How to Make an Online Multiplayer Game in Blender

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Well, this is kind of a stupid question because it is a popular one in the Blender community, but do any of you have any idea how to make an MMO, or, better yet an MMORPG? I've tried BZoo, but I don't really... get it. (I may try again though, but still.)

[Hitoshura]

Sorry, I don't think this type of topic isn't allowed. From the rules:

Topics not allowed in the Fan Created Games Forum include:Any thread asking for the location of a program to create games with.Any thread requesting sprites, storylines, music, backgrounds, et cetera

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Well, yeah, but I'm not asking for a location of a program to make games with, just how to make it in Blender, which is already a program. Should I edit the topic to make that more clear?

[Katuko]

You should probably ask on the actual Blender board instead. The people there would be far more qualified to help.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Okay, should I request a topic closer or something?

[Chro]

You could report the OP and ask for topic closure, yes.

[Black Six]

The forum rules state:

Members are permitted to create individual topics if they need help using a program or making their game. Note that topics requesting sprites, music, backgrounds, etc. are not allowed. But if you're having questions on programming or game design, you may ask your question here or in a new topic if you'd like more individual attention.

This topic is completely allowed, though I'm not sure how much help you'll find here.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

First off, thanks. But yeah, I'm not really sure how much help I'll find, but I've already tried with no results at looking at the Blender Manual, the Blender Wiki, Blender.org, Blender Artists Community, ######, Yahoo, Google... I could go on forever. So basically I'm turning to BZPower, since I want to make this MMORPG a Bionicle one, and some people here use Blender too.

 

EDIT: Oops, looks like that one was taken out probably due to the advertisement policy or something since it's not as family friendly a site as this. Kinda funny, too, it looks like Swear.com or something. Don't type that in, kids, what if it's a real website! Selling you... something bad... like... MATH HOMEWORK!!!

Edited April 14, 2013 by ToaOfAwesome

[Katuko]

I've been dabbling in game creation for a few years now, and the first thing to keep in mind is that you should start out small and build upwards. Unless you already know how to make an RPG by itself, for example, going straight into making an online RPG is a step too high.I have no experience with Blender or its game engine, so I can unfortunately not help you there. I can say that if you're brand new to making games with Blender, you should probably take a look at the basic tutorials and go slow. While learning programming on one hand, you can devote time to designing your gameplay and stuff in detail. Once you have acquired the knowledge you need, it is then easier to make it all come to life. Many, many projects fail not necessarily due to a lack of total skill from the creator(s), but due to making things in bits and pieces that later don't work well together. I am currently planning out a code rewrite for my own game project, since what I made 2 years ago is not what I need today.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Well, first of all, yes, don't worry, I'm experienced with Blender and it's game engine. Do you know Python scripting, though? Blender uses Python, and I've heard here and there that you can create an MMORPG in Blender using Python, but they don't elaborate AT ALL.

[Katuko]

While I want to learn both Python and C and various other things, I haven't gone there yet. Game making is a big hobby of mine, but I keep having other things to do (such as web coding at school), so then I've learned some PHP instead, for example. :)MMOs need servers that run 24/7 in order to let people mingle and the game to keep going even if any number of them disconnects. Thus, they usually run some host version of the game, which is stripped down in terms of functions and graphics and whatnot to keep the server running only the necessary game code. The server takes all new connections, and distribute player data to other players. How this is done depends on the engine, of course, but in GameMaker I would make the host have an array/data list of the connection sockets (the players) and work from there with additional data tables for stats etc.In case of shutdown or something, the game would periodically save player data to local files on the server. This would require a log-in system as well, which can be accomplished by having a database hosted on your server. A simple MySQL setup would work nicely, I think.For an online game, the host should handle as much of the game as possible. If health is handled locally and then sent to the server, for example, it becomes a lot easier to send a fake health count from your computer and thus keep yourself fully healed at all times. If a client disconnects the server should also be able to keep their data safe for at least a minute or so, in case that same IP reconnects a few moments later or there was just a stutter in the connection.I'd say you should dig into whatever online/network functions Blender has and see if anyone has an example of a simple online game. Online games follow mostly the same logic, so if you learn how to make one that allows 3 players you can make one that allows 20. If you make one that hosts a server remotely, you then also know how to make an MMO keep running.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Wow! That was extremely helpful. It's not ALL I aim to find out here, but it's a lot for sure. However, one question: how much does a server cost? A couple years ago my mom told me that she would by me one in exchange for not getting a car when I was old enough, and I almost agreed to that until she told me she was being sarcastic.

[Katuko]

The cost of a server varies. I do not have one personally, though my family has a home server where we store our music collection as well as backups and some other stuff. Microsoft gives each Home Server user a domain name, but we haven't been able to get ours online ATM so I can't say much there. You can also rent servers online; there is at least one site that offers game server hosting for a comparatively cheap monthly fee.

