CODEWITHSUNDEEP
network-programmingmultiplayer
Cody Jones
Cody Jones

Reputation: 434

UDP vs TCP for non-frequent input based game

I was reading the article on gafferon about network programming, and it explains the advantages and disadvantages of UDP vs TCP.

However, It feels like that only works for a game that requires constant streams of input. I'm developing a card game, and I was wondering what would be the most effective way to create the multiplayer features, UDP or TCP. I feel like UDP is probably still the best pick just for its speed, but that raises further questions.

If I use UDP, on the low chance that a packet gets loss, how do I know it got lost and how do I recover from the loss?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 149

Answers (1)

1000ml
1000ml

Reputation: 884

How to detect the loss of a message?
The receiver needs to send something back to the original sender that tells him it received the message. If the original sender gets no acknowledgement during a defined timeframe, it will resend the message.
Another method is to send each message multiple times per default and let the receiver ignore duplicates.

The rules for this can get arbitrarily complex and in the end you'll reimplement parts of TCP. You might also want to ensure ordering of the messages.

UDP is good for frequent updates where it's not that bad to lose some messages (e.g. delivering a video stream or keeping player positions in sync in a first person shooter). A card game is slower-paced but requires reliable, ordered messages. If you don't plan to host game sessions with multiple thousands of players, use TCP. It's fast enough and much easier to work with.

It only works with constant streams of input?
TCP works fine even if you only send one message every minute. The term "stream oriented" basically means that the receiver doesn't know where a message ends. You'll have to provide that information in your protocol by prepending the message length for example.

If you choose UDP you'd be better off using a library on top of it.

Upvotes: 1

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