 2.18 server exe file and i get a windows malware warning. So is this normal ?

 

Hi,
if you downloaded the installer from our website you can rest assured that it is clean. Otherwise please do not proceed and use our website to download the installer.

Thanks

 

Additionally, if you downloaded the installer from our website (i.e. www.smartfoxserver.com) can you post a screenshot of the windows message?

Thanks

 

Missed article about Important note on Windows SmartScreen. So everything is ok now

 

Also i am not so good at working with netcode and server architecture, so maybe you have some tips and advices on my project ? We are making a metaverse type MMO with at least 500 - XX.000 users. I saw MMO room demo and it was pretty useful, but i need some deeper info about how to optimize all this and make it work. Some time later after prototyping we will buy cloud hosting and license for this purpose.

 

Can you be more specific about the advice you're looking for?
Have you checked our documentation regarding MMORooms?
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/AdvancedTopics/mmo-rooms
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/AdvancedTopics/advanced-mmo-api

Cheers

 

Yes, i checked it now, thanks. I guess i will ask more specific questions along the way of making it, now i am just imagining in my head how to make it work and making small prototypes.

 

We just released SmartFoxServer 2X v2.18.3, which fixes a number of issues in AdminTool:

• [NEW] Under Server Configurator > Remote Admin it is now possible to use an IP range (using CIDR notation) in the "Allowed client IP addresses" setting.
• [FIX] When editing a configuration parameter featuring a modal edit panel, hitting the enter key would cause the AdminTool to be reloaded.
• [FIX] In Analytics, error in log processing for long Room life-cycles (life-cycle >= 24 days).
• [FIX] In Analytics, when launching log analysis process, locale forced to English instead of system's default.

You can download the v2.18.3 server patch here.

 

Time for a big update of all our Unity examples and tutorials!

The new package contains the following demo examples:

• Connector
• Lobby: Basics
• Lobby: Buddies
• Lobby: Matchmaking
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• First Person Shooter
• MMO Basics
• SpaceWar 2

What changed?

• The new Connector example merges the previous Connector and Advanced Connector examples, showing how to perform the connection and login process including optional HTTP tunneling and/or protocol encryption activation.
• Three Lobby examples substitute and largely improve the previous Lobby and Buddy Messenger examples, showing how to create a progressively more complex lobby scene, featuring game launch, Buddy List management and interaction, match-making, invitations, public and private chat, etc.
• The Tic-Tac-Toe example (previously called Tris) implements a fully-featured lobby, game spectators and invitations.
• The MMO Basics example merges and updates the previous Object Movement and MMORoom Demo examples, now featuring a new 3D environment and the implementation of map limits and Area of Interest visualization.
• SpaceWar 2 is a new version of the old example; other than updating the overall game flow, new features have been added: it is now possible to play with a planet attracting starships and weapon shots, starships have a shield and they can be destroyed, starships can fire a secondary weapon, the game has a defined objective and a proper ending.
• All examples featuring multiple scenes have been updated to make use of a singleton class acting as a connection manager, representing the best practice when sharing the connection to SmartFoxServer among all the project scenes is needed.
• All examples feature a new UI.
• All examples have been upgraded to SFS2X C# API v1.7.17.

You can download the new example pack here:
https://smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=examples

And also check the new tutorials in our documentation:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesUnity/introduction

 

What about adding a racing game example?

 

This is something we would like to do with the help of third-party developers. Actually the plan now is to look for someone to update our First Person Shooter example, and if everything goes the right way, then commission other examples.

In any case in the Flash examples section of our documentation you will find a walkthrough on the creation of a racing game. Even if the client is Flash, the multiplayer logic and server-side Extension are perfectly fine and can be ported to Unity entirely. Take a look here: http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/ExamplesFlash/space-race

 

We just released version 2.7.18 of the C# API, in which we fixed a possibile conflict with Unity Multiplay and other plugins caused by the WebSocket-Sharp library we use internally.

Download the new API at this URL:
⏩ https://www.smartfoxserver.com/download/sfs2x#p=client

 

I just want to put my two cents in about SFS.

Ten years ago this was an awesome server-client solution. But just recently, I tried going back to SFS2X as an answer to my networking woes--and I was miserable trying to install the correct versions of JRE and JDK for developing the extensions. More or less just trying to find a good IDE, like Eclipse, was a pain in the butt because the latest versions would build a *.jar file by default, that was something not compatible. I even installed that latest patches. Not too mention I had to do it manually because the .BAT files didn't do anything. Maybe I did them incorrectly or the install documentation was misread.

I am not saying the SFS isn't a powerful tool for games that require multiplayer and maybe I have just been away from JAVA too long--but, after trying Netcode and having it up and running in a couple of hours, compared to three days of fighting JAVA versions and setting up extensions, I think others should really consider developing their own solution in C# or find a C# server (like Photon). Unless you are avid with JAVA right now, SFS is hard to just pick up right off the bat. I do and did like the Zone and Rooms. That was awesome! But I am sure something like that would not be too difficult with Netcode. Like I said, I am just putting in my two cents.

