Is it possible to make an effective multiplayer game in DirectPlay without using a thread for the network part ?

Can you be more specific about your question? What do you mean exactly?

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It depends on how fast your network code is. If there''s a noticable pause when packets come in then you either need to optimize the code further or go to another thread. By sending messages ASYNC the only pause is putting together the packet.

For Tombstone: Vendetta I use only one thread. The server''s only purpose is to process messages so there''s no need for another one. The client also spends practically 0 msecs processing any message so it only uses one thread as well.

You can try it out to see how well it works at
http://therabbithole.redback.inficad.com/outworld/

You''ll just need to sign up for a free account.

Ben