Headless server with host player.

[Terabase-Studios]

I know about the host being the sever + player, but when coding things like rpc commands The host player scripts have to handle the inputs. Is there any way I can create a headless instance that manages inputs while the host player joins the headless server like another player? I tried to clarify what I was asking so sorry if anything is unclear.

[maji-git]

If I understand correctly. Headless server is the "host". Host player cannot join the headless server with it being the host, because headless server is already the host for it. also I still doesn't understand what you meant by handling input. Could you clarify more into this?

[Terabase-Studios]

If you have played a game like Emperion or Space Engineers. You can launch a dedicated server that hosts the server on another window. Then, the host would join that server from the game. This allows you to write clearer code that calls functions in an auto load to execute on the server.

[CardboardCarl]

If I understand correctly. Headless server is the "host". Host player cannot join the headless server with it being the host, because headless server is already the host for it. also I still doesn't understand what you meant by handling input. Could you clarify more into this?

@maji-git It seems to me like he's asking how to handle player inputs for a server-authoritative game (i.e. server is not a player but just receives input packets from all other players, simulates the game and redistributes the outcomes back. )

@Terabase-Studios networking client-server works differently from networking peer-to-peer. Since the server is the only authority (the one that decides the way the game is played), the clients are more or less just displaying a broadcast of what is happening on the server, and then sending back out to the server whatever moves you're making at that very instant.

Usually the way the client sends its inputs to the server is something like this: either have an @rpc(unreliable) function call that sends your inputs in an array to the server, or use a MultiplayerSynchronizer with the client set as the authority, so seperate from your server-authority synchronizers, that tracks a movement: Array variable with all of your relevant input data stored inside. This data can be stored in any way you choose, even with nested arrays inside, but the server AND client must agree on how the data is ordered. and the server MUST have a way to identify and reject bad data before causing an error.

The bottom line-- what this essentially means, is you'll have to split your game project in two-- one for a dedicated server, and one for the client (the player's local copy of the game. There's a few video tutorials that talk about how to do this, just search "Godot Dedicated Server Multiplayer" on YouTube. From what I can tell, the tools Multiplay provides will still be able to help, but you'll for sure have to structure your game's networking logic differently than if it was peer-to-peer.

[Terabase-Studios]

Thank you very much! That was exactly what I was asking