I use WinSock or straight Berkeley sockets for my network coding ... but, I have to admit that DirectPlay does have it''s place in peer-peer games. I like the ability to hand off "server" responsibilites to another play in the instance of the current "server" player dropping. But other than that, I suggest WinSock for its ease to code and for portablility.

As for using DirectPlay because your allready using Direc3d isnt really a valid point, for this reason. You should should have each "piece" of the engine modular so that you can port without much fuss.

David "Dak Lozar" Loeser