Prompted by an earlier post about FPS size, we took a brief look at the state of networking in Unity (Pikkotech 1000 player FPS demo uses Unity). Unity has gathered a lot of momentum recently, it is the game engine of choice for our students at the moment. Unity has used RakNet for a while for their own basic networking. Several other networking middleware providers have been supporting it also. A very helpful post on their forum by zumwalt lists several middleware that could be used with Unity. Another option that seems popular is SmartFoxServer; they have a demonstration within Unity. We’d added some basic public information about the systems below: for most though you need to register to get details which would probably mean signing some away some rights to write comparative blog articles!
Quazal
http://www.quazal.com/
Net-Z (real-time), Rendez-Vous (lobby). Net-Z has a shared C++ object/attribute approach. No public costs. No downloadable.
Photon
http://www.exitgames.com/Photon
Reliable UDP. Unity integration. Need to register for information.
Hero Engine
http://www.heroengine.com/
Full game engine. No public costs for HeroEngine. HeroCloud academic license is $4995 for 25 seats, then $995 p.a.
Icarus Studios
http://www.icarusstudios.com/
Full game engine, need to become certified developer
Monumental Games
http://www.monumentalgames.com/
Prime Engine, no public download
MultiVerse
http://multiverse.net/index.html
Multiverse Platform, need to register.
BigWorld Technology
http://www.bigworldtech.com/
Dynamic shared/space subdivision. Indie/Academic license $299 p.a. 10-25 developer seats, some restrictions on user accounts.
SmartFox Server
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/
100 concurrent users free. Public download. Link to Unity.