Nakama client implementation (online multiplayer)

[DreadKnight]

Nakama is an open source server that has plenty of features that we'll need and also supports JavaScript implementation, so we should make use of it rather than reinventing the wheel.

It might even be implemented with Node.js heroiclabs/nakama-js#23

https://github.com/heroiclabs/nakama
https://heroiclabs.com
https://heroiclabs.com/docs/javascript-client-guide

For this implementation the server can be set up locally for development purposes.
https://heroiclabs.com/docs/install-docker-quickstart
We'll be using the user system, allowing players to connect to servers and join lobbies in order to play versus other people online, 1vs1 or 2vs2.

The main menu will need some tweaks, described that in #1624 to keep things somewhat tidy.

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IssueHunt Summary

rianconley has been rewarded.

Backers (Total: $225.00)

• dreadknight ($225.00)

Submitted pull Requests

• #1765 Nakama

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[dq-mlnck]

It’d be great to help out on this one..I was randomly playing around Nakama last month so it’s still somewhat fresh :)

What are the requirements to close this?
• Spinning up a local environment only
• Porting everything as-is from the current env to Nakama
• Creating the server and moving integrating all aspects
• Something completely different / etc

Thanks!

[DreadKnight]

@dq-mlnck The game should still be playable hotseat/offline as well, just like now, without an account.
The pre-match screen should be tweaked and have a new tab or so where you would do stuff like logging in, browsing existing game rooms or creating new one; when joining a room you should see other players (nickname/avatar) and chat/log (should use same UI for that as the in-game combat log).

So probably the pre-match screen will have a tab for settings, one combat locations and one for players (where stuff listed above will go if going online), while the chat-log thingy will be visible at the bottom.

[dq-mlnck]

@DreadKnight Nice!
I should be able to start breaking into this today :)

[DreadKnight]

@dq-mlnck Good to hear! I just remembered, someone made a guide on how to enable nodejs support for it, you should probably go this route if it's still relevant heroiclabs/nakama-js#23 as I can't quite figure out if their JS installation guide deprecates all that; yeah, I'm pretty bad at this kind of stuff.

[mlnck]

@DreadKnight Sorry for the delay ... Covid stuff has me running a few days behind.
I've got it up and running with a script that auto-applies the "moneky-patch" after install so you won't overwrite the changes each time you run it.

I haven't had a chance to look into the user management piece yet. But if I can't get to it tonight should be able to dive in tomorrow.

[DreadKnight]

@mlnck Understood, thought that might be the case. Thanks for the update, let me know how it goes 👍

[DreadKnight]

Since I haven't seen any progress in over a month or getting any replies back, I'm guessing this issue is up for taking again...

[rianconley]

Hey @DreadKnight , any progress on this task? It seems like this would be the crucial update for AB since it needs to have a multiplayer component. I took a look and was able to get the server running locally through docker. I can continue looking at it if no one else is currently working on it.

[DreadKnight]

@rianconley No progress, last guy vanished. So hopefully someone else (perhaps you) can pick this up.

[rianconley]

Hey @DreadKnight , do you have any cloud hosting solutions picked out yet for the game (linode, digital ocean, etc). I've been able to get authentication and socket connections working locally but I'm at an impasse until there's an cloud environment where I can test multiple users.
Thanks

[DreadKnight]

@rianconley I got current stuff hosted using Heroku, but obviously, no Nakama stuff yet. Just register for Heroku or something and throw the Nakama server on it so you can test things out properly, as it has nice free tier.

[rianconley]

I'll take a look at Heroku. Thanks.

[DreadKnight]

@rianconley Alright, cool. You can easily clone existing GH repos and deploy them. Compared to the alternatives, it has very simple UI, though it's supposedly more expensive in the long run, so I might eventually have to properly learn the alternatives as well, but they sure like to nitpick on every single resources, which makes things tedious.

[rianconley]

@DreadKnight , it doesn't look like Heroku is an option. Nakama needs cockroachdb database server to be installed and Heroku doesn't appear to have support for deploying custom database servers. Nakama has a tutorial to install Nakama using digital ocean. I also found an article where nakama is installed using Google Compute Enrine. Both these options appear suited for Nakama's dependencies but it isn't free. I guess I'll look around to see if there are any other inexpensive possibly free cloud options.

[DreadKnight]

@rianconley I see. Well, I probably know the tuts. Digital Ocean has 100$ credit for new accounts for 60 days, you could give that ago. I might see about getting some paid hosting if/when it comes down to that and hopefully will be able to invite to that (I think Google stuff has teams and even free tier).

[rianconley]

I also saw that 100$ credit for 60 days; it looks legit. I'll give it a go.

[ktiedt]

If you are looking at Digital Ocean, I have a referal link that benefits my pet project as well (it would cover 1 month of our hosting).

https://m.do.co/c/0e803bfcf0d2

[DreadKnight]

@rianconley Google Compute Engine or even Digital Ocean should be fine, if you finish this month you'll even get a t-shirt from them :D

[rianconley]

Hmm, well AB multiplayer is already running on a digital ocean server droplet. This is where you've been testing the multiplayer.

[rianconley]

Should I go ahead and make a pull request? Wherever you decide to deploy it can be part of another task?

[DreadKnight]

Yes, go ahead, as I said before. Though for PR review would ideally need to get it hosted to try it out, so would go for any of those that work and might need some very basic guiding to smooth out the process I haven't used them before, otherwise docs/googling/youtube/communities are my friends.

[rianconley]

Allright @DreadKnight , pull request was made and the conflicts should be resolved.
I added an example .env file. When you decide on a provider, the variables will need to be updated accordingly.

I also added the docker compose file. This can be used for local set up.

FYI I may be canceling digital ocean account soon. Once you start setting up the server on a cloud provider, if you have any questions, I'll do my best to provide guidance.

Looking forward to getting the shirt.

[DreadKnight]

Allright @DreadKnight , pull request was made and the conflicts should be resolved.
I added an example .env file. When you decide on a provider, the variables will need to be updated accordingly.

@rianconley Took a peek at it last night and it was a bit problematic with the pre-match, kinda squishing another recent PR.
So wanted to see if you would fix on your own and then provide you with feedback. Gonna test it out soon and see if that was solved, otherwise will suggest how the new multiplayer button should be handled in the pre-match screen between its modes.

I also added the docker compose file. This can be used for local set up.

Good there's a docker for this, this will probably fix #1344 issue as well in the process 👍 - will just have to get some exp with them.

FYI I may be canceling digital ocean account soon. Once you start setting up the server on a cloud provider, if you have any questions, I'll do my best to provide guidance.

I understand about the DO subscription, makes sense. Save them bucks asap 💸

Looking forward to getting the shirt.

Maybe I'll get one of those t-shirts as well soon. Anyway, doing some research on (AB) t-shirts and will start pushing that stuff as well in the near future, so there should be one of those for you as well if project will finally start scaling up thanks to online multiplayer :)

DO picked kind of a strange time (or strategical money wise?) to give out t-shirts as it's autumn and chilly in a lot of places.

[rianconley]

Sounds good. Yeah, I noticed pre-match was messed up as well. I fixed all the issues that I saw.

[rianconley]

Looks like I spoke too soon. The discord link was removed somehow. I re-added it back in in a new commit

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[issuehunt-oss]

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[DreadKnight]

Fixed in #1765 woot!