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Okay, but are they in like the thousands of dollars, or what? (sorry if you're from the U.K. or something, converting currency is not exactly something I'm good at)

[Katuko]

On the service I checked - which is quite popular (but I can't link to it in a public topic because it has forums) - prices are pretty cheap. If you seek to host only one particular game (such as your own game of Counter-Strike with 24 players, for example), you are looking at something like 10£ a month. In this case, you only buy a specific amount of hosting for that game. So for 10£ you would (for example) have a 24-man Counter-Strike server up and running. The service provider guarantees that you get to run a game with 24 players smoothly, and it's up to you what maps you play and what other settings you apply.If you want a dedicated server (in this case a machine that you alone use however you like) things are a bit different. In this case, you pay a fee for using the machine itself. Here, the service provider does not say "ok, we'll let you run 24 players", they say "ok, we'll let you run whatever you like that this computer here can take". So here you are looking at system specs, such as "3.4 GHz Quadcore CPU, 32 GB RAM, 120 GB harddrive space, 15 TB bandwidth". That example is lifted from the same site, and is priced at 189$ per month. So it's higher price, but a lot more flexibility as to what you want to do. You could run several Counter-Strike games, for example, or you could host one big one with many more players (*cough*MMO*cough*).As said, I have never hosted a game myself, but there are server providers out there who offer them at reasonable costs. Remember that even though 190 bucks is quite a bit, you would be getting a more hardcore net connection than what a common router could provide. You should of course develop your game and test it locally before even thinking about buying server space.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Katuko

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Okay, that looks good. But what would be the cost to actually buy a server as opposed to renting it?

[Katuko]

Owning your own at home? It would cost however much you are willing to shell out for a computer and powerful internet connection and a domain name, I suppose. I have no idea.

Edited April 13, 2013 by Katuko

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Hmmmmmmm... judging by your reaction I get the impression it would cost a lot (insert Nicholas Cage "you don't say" meme here). I guess since summer's coming up I'll have more time to save up for one, and in the time it will take me to make the stuff I need for the MMORPG I'll probably have saved up enough seeing as how I only have one character yet and he's not even done.

[Katuko]

Yes, an MMO costs a lot to maintain. It's impossible to predict the costs without knowing more about the game itself, total number of players, etc.You are "lucky" in the way that a BIONICLE MMO such as this would likely not start off with all that many players compared to other big-name MMOs, and that would push the required hosting power down. However, you will also be unable to earn any money off of this (even by ads, if I'm not mistaken), since all rights to BIONICLE are held by LEGO and thus making profit off of a fan-game is really a no-no.This is another reason why I have hesitated in building netplay into my own game yet - the goal is that people can just host their own local game and have others connect (something you may want to do as well, limiting the game to smaller player counts at a time), but since hosting requires messing with router port forwarding I foresee a lot of trouble on the user's part. The alternative is to host my own game, but both my funds for such things and my knowledge about how to even work an online game server is dialing in at "very low".

Edited April 14, 2013 by Katuko

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

I don't expect to make profit, *activates baby-voice mod* just smiles!!! But in all seriousness, I don't expect to get money off of this, it's really more for fun I still have a few more questions, but I'll have to think of them.

[Katuko]

Well, as said: It's nothing to worry about before you actually have an MMO getting ready to launch, I think. The actual game development will probably take a while.

[Underscore]

I've been dabbling in game creation for a few years now, and the first thing to keep in mind is that you should start out small and build upwards. Unless you already know how to make an RPG by itself, for example, going straight into making an online RPG is a step too high.

 

BWAHAHAHA!!! Someone needs to slap me in the face and tell me that. I've been doodling ideas for bionicle MMORPGs but haven't made an progress, unsurprisingly. In the end, I decided to settle for a 2-D, simple platform bionicle game. (I've already started making sprites if anyone wants to help me, which I doubt) anyway, this doesn't really have anyithing to do with this topic so feel free to delete it, if premiere members have that power. (I've already discovered, the hard way, that they have the power to edit your posts)

Edited April 15, 2013 by Maranui

[Katuko]

if premiere members have that power. (I've already discovered, the hard way, that they have the power to edit your posts)

Premier members do not have the power to edit your posts. Moderators and administrators do. These may or may not be Premier members, but their ability to edit posts does not come from the Premier status.

 

I have some pretty good knowledge of GameMaker and its GML scripting language. If that's relevant for you and your game, I could help you with some tidbits here and there if you want.

[Underscore]

I want to download GameMaker 7, but the website doesn't offer that download anymore.

 

I'm not familiar with the new one, and plus it costs $99. I don't have that kind of money.

[Liopleurodon]

I've used Blender before for computer animations, but not games. Sounds interesting though, and if you're actually making a game, good luck!

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

I've used Blender before for computer animations, but not games. Sounds interesting though, and if you're actually making a game, good luck!

Thanks.

[Underscore]

If your planning on making a game you should have an idea before you launch right into coding and animating.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Maranui

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

I do, I don't want this to get around much because it might make me sound like a bad sport, but the game will actually be a game version of The Dead World, which, in case you don't know, is what I tried to submit in the RPG Contest this year. I already have a couple characters that I'm thinking of posting pictures of in the General Art Forum.

[Underscore]

None of my business, really, but is this even going to be a bionicle game?

[The Pyro (From TF2)]

Yeah, The Dead World is about a colonizing ship full of Bionicles that malfunctions and crashes in an unknown Solar System. The passengers lose all their memory and centuries later split into Factions that start fighting. It's a cool game full of space battles, crossbreeds, cannibalistic exiles, and a whole bunch of other stuff.