Zoidcom 0.6.5 review

Zoidcom is a network library, UDP based networking library providing features for automatic replication of gameobjects and synchroniz

License: Other/Proprietary License with Free Trial File size: 1275K Developer: Jorg Ruppel

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Zoidcom is a network library, UDP based networking library providing features for automatic replication of gameobjects and synchronization of their states over a network connection in a highly bandwidth efficient manner.

This is achieved by multiplexing and demultiplexing object information from and into bitstreams, which make it easily possible to avoid sending redundant data. Bools only take one single bit, integers and floats are stripped down to as many bits as needed.

A great deal of the tedious work that appears when attempting to develop an efficient network protocol is handled by Zoidcom, e.g. deciding when to send which data to which client, how to get it efficiently and reliably through the line, what to do when data gets lost and a lot more.

Here are some key features of "Zoidcom":
Easy And Flexible

simple and straightforward C++ API
no additional build steps needed
custom memory management

Connectivity

fast, UDP based networking protocol using bitstreams - very little control data overhead
NAT friendly - the whole system can operate on one single UDP port
maximize the header/payload ratio by sending fewer big packets instead of lots of small ones
dynamic bandwidth distribution & limitation

Advanced Object Replication - Make best use of the available bandwidth

delegate ownership of objects to arbitrary clients (e.g. for AI processing or player control)
adjustable object priorities
adjustable object relevance per client (e.g. field of view)
object subscription groups (e.g. for different, distinct game areas)

Object Events - Easy as communication can become

direct communication between authority and (groups of) replicated object(s)
no need to pass around object messages throughout your whole application
full control - intercept object events for debugging, monitoring and cheatprotection
object based file transfer - transmit files easily in the background of a running session - the higher the object's priority, the faster the transfer will complete

Automatic Object State Synchronization

synchronize bools, ints, floats and strings
interpolate ints and floats
only send data that really changed
full control
minimum and maximum update frequency for each single data item
intercept, manipulate and prevent data updates for debugging, monitoring and cheatprotection
efficient
adjust the amount of relevant bits per replicated item
default values to avoid transmission of redundant data
interpolation with adjustable interpolation strength or totally custom interpolation

Useful Utilities

asynchronous hostname resolution
accurate ping measurement
LAN session discovery
quickrequest feature - talk to a remote host without creating a full connection
connection grouping
extensive connection statistics

What's New in This Release:
This release makes Zoidcom automatically deannounce (and later reannounce) objects from clients if their relevance is too low or if they are not allowed (anymore) to see that object.
It also fixes a bug where it was not possible to switch between Zoidmodes, and another bug that caused stalling of data transmission when sent with ZCom_Control::ZCom_sendData().