is there a way so that i dont have to buy a game server for my multiplayer game?

Question

I know i sound ignorent amd nooby but plse answer .. I am new to unity.. Is it neccessary to buy servers for my multiplayer games .. Is there a way around it .. Like programming the game so that it uses the computer it is running on as a server and other player can connect to it .this way i dont have to pay thousands of dollars for my own servers.. Is it possible/practical like the people who play the game can tell their friend to start the game on a different computer go to lobby create a server and convey the name/ip adress to the other person who canthen search for the server and join it.. If i am correct this multiplayer model does not require mee to buy the servers instead the consumers of the game will have their own.. My game is sorta like a fps shooter with 5-10 player matches.. Again i am super noob dont hate plse help and correct meabout my concept of multiplayer

Answer 1

the reason that your question sounds noobish even to you is that it shows a lack of understanding what a server really is.

for all intents and purposes a server is really just a specialized computer that has a lot of memory, hard-drive, and processing power whose sole purpose is to run applicationX whether that applicationX be a game, or delivering a webpage.

so technically the biggest difference between a server, and a user system are: security(usually a server only cares about security one way), versatility(a server is considered to have limited use because it is so focused on delivering the same thing to multiple targets it doesn't deviate from that thing), and priority system.

though there will actually be a difference in how you program your architecture to do this. whether you can have the server system act as a client, and the server at the same time.

the 3 major networking architectures that come to mind right now are:

-client(s)->controlServer: this is where the server runs the simulation of the application, and then delivers the subsection of the simulation that each client is concerned with to the given client example: WoW

-client(s)-clientServer: this is where a given client is also the server (running the simulation) and then gives the needed parts the the other clients example Halo 1 for PC

-client-client(p2p): this is where the clients usually run simultaneous simulations of the application and then update each other based on changes. example Star Craft 1

this is not a exhaustive list as most other models are subsets of these, and as such require tweaks from the base model to accommodate. I have not included example implementations as they can become rather specific very quickly, and this is a general answer to your question. if you would like further details on any of these models then you could probably do a web search to find implementations.

Answer 2

Answer by KMKxJOEY1 · Mar 28, 2013 at 07:41 PM

yes you can use the unity servers for free

the host computer acts as a server, but unity has master servers for this purpose

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whydoidoit · Mar 28, 2013 at 08:46 PM 1

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Apart from they are down for weeks at a time and are not designed for production use.

Answer 3

Answer by narjam · Mar 28, 2013 at 08:45 PM

Isnt the unity master server only for testing purpose or can it be used for commercial purposes.. Is it powerfull enough ?? For my application can it used .. Lets hypothetically assume my game gets a million sales ... Can the unity server still be used...

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whydoidoit · Mar 28, 2013 at 08:47 PM 0

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Yes the Unity $$anonymous$$aster Server is just for testing. Photon provides a commercial cloud based solution (with a different networking layer) or you can host your own cloud based master server and as Unity provides the source code this can also be modified.

A master server is just a game lobby, the computers it runs on don't have to be that powerful.

gardian06 · Mar 28, 2013 at 09:05 PM 0

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there is a variety of options for hosting services. it all depends on what kind of needs your game/app have.

is there a way so that i dont have to buy a game server for my multiplayer game?

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