Also, the documentation on the SFS website is pretty sketchy. It took me forever to figure out what was going on currently and I wondered why there were still some links that were referencing Flash Actionscript! Go ahead all, give SFS a try. It might be the right server for you. Just note some of the things I have said hear. But, I am sure Lapo (the creator I think, who appears on the forums) will say otherwise about the things I've mentioned. And understandably so.
I am sure there has been some hard work put into it. Maybe I am just spoiled by C#.

Oh, and the client side is event based, right? But having to put, SFS.ProcessEvents() in the FixedUpdate() loop yielded nothing good until I turned off ThreadSafe mode in the configuration for connecting. I don't think that is good...

Anyways, take care and happy coding!
IdleChimp

 

Hi @IdleChimp, sorry to hear you had troubles setting things up, although it's not very clear what the problem was. These days all you need is one of the many free Java IDEs available such as Eclipse, IntelliJ or Netbeans to name a few. They all come bundled with the latest JDK so you don't need anything else to get cracking.

Also you could have dropped us a line in here or in our forums instead of banging your head against those issues for too much time

As regards Flash references in the documentation: it is one of the platforms supported by SFS2X and we have customers that are still running Flash-based games. However all the examples in our docs are multi-language and are mainly focused on Unity and Javascript.

 

Hey g_a_p !

Yes, I had quite a few problems getting things up and running recently. I just didn't get that quick progress from SFS2X like I did about ten years ago. Maybe it's me now, and I just don't appreciate JAVA as much as I used to. Or something has really changed since then. I used SFS for both Flash and Unity back in the day--but, have been mainly focusing on C# and other languages for some time now.

I use Eclipse, and setting up to build an extension wasn't "completely" the issue. It was building with the latest JDK and JRE, then having SFS blarf out some errors about what versions I was using that weren't compatible. I posted the problem on the forums, but the thread was never approved. Maybe there are a lot to go through?

I am getting used to: install, run, plan, write the code, test and go. I don't like having to spend too much time on getting software to work. There is just enough time in life to develop these days. I can't spend a lot of hours, or days trying to get SFS up and running. It should just work, right? Unless in an early release or something...

Maybe a suggestion would be to link to the versions of things that you need JAVA related in the documentation? Like, JRE9 and JDK19. And possibly break the tutorials up into sections? Like, Unity, Flash AS3(don't know how that runs anywhere. Old AIR apps maybe?) and other scenarios needed. I know it would be some work, but would be extremely helpful! And a couple more database connection examples would have been nice too.

Like I said though, I did love the Zone and room architecture!

Take care g_a_p,
IdleChimp

 

Hey @IdleChimp
as regards building Extensions, I think the problem you're referring to is that your IDE was compiling by default to a very recent bytecode version such as v17 or v18 which would cause errors as you've described.
SFS2X was typically running on Java 8 and the latest version (2.18.x) uses Java 11 so you just need to go in your project settings and ensure that Eclipse compiles for Java11.
(in Eclipse open the proj settings, Java Compiler > JDK Compliance)

If it was your first post ever it has to go through a moderation queue, since we receive tons of spam. Strange that it didn't go through.

Thanks for the feedback, we'll try to apply your suggestions to the docs.

 

We have just released SmartFoxServer 2X v2.19.0, which provides library updates, a few bug fixes and the new Extension Flood Filter, allowing to configure Extension calls rate limits on a per-request basis.

» Get the new SmartFoxServer 2.19.0 installer from our download section.
» Read the full release notes here.

 

In the latest version 2.19 of SmartFoxServer 2X we introduced the new Extension Flood Filter, that provides fine grained control over the packet rate of Extension requests.
Learn more about this feature on our blog: https://smartfoxserver.com/blog/new-in-2-19-extension-flood-filter/

 

We are pleased to announce that SmartFoxServer Cluster is finally here, as part of the tools in the Overcast cloud. You can learn more here: http://docs-overcast.smartfoxserver.com/Clustering/introduction

Learn how to create SmartFoxServer Cluster applications in Unity thanks to a number of new detailed tutorials with source code that we have just released: http://docs-overcast.smartfoxserver.com/ClusterClientExamples/unity-examples

------------------------​

We have also introduced a number of new features and improvements in Overcast:
SmartFoxServer 2.19.0 is now available for both standalone and clustered systems
New AdminTool modules dedicated for configuring, managing and monitoring a SmartFoxServer Cluster
New regional database admin servers, to reduce latency when managing your database servers
New credit transfer procedure when terminating a server: allows to transfer residual credit on another machine, where applicable
Other improvements and fixes

Visit the Overcast website here: https://overcast.smartfoxserver.com/