Thanx guys, I've just come back and saw alot of replies, so I guess the competition is between TNL and RAK :)

Once again, thanx for your time.

Best regards,
Ejaz.

Actually, I created a wrapper at DirectPlay (about 15-20 APIs) and I just want to eliminate underlying DirectPlay with something more suitable, so that it can be used by other team members as they are using it right now, without any particular knowledge that what is happening underneath.

As far as 250$ or even more, I would happily go for it, if it is highly tested and good support is available. That is why I'm looking for something with which I can live for sometime, I did all the DirectPlay part a year back (approx.) and now I've to change it again, I don't want to make it an annual excersize that at every winter, when the rest of the world is enjoying new year and I'm searching for another network library. :(

Dear graveyard filla,

I appriciate your help. It is just what I'm looking for. Thanx for your time and efforts.

Best regards,
Ejaz.

Quote:Original post by graveyard filla

Quote:Original post by Anonymous Poster
Raknet doesn't have many of the high level networking features and bandwidth optimizations that TNL has.

could you maybe back this up with some proof? even just quoting the docs would be fine.

In particular I would look at the object state and partial state replication mechanisms of TNL, as well as state update ordering (see http://opentnl.sourceforge.net/doxydocs/fundamentals.html). Also, TNL's RPC support is substantially more useful than RakNet's -- given that it encodes the parameters passed in the RPC as well as just the function invocation.

If your game doesn't require absolutely optimal use of available bandwidth, it probably doesn't matter which library you use, but if bandwidth is going to be an issue, TNL's focus on maximizing the available bandwidth will make a difference.

Disclaimer -- I wrote most of TNL.

Quote: I created network library by using DirectPlay sometime back, but now, I have to implment it with some better network library, preferably a low level network library.

Judging from your other posts, you are looking for a library that supports P2P rather than C/S. Is P2P still a requirement? In both TNL and RAK, you must manually exchange the connected list to an incoming player. This is done automatically in DirectPlayPeer; this process is even patented...

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=20020161821&OS=20020161821&RS=20020161821

Just a word of caution if you go down the P2P route...

Quote:Original post by graveyard filla
well, realistically, if you are worried about bandwith, you would hand-carve your packets anyway, and not use the "auto syncing" tools these high level libs provide. at least, i dont use them because i am cautious of bandwith..

also, arguably RPC's dont really have that much of a place in networked games..

discalimer -- im relatively new to all this [smile].

What do you mean "hand-carve" your packets?

And why don't you think RPCs have a place in networked games? RPCs seem to me to be just a more elegant form of networked event -- you can use them to notify clients of everything from player joins and exits to chat to level changes. In Zap (www.zapthegame.com) we use RPCs for all these functions and more. Making a seperate packet definition for each of these events would be tedious and error-prone.

For reference purposes on bandwidth, a Tribes 1 (distant ancestor to TNL) server would send 10 200 byte packets per second to each connected client -- for a fully simulated outdoor FPS action game with vehicles, projectiles, etc. We designed that game in the day when 28.8 modems were common, so bandwidth was our #1 priority. Even today, with games hosted on a DSL, optimizing for bandwidth is very important. Even if you don't think TNL is useful for your project, I would highly recommend reading the introductory documentation (http://opentnl.sourceforge.net/doxydocs/), as it summarizes many years of networked game programming lessons.