Yes, I spent way too much time learning DirectPlay (be gentle) and I have decided Id like to never touch it again. Where can one learn TCP/UDP online? Also, can someone put into words why DirectPlay isnt as efficient/effective as TCP/UDP? Thanks! -Noods

http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~beej/guide/net/html/

That ought to get you started (its where I learned socket based network programming).

If you want to learn how to develop a program using TCP/UDP, just go to MSDN and you can find lots of information there. If you want to know about the inside mechanism of TCP/UDP, go find a book like "Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach featuring the Internet" (may be you can find it in a library).

DirectPlay is less efficient since it provides extra features that are not provided by TCP/UDP. If those features are not useful for your project, there is no reason to use DirectPlay.

If you are a newbie regarding network programming (as I) I think you could have good use of this link:

http://www.rakkarsoft.com/

It is a "advanced networking API that is a wrapper for Berkely Sockets on Windows, Linux, and Unix. " and it seems to be EXTREMELY good. There is, as I understand, a completely free licence for freeware game developers.

Developing a good networking package from scratch probably takes some months or some year ... so why just don''t let someone else do it and to it much better?

(I haven''t tested the API yet but I hope it works. You don''t have to bother about lost packages or changed package ordering ....)