Is there a difference performance wise between DirectPlay8 and normal socket programming? I''m trying to make an online rpg with a client/server architecture... so I would like to know what would be best between Socket and DirectPlay if i want my server to support as much people as it can.

From what I''ve gathered by reading posts in here on DirectPlay for the past few months, it more or less limits you to 20-30 players, max. Its architecture is not built to support much more than that.

Someone who''s used DP could fill you in more detail...

Before posting, you may want to check out the General FAQ or Multiplayer and Network Programming FAQ to see if your question has already been addressed.


Multiplayer and Network Programming FAQ = http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/showfaq.asp?forum_id=15


its on the top when you are about to start a new thread !
read it !

doh hehe... well i did a search Socket vs DPlay8 and found nothing... thx for the link to the faq, it answered my question

I personally find sockets easier to use which is surprising with them being lower level, and sure if its coded right they can easily support much more than direct play.

I think windows sockets is better, even though i''ve never used direct play (and never plan to ) I''ve only heard bad about it I mean i''m not telling you to stop using it or anything but with winsock I''ve heard you have more control, and to be honest, it''s quite simple once you experiment a little. 20-30 max players though? That''s sick, in a bad way.

Hehe. 20-30 players is sufficient for pretty much anything except a MMOG, though.

I''ve used both, and DPlay does have some nice features. It gives you a *lot* of data about how well your network is performing, for instance (packets dropped, latency, throughput, time outs, etc.), which you can''t really get from Sockets without a fair amount of additional programming.

I actually have switched over to using Sockets pretty much exclusively, and I like them better, they''re better suited for what I''m doing, but sometimes I miss Dplay''s features