The hunt after a new cloud backend + multiplayer API solution after Gamesparks changed their pricing

So, after Gamesparks decided to change their pricing and make it non-usable for indies, people had to look for other solutions. (ref this thread: https://forum.unity.com/threads/hea...g-plan-and-its-looking-bad-for-indies.632257/ )

Well, I was one of them, had the entire multiplayer, leaderboard, auth system implemented and done. And now I got to find another service.

I really want to use a solution which can give me realtime multiplayer API, leaderboards and matchmaking in the same package (so Gamesparks was actually perfect for me).

But now I got to find a new solution.

• Playfab + Photon (PUN) is a great solution, but I have to pay a lot for it in the end. ( https://playfab.com/add-ons/photon/ )
• Playfab + New Unity multiplayer solution. But its still poor on documentation (dont even know if it works yet) ( https://blogs.unity3d.com/2018/08/02/evolving-multiplayer-games-beyond-unet/ )
• Playfab + Playfab Thunderhead (Multiplayer 2.0), seems like a nice thing. But its not done yet, and poor docs for Unity integ. ( https://api.playfab.com/docs/tutorials/landing-tournaments/multiplayer-servers-2.0 )
• Playfab + SocketWeaver, seems cool, havent looked at it much. Looks like it uses RPC and syncvars, dunno if I can define my own packages. ( https://www.socketweaver.com/ ). Also no leaderboards.
• Playfab + AppWarp. Haven't heard of them, but it looks good. Have anyone tried it? ( http://appwarp.shephertz.com/ )
• Unreal Services. Seems cool, but also seems to good to be true. Also not any realtime multiplayer API (can use photon I guess) ( https://dev.epicgames.com/en-US/services )
• BrainCloud. Never heard of it. But seems kinda great. Almost like Gamesparks. I love it actually. Need to read more about it though ( https://getbraincloud.com/ )

I want the solution to do the hosting of servers for me, manage it and scale it if needed.
Also, I hated the workflow of uNet (syncvars, rpc) so I haven't mentioned Mirror ( https://github.com/vis2k/Mirror ).


So, have you any experience with any of these? Really curious about new unity multiplayer, playfab thunderhead, socketweaver, appwarp, unreal services and braincloud.

 

Braincloud is pretty good. They are small but big enough to host a few major games (e.g. Simpsons Tapped out).

One of the best things about them is the support. The live chat is often answered in minutes by an actual expert, and its rare to wait more than a few hours for a response.

Real time is really new though so you would have to take that with a grain of salt.

 

Ok, thank you so much for the insight. Might try them out.

 

just curious, socketweaver comes without CCU limit. Isnt this a critical deciding factor?

 

This thread is 3 years old..

 

No. The discussions in this thread are focused on CCUs solely because the services being discussed charge based on the number of CCUs. Socketweaver doesn't eliminate this discussion. It simply shifts it from CCUs to bandwidth usage since that is how it charges you.

 

Thanks for your input.
Let say i create a minimal turn-based board game, i thought without a CCU limit, it would make me relieved more.. (with the assumption that the bandwidth usage would never hit the threshold)

Anyway, i am not sure whether socketweaver is still actively in development. They did provide sample codes through github. But last release was 2021.

 

Meanwhile, after exploring playfab, i realize that the ecosystem for 'Multiplayer' is way much broader, such as matchmaking, leaderboard, etc, which, the socketweaver doesnt have.

 

Playfab + Mirror + Edgegap is my choice.

Playfab < 100 000 users = free

Mirror doesn't cost a cent to use the framework. Although there are some small benefits for sponsors, such as some additional tools and priority support on Discord.

I really wanted to give Photon Fusion a crack but it seems there is no WebGL support at this point and WebGL is the most important platform for me going forward.

Edgegap provides server infrastructure and some easy built-in matchmaking, or you can implement your own whole OpenMatch configuration on top of their matchmaking servers.