How does Multiplayer handle mods? (EE)

[Bubb]

To start off, I have little to no experience with how the IE multiplayer functions. The problem I am currently up against is EEex - it currently only works correctly in singleplayer, becoming desynced in multiplayer when being run on anyone who isn't the host. I was going to dive into the problem blind, but I figured it might be beneficial to pick the wisdom of the community before I waste a couple of days.

So, some of my inquiries/assertions are as follows:

• 1) I assume both the host and client(s) need identical game files, right?

  2) How do scripts behave while in multiplayer? I see actions such as MultiPlayerSync(), which leads me to believe that each player's game instance is running the scripts separately. Obviously the scripts should be 100% identical if this is what happens, (and some EEex stuff might only be safe to run host-side).

  3) How does the engine synchronize host-client state? Is the game run in its entirety on the host, only syncing to clients? Do both the host and the client run the game individually, frequently syncing up? The MultiPlayerSync() argument above would make me believe the latter to be the case, but I really have no idea. I'm not sure if this question is pertinent to normal modding, so I'm mentally preparing to go down an engine rabbit-hole to figure this one out.

  4) While I'm at it, are there any technical pitfalls to watch out for when making a mod with multiplayer in mind?

Any insights would be appreciated! (And yes, I put my fake list under a bullet to get indentation, this formatting is killing me)

Edited June 28, 2020 by Bubb

[Jarno Mikkola]

1) Right, the easiest way to do this is file share... aka you install the game and mods on one computer and then you just copy the game folder on top of similarly installed game folder. Aka, if you use the C drive you got to install it in the users personal folders... so don't use the C drive, cause Windows is an idiot... but then again, you rarely need the game to be in your SSD, cause you run it with a 30 FPS cap. While you probably could run it with a 1000 FPS... if you monitor could keep up, and you.

[subtledoctor]

Not what he’s asking...

Probably need to ask this at the Beamdog forum. And/or directly tag people who worked on it.