Getting Started

🔥 Don't be discouraged by the length of this tutorial. All you'll actually need to do is add 3 scripts (that you don't even need to write) into the scene, and make a couple of small edits. If you know what you're doing, it's : 5 minutes tops

ℹ️ You can find a scene of completed tutorial at Barebones -> MasterServerTutorial -> Scenes -> MasterTutComplete

Overview

General steps to setting up a game server are as follows:

1. Add game server object (IGameServer) - it should handle receiving passes from clients, disconnecting players that are not allowed and etc.
2. Add server starter script - this should be a script that reads command line arguments and starts the game server accordingly (example: GameServerStarter.cs)
3. Add connector script - a script that connects client to game server, when client opens the scene. (example: UnetConnector.cs)
4. Add MasterServer prefab - this is not necessary, but recommended for faster development. It will start master server automatically, so that you don't need to.

In this tutorial, we'll use a basic uNET game, and try to properly connect it to Master Server.

Mini uNET Game

To guide you through this process, I've written a very simple game which uses uNET. Game files will be located at Barebones > MasterserverTutorial folder.

ℹ️ If you're not familiar with uNET, I recommend you go through a tutorial in the official unity's manual

Try out the provided example

Open the MasterTut scene (MasterTutComplete is a scene which is the end result of what we're doing). The game is very simple and consists of 3 scripts and 3 prefabs. General steps to try the example:

1. Add scene to build settings as the first scene
2. Build the game
3. Host the game in unity editor
4. Join the game with the client you just built

If you've managed start the server (or host) in unity's editor and joined with client, congratulations! If you're having trouble, feel free to contact me. Here's what you should be aiming for:

Implementing IGameServer interface

Our game server is only valid when it implements IGameServer interface. If you're using uNET HLAPI, general implementation is already written for you in script UnetGameServer.cs, this is what we'll be using to set things up faster.

1. Create a new script in MasterserverTutorial > Scripts, and call it TutGameServer.cs

2. Make sure your newly created class extends UnetGameServer. To do that, you'll need to implement two methods: OnServerUserJoined and OnServerUserLeft. These methods are called when authenticated user joins and leaves a game.

3. Call TutNetworkManager.SpawnPlayer(client.Connection, client.Username) in the OnServerUserJoined. As you might have guessed, this will spawn player's character when player successfully joins the game. OnServerUserJoined is called when the player has officially joined the game.

   Here's what your script should look like:

   using Barebones.MasterServer;
   
   public class TutGameServer : UnetGameServer {
   
       /// <summary>
       /// Called, when user successfully passes to game server
       /// </summary>
       protected override void OnServerUserJoined(UnetClient client)
       {
           TutNetworkManager.SpawnPlayer(client.Connection, client.Username);
       }
   
       /// <summary>
       /// Called, when user leaves a game server
       /// </summary>
       protected override void OnServerUserLeft(UnetClient client)
       {
       }
   }

4. Create a new empty game object as a child of **Networking **object and call it GameServer

5. Attach a newly created component to it.

   At this point, if you try to run the game, it will behave as it did earlier, except for a thrown error, which says that there's no EventfulNetworkManager in the scene, that's expected, and will be fixed in the next step

6. Edit **TutNetworkManager **to extend EventfulNetworkManager, instead of the regular NetworkManager. You will also be required to delete OnServerAddPlayer method, so go ahead and do it. Your file should only contain SpawnPlayer method

   ℹ️ EventfulNetworkManager script is pretty much the same as the regular NetworkManager, but instead of forcing you to override methods, it triggers events, to which other components can subscribe. TutGameServer component we've created earlier is one of those subscribers.

⚠️ If you try to launch the game now, your player character will not be spawned. This is because in order to allow players to join, game server must first be registered to Master, and then opened to public. In the next steps, we'll use some of the "helper components" to automate this process for us.

Joining The Game

General steps for client to join a game are as follow:

1. Connect to Master
2. Log in
3. Retrieve access key
4. Send access key to game server

When you are developing your game, you probably want to test every iteration of changes as fast as possible. Normally you'd have to start the server, build a client, connect and login with the client and etc, just to get into the game.

If you're using **uNET **for your games networking, there are a few scripts and prefabs that can automate this process for you, so navigate to Barebones > MasterServer > Prefabs

1. Add MasterServer prefab to the root of the hierarchy. This script will automatically start master server when you hit "play" button in the editor
2. Add GameServerStarter prefab to scene- it will automatically start your game server (after master server starts)
3. Add UnetConnector prefab to scene - it has a flag, called Auto Join If Host, which, as the name suggests, will try to automatically join the game, by first connecting to master and logging in.

After adding these three prefabs, here's what your scene hierarchy should look like:

✅ At this point, if you start the game in editor, Master server should start thirst, then game server, and after that - a user should join the game.

If something doesn't work, check the settings of GameServerStarter and UnetConnector components in the inspector. Make sure the addresses are correct and Master Server is running.

ℹ️ It's highly recommended that you take a look at how GameServerStarter and UnetConnector scripts work, especially if you're not using uNET, or if you're aiming for a custom flow of events. These scripts will give you a general idea of how you can setup your own development process

Making Sure Everything Works

Before publishing a game scene / game server, you want to make sure the following works:

• Started server appears in the listing
• Clients can join the game
• Users can create new game rooms with the scene you just created

TODO: Guide on how to check these points