In a nutshell, the game I'm making is an arena shmup like geometry wars but instead the emphasis is on multiplayer combat. I'm going for being minimalistic, to just include the features to make the game fun. So nothing like stat keeping which isn't absolutely needed and would also give incentive to cheat. I don't play very many games online which is hampering me in making an online game. I'm trying to design the interface for the host and I want to make sure I have all the needed features for a game host. The basic game flow when a player creates a hosted game goes like this: -player creates game and plays in a free play mode. Basically it's a minigame type mode where they have infinite ammo, can switch between any weapon, and fire at respawning targets. -As other players join, they join in on the freeplay mode to shoot at each other along with the respawning targets -Once the minimum players required join in, the real game starts. This is set by the host -They play until the kill/round limit is reached -Players return to free play mode until the host starts another game Designing the client is easy because they basically have the option of playing or leaving. Right now I'm trying to make sure the host has all the needed menu options. Current Menu Options: -Start Game: Option appears while in free play mode and host sets a high min player and decides they want to start the game now -End Game: Option appears while mid game and host want to start a new game -Ban Client: self explanatory -Kick Client: also self explanatory -Close Room: player no longer wants to host a game. Anything I'm forgetting or any online annoyances I should take into account?

Gah, I can't believe I forgot the puase feature for local battles.

Stats are nice but they encourage cheating, and time I spend trying to prevent stat hacking is time spent away from working on game play balance and latency compensation.

Oh and player limits, passwording, and player preps all happen in the "Match Creating/Joining" stage. What I'm working on is what happens when you're actually in a battle.