Developers Guide to Multiplayer Games?
Author
Anyone know if "Developers Guide to Multiplayer Games" (ISBN 1556228686) is any good? I already have the book that the moderator of this forum wrote...
My copy literally just arrived from Amazon.com a few hours ago. As I am new here I don''t yet know who the forum moderator is but I do have the LaMothe Multiplayer Game programming book as a comparison.
At first glance (and I haven''t yet looked too closely at the code) Developers Guide to Multiplayer Games is exactly the book I was after. The vast majority of the book deals with network coding whereas only 100 pages (out of 800) seem to deal with it in the LaMothe book (if I wanted to learn Direct3D I would have bought a Direct3D book).
It covers all aspects of a multiplayer game including doing a database backen using MySQL (which I was interested in). It then develops a Network library based on TCP/IP. It even covers things like threads for unix and Windows.
My opinion may change once I have read more of the book but I am excited about reading it.
Here are the chapter headings and number of pages in each:
Theory Introduction
1 Creating Windows Applications in Visual Studio (11 pages)
2 Internet Based Database Systems (75 pages)
3 Communicating with the Internet (89 pages)
4 Introduction to TCP/IP (10 pages)
5 Basic Sockets programming (48 pages)
6 I/O Operations (15 pages)
Tutorial Introduction
1 Using our 2D Library (22 pages)
2 Creating Your Network Library (132 pages)
3 Creating the Login System (67 pages)
4 Creating the Game Lobby (49 pages)
5 Creating Your Online Game (37 pages)
Daniel.
At first glance (and I haven''t yet looked too closely at the code) Developers Guide to Multiplayer Games is exactly the book I was after. The vast majority of the book deals with network coding whereas only 100 pages (out of 800) seem to deal with it in the LaMothe book (if I wanted to learn Direct3D I would have bought a Direct3D book).
It covers all aspects of a multiplayer game including doing a database backen using MySQL (which I was interested in). It then develops a Network library based on TCP/IP. It even covers things like threads for unix and Windows.
My opinion may change once I have read more of the book but I am excited about reading it.
Here are the chapter headings and number of pages in each:
Theory Introduction
1 Creating Windows Applications in Visual Studio (11 pages)
2 Internet Based Database Systems (75 pages)
3 Communicating with the Internet (89 pages)
4 Introduction to TCP/IP (10 pages)
5 Basic Sockets programming (48 pages)
6 I/O Operations (15 pages)
Tutorial Introduction
1 Using our 2D Library (22 pages)
2 Creating Your Network Library (132 pages)
3 Creating the Login System (67 pages)
4 Creating the Game Lobby (49 pages)
5 Creating Your Online Game (37 pages)
Daniel.
I haven''t read the book, nor do I have it, but I do want to ask why would a book on multiplayer programming be centered around TCP and not UDP.
Sounds like a good book, and it''s too bad that the book doesnt cover the protocol that 95% of the multiplayer games out there use.
Either way it might be a good read.
-=[ Megahertz ]=-
Sounds like a good book, and it''s too bad that the book doesnt cover the protocol that 95% of the multiplayer games out there use.
Either way it might be a good read.
-=[ Megahertz ]=-
well it''s probably not oriented around massively multiplayer systems...? But your right, i was sort of dissapointed when i heard it was targeted around TCP/IP was nothing learned from UO? AO? 
I''ve had a look at the book and just to clear up the above confusion, it does not at all advocate using TCP over UDP for real-time games. The mention of TCP/IP on the cover does indeed refer to the complete protocol suite, and within the book UDP is advocated for real-time (e.g.positional) data, and TCP for game-critical data such as player entry and so on...just as you would expect.
Adam
Adam
Bought it and returned it. Very basic stuff. Nice idea, but not very deep. The mysql and perl is an interesting diversion but there''s nothing there that can''t be found and better explained in most mysql specific books.
I would have liked to see some real design. Show me all the components of a multiplayer game and go into some detail on each. I don''t need someone to explain multiple ways to write really basic client and server network code.
Maybe I''m a little harsh. If you haven''t been exposed to database''s/DBI or client/server network code this might be a good place to start. I''ve worked with both before and as much as I tried I couldn''t find anything useful, interesting or new in this book.
bml
I would have liked to see some real design. Show me all the components of a multiplayer game and go into some detail on each. I don''t need someone to explain multiple ways to write really basic client and server network code.
Maybe I''m a little harsh. If you haven''t been exposed to database''s/DBI or client/server network code this might be a good place to start. I''ve worked with both before and as much as I tried I couldn''t find anything useful, interesting or new in this book.
bml
I wrote the Multiplayer Game Programming book, not the one you are talking about. I also cover threading, TCP/IP, UDP with DirectPlay, and a SQL overview.
I think the main difference between my book and the other guy''s is that I write more about game development and design and he concentrates on the "lower-level" aspects. I am not saying either one is "better," it just depends on what you are looking for.
As for the inclusion of 3D, input, etc. in the book, Prima required that I cover everything about game programming. Not to mention that several people have written saying how much they love those sections. I would like to write a dedicated advanced MP book covering TCP/IP, UDP, etc. someday (Have to finish this RTS title first.)
LostLogic
www.lostlogic.com
Author, Multiplayer Game Programming
I think the main difference between my book and the other guy''s is that I write more about game development and design and he concentrates on the "lower-level" aspects. I am not saying either one is "better," it just depends on what you are looking for.
As for the inclusion of 3D, input, etc. in the book, Prima required that I cover everything about game programming. Not to mention that several people have written saying how much they love those sections. I would like to write a dedicated advanced MP book covering TCP/IP, UDP, etc. someday (Have to finish this RTS title first.)
LostLogic
www.lostlogic.com
Author, Multiplayer Game Programming
"As for the inclusion of 3D, input, etc. in the book, Prima required that I cover everything about game programming."
Personally, I was rather annoyed that this type of stuff was included. I guess Prima figures that this would make a more compelling product, but if I wanted a book on graphics programming I would have bought one on graphics programming. (or looked at the many books on graphics programming that I have already bought).
It gets rather old that every book that comes out spends 1/2 to 3/4 of the pages explaining basic stuff like input and setting up a windows application, when that stuff has been covered many many times before in other books.
One book can not and will never be an all encompassing fountain of knowlege of game programming, unless they plan on the book exceeding 10,000 pages, the subject is just too broad.
All in all its a great book, but I felt it could have done with out the off topic content. I do realize this typically isnt the faut of the Author, rather its requirements of the publisher. I just wish publishers would wake up and recv(A_CLUE); =)
-=[ Megahertz ]=-
Personally, I was rather annoyed that this type of stuff was included. I guess Prima figures that this would make a more compelling product, but if I wanted a book on graphics programming I would have bought one on graphics programming. (or looked at the many books on graphics programming that I have already bought).
It gets rather old that every book that comes out spends 1/2 to 3/4 of the pages explaining basic stuff like input and setting up a windows application, when that stuff has been covered many many times before in other books.
One book can not and will never be an all encompassing fountain of knowlege of game programming, unless they plan on the book exceeding 10,000 pages, the subject is just too broad.
All in all its a great book, but I felt it could have done with out the off topic content. I do realize this typically isnt the faut of the Author, rather its requirements of the publisher. I just wish publishers would wake up and recv(A_CLUE); =)
-=[ Megahertz ]=-
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