On the fence beginner question
Icezman
✭
Hello
I tried asking this in an email directly to Photon but they redirected me to the forums.
I've read a bunch of threads, web pages, subreddit posts, Photon forum posts but in the end I suppose I just need another confirmation on some questions I have (I know many of these have been answered in some way or form but still I hope someone can answer them regardless).
E-mail I sent:
I hope I could ask some questions as I'm desperately looking around to see which system to start learning. I'm a hobby developer at the moment and would like to get into expanding my future projects/games with networking/multiplayer. I use the Unity engine to develop but UNET has been an extreme hassle.
There's a few ideas I'm looking into choosing and i'd like your input in what is possible with Photon.
As I'm a complete noob at networking:
- As I'm using Unity, what product would be my best bet to go forward with? I've seen many different products and a lot of the features are the same across the different products.
- What's the difference between Photon PUN, Photon Realtime and Photon Quantum?
- What exactly is the difference between Photon Engine and GameSparks?
- Are they mostly used together (GameSparks for the back-end) and Photon to handle realtime multiplayer interactions like physics?
- Is there any difference between Photon realtime multiplayer and Gamesparks realtime multiplayer?
- Can Photon be used to completely handle all multiplayer aspects in a 4 vs 4 realtime multiplayer shooter? and/or can it be used in a co-op realtime adventure game?
My apologies for all the (noob) questions, with all the information and all the possibilities it's a bit hard to see through it all and find an ideal combination with Unity so I can just learn that completely and know I'll be able to handle anything my game needs.
I tried asking this in an email directly to Photon but they redirected me to the forums.
I've read a bunch of threads, web pages, subreddit posts, Photon forum posts but in the end I suppose I just need another confirmation on some questions I have (I know many of these have been answered in some way or form but still I hope someone can answer them regardless).
E-mail I sent:
I hope I could ask some questions as I'm desperately looking around to see which system to start learning. I'm a hobby developer at the moment and would like to get into expanding my future projects/games with networking/multiplayer. I use the Unity engine to develop but UNET has been an extreme hassle.
There's a few ideas I'm looking into choosing and i'd like your input in what is possible with Photon.
As I'm a complete noob at networking:
- As I'm using Unity, what product would be my best bet to go forward with? I've seen many different products and a lot of the features are the same across the different products.
- What's the difference between Photon PUN, Photon Realtime and Photon Quantum?
- What exactly is the difference between Photon Engine and GameSparks?
- Are they mostly used together (GameSparks for the back-end) and Photon to handle realtime multiplayer interactions like physics?
- Is there any difference between Photon realtime multiplayer and Gamesparks realtime multiplayer?
- Can Photon be used to completely handle all multiplayer aspects in a 4 vs 4 realtime multiplayer shooter? and/or can it be used in a co-op realtime adventure game?
My apologies for all the (noob) questions, with all the information and all the possibilities it's a bit hard to see through it all and find an ideal combination with Unity so I can just learn that completely and know I'll be able to handle anything my game needs.
0
Best Answer
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Hi @Icezman,
Thank you for choosing Photon!
I can't answer all your questions and the best advice you could get is to find out the answers yourself by prototyping and through trial and error.As I'm using Unity, what product would be my best bet to go forward with? I've seen many different products and a lot of the features are the same across the different products.It depends on the product you are making. But as a beginner, you should start with PUN, it is the most Unity friendly and easiest to start with. Plus it is the product that has the more learning material online.What's the difference between Photon PUN, Photon Realtime and Photon Quantum?For PUN vs. Realtime read the answer in our FAQ page here. Quantum is a different product pricing wise and also it is far more advanced and targetted. I think Quantum is not an option for you now.- What exactly is the difference between Photon Engine and GameSparks?We focus mainly on realtime networking and we want to be the best at it. GameSparks wants to do everything. You can see Photon and GameSparks as two complementary products or two competitors.Are they mostly used together (GameSparks for the back-end) and Photon to handle realtime multiplayer interactions like physics?They could be used in this scenario yes. The integration is done via Web Interface (custom authentication, webhooks and webRPC) in this case. But we recommend our partners at PlayFab.Is there any difference between Photon realtime multiplayer and Gamesparks realtime multiplayer?Good question. I didn't try GameSparks' realtime features. I invite you to post your findings if any here so we could all benefit from this.Can Photon be used to completely handle all multiplayer aspects in a 4 vs 4 realtime multiplayer shooter? and/or can it be used in a co-op realtime adventure game?Yes. See showcase.
5
Answers
-
Hi @Icezman,
Thank you for choosing Photon!
I can't answer all your questions and the best advice you could get is to find out the answers yourself by prototyping and through trial and error.As I'm using Unity, what product would be my best bet to go forward with? I've seen many different products and a lot of the features are the same across the different products.It depends on the product you are making. But as a beginner, you should start with PUN, it is the most Unity friendly and easiest to start with. Plus it is the product that has the more learning material online.What's the difference between Photon PUN, Photon Realtime and Photon Quantum?For PUN vs. Realtime read the answer in our FAQ page here. Quantum is a different product pricing wise and also it is far more advanced and targetted. I think Quantum is not an option for you now.- What exactly is the difference between Photon Engine and GameSparks?We focus mainly on realtime networking and we want to be the best at it. GameSparks wants to do everything. You can see Photon and GameSparks as two complementary products or two competitors.Are they mostly used together (GameSparks for the back-end) and Photon to handle realtime multiplayer interactions like physics?They could be used in this scenario yes. The integration is done via Web Interface (custom authentication, webhooks and webRPC) in this case. But we recommend our partners at PlayFab.Is there any difference between Photon realtime multiplayer and Gamesparks realtime multiplayer?Good question. I didn't try GameSparks' realtime features. I invite you to post your findings if any here so we could all benefit from this.Can Photon be used to completely handle all multiplayer aspects in a 4 vs 4 realtime multiplayer shooter? and/or can it be used in a co-op realtime adventure game?Yes. See showcase.
5