m41q

Yeah, it looks like version 1 is the better approach to get fast responses when pressing a key or something.

But usually, if the game runs with 5 fps, no one will like to play it anyway ^^

Don´t think to much over something that simple. If you run into problems with the time the game needs to react, you are still able to change your code...

Hi,

I´m programming in Java but I think the general concept may be useful for you too:
The Data that I transmit is an array of bytes.
The first byte determines wich data is sent (e.g. position of an unit,), the second the length of the data (e.g. 200 bytes). Next comes the data itself and then comes the next package.
On the other side I read the first two bytes and then read the data and from the transmitted bytes I am able to assign the right values to the objects.
You can convert ANY value into bytes and back. So if you have to send text, you convert it and when it is on the other side, you just reconvert it.

But as a sidenote, multiplayer programming is hard...
I would have been much faster with my own project if it wasn´t for the multiplayer

well c++ IS capable of doing good character animation with directx or opengl, the only question is how much time you have or how big your team is:
A big team can design the whole engine all by their own (using c++), but as one person one should probably have a look at freeware engines or something like that.
Unless you want to program it yourself because programming is fun, you can go with some sort of engine.