Lightweight mmo possible in Unity + Photon Bolt + Playfab?
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in Photon Bolt
I am trying to build a use case for photon bolt (a unity multiplayer middleware) paired with a managed backend service such as playfab or gamelift for things like auth, saving player data, etc. I was hoping to get some feedback on the feasibility of this networking model applied to a lightweight mmo (no interest management required) room-based matchmaking system. Something like this:
I understand this is a bit of an edge case for the selected tooling but with my understanding of docker and auto-provisioning, this would be possible given PlayFab exposes the right controls and bolt can work inside a vm. If so would the region server / game server/hangout world be handled in playfab and everything regarding matchmaking/instance rooms handled in photon with their photon cloud?
I understand this is possible to implement from the ground up, using something like mirror for connectivity and then install a headless build on some bare metal server host paired with my own database/auth stuff. However, it seems to me I would be missing out on a number of ease of use/ scalability advantages. For one, photon bolt provides a ton of networking capability out of the box -perfect for a realtime combat style game - such as Authoritative Movement and Lag Compensation / Hitbox Recording. Not to mention the integration with photon cloud for the matchmaking. Secondly, a managed service like playfab bundles up things like auth, player data, in-app purchases services nicely. Not to mention they automate the process of region based distribution and horizontally scaling game servers on demand.
To recap, is this a solid approach or are there some caveats I need to be aware of? Thanks
I understand this is a bit of an edge case for the selected tooling but with my understanding of docker and auto-provisioning, this would be possible given PlayFab exposes the right controls and bolt can work inside a vm. If so would the region server / game server/hangout world be handled in playfab and everything regarding matchmaking/instance rooms handled in photon with their photon cloud?
I understand this is possible to implement from the ground up, using something like mirror for connectivity and then install a headless build on some bare metal server host paired with my own database/auth stuff. However, it seems to me I would be missing out on a number of ease of use/ scalability advantages. For one, photon bolt provides a ton of networking capability out of the box -perfect for a realtime combat style game - such as Authoritative Movement and Lag Compensation / Hitbox Recording. Not to mention the integration with photon cloud for the matchmaking. Secondly, a managed service like playfab bundles up things like auth, player data, in-app purchases services nicely. Not to mention they automate the process of region based distribution and horizontally scaling game servers on demand.
To recap, is this a solid approach or are there some caveats I need to be aware of? Thanks
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Hello @jakeschroeder ,
> everything regarding matchmaking/instance rooms handled in photon with their photon cloud?
Yes, Photon Cloud is used to handle the matchmaking and sessions, no problem with that.
> is this a solid approach or are there some caveats I need to be aware of?
I personally don't see other major issues that may arise, as you will be using a dedicated server, this will facilitate the connection of the clients. Bolt can handle more players per server with a proper network layout, and if you apply some interest management, this can also increase.
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Ramon Melo
Photon Bolt Team0
