Mirror Networking: Providing Efficient, Easy-to-Use, and Robust Networking Framework for Multiplayer Games
A brief introduction to the project:
Our topic for today is an incredibly significant project hosted on GitHub, known as 'Mirror Networking'. It's a sophisticated and high-performance networking framework meant for creating multiplayer games with a variety of engines. It's deemed critical due to its scalability, simplicity, and yet, resistance against latency and network disruption, which are often key concerns in this domain.
Project Overview:
Mirror Networking project aims to deliver an easy and sustainable networking solution to game developers, enabling them to focus on creating immersive gaming experiences rather than worrying about network complexities. It aspires to resolve common snares that developers face concerning latency, stability, and security. The primary target audience of the project is game developers across different levels of expertise.
Project Features:
Mirror Networking provides several key features. It has a built-for-purpose networked GameObject and has out-of-the-box support for the Unity engine. It plays down non-game traffic, averts asset duplication, and allows sharing of scene objects. It further provides integrations with third-party services, boasting superior versatility.
For instance, in a multiplayer game, Mirror Networking helps synchronize player movement seamlessly across different users' screens, regardless of their geographical location. Furthermore, its built-in security features safeguard against common threats.
Technology Stack:
The project heavily relies on the Unity engine and C# as a primary programming language. Unity engine was an obvious choice for its renowned ability to provide cross-platform game development. The project also utilizes Telepathy TCP library for highly efficient and straightforward data transmission, and incorporates WebSockets for robust communication between the client and server.
Project Structure and Architecture:
The project's structure aligns with Unity's architecture, with main scripts integrated within Unity components. It further breaks down into modules handling authentication, scene management, and client-server communication. The design employs entity-component-system (ECS) pattern, where GameObjects act as entities and scripts function as components.