Synchronized Game Server Architecture

Horizon is a custom game server software written in Rust, and designed to facilitate seamless interaction between Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) and client applications through socket.io. It provides a scalable and customizable solution for hosting multiplayer games and managing real-time communication between players and a limitless number of game servers or “Hosts”.

Horizon Parent-Child Socket Sync

Horizon utilizes a sophisticated Parent-Child socket synchronization mechanism to ensure seamless coordination between multiple Horizon instances, effectively creating a unified game server environment with minimal latency.

How it Works

Parent-Child Relationship

In the Horizon architecture, one instance acts as the Parent node, while others serve as Child nodes. The Parent node orchestrates and synchronizes actions across all Child nodes.

Socket Communication

Horizon employs socket.io for real-time communication between Parent and Child nodes. This allows for near-instantaneous data transmission, crucial for maintaining synchronization in fast-paced multiplayer games.

Data Exchange Protocol

The Parent node continuously sends updates to Child nodes regarding game state, player actions, and other relevant information. Conversely, Child nodes report back to the Parent node, ensuring bidirectional communication for accurate synchronization.

Latency Optimization

To achieve near-zero latency, Horizon optimizes data transmission by minimizing overhead and prioritizing critical updates. This ensures that actions performed on one Child node propagate swiftly to all others, maintaining a cohesive game experience for all players.

Dynamic Clustering

Each Horizon instance serves a cluster of players, defined by their relative distances to each other within the game world. This clustering mechanism ensures that players who are geographically close in the game are managed by the same server instance, minimizing latency.

Cluster Awareness

Clusters are aware of their in-game distance from other clusters. Using this information, servers synchronize as often as needed to maintain a virtual “speed of light” effect. This approach allows for some latency between farther apart instances without compromising the overall gameplay experience.

Docker for Containerization

Horizon utilizes Docker to containerize its services, ensuring consistent and isolated environments for deployment. Docker provides several advantages:

• Isolation: Each service runs in its own container, preventing conflicts and making it easier to manage dependencies.
• Portability: Containers can be deployed across different environments without modification, simplifying the deployment process.
• Scalability: Docker’s orchestration tools, such as Docker Compose, allow for easy scaling of services to handle increased load.
• Auto-Scaling: Horizon also takes advantage of the docker API to allow for the automated starting and stoping of Horizon instances as player traffic moves through the virtual world

Why this approach?

• Scalability: The Parent-Child architecture allows Horizon to scale effortlessly, accommodating a growing player base without sacrificing performance.
• Fault Tolerance: In the event of node failure, the Parent node seamlessly redistributes responsibilities to remaining Child nodes, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay for players.
• Consistency: By synchronizing game state across all instances, Horizon guarantees a consistent experience for all players, regardless of their geographical location or server proximity.
• Efficiency: The dynamic clustering and distance-aware synchronization minimize unnecessary data transmission, optimizing resource usage and maintaining game performance.

Use it for yourself soon!

Community Edition

The Horizon Community Edition is designed to provide game developers, hobbyists, and indie studios with a powerful and accessible multiplayer game server solution. The Community Edition will be open-source, allowing users to modify and extend the software according to their needs. Here are some key features and benefits of the upcoming Community Edition:

• Open Source: Available under an open-source license, enabling developers to inspect, modify, and contribute to the codebase.
• Free to Use: The Community Edition will be free, making it an excellent option for smaller teams and individual developers.
• Extensive Documentation: Comprehensive guides and tutorials will be provided to help users get started and make the most of Horizon’s capabilities.
• Community Support: Users will have access to community forums, a Discord server, and other collaborative platforms where they can seek help, share ideas, and collaborate on projects.
• Core Features: Includes all the essential features of Horizon, such as the Parent-Child architecture, dynamic clustering, and real-time synchronization.

The Community Edition aims to foster innovation and collaboration within the game development community, providing a solid foundation for creating and managing multiplayer games.

Enterprise Edition

The Horizon Enterprise Edition is tailored for larger studios and enterprises that require advanced features, enhanced performance, and dedicated support. This edition builds upon the Community Edition with additional capabilities designed to meet the demands of large-scale game deployments. Key features and benefits of the Enterprise Edition include:

• Advanced Scalability: Enhanced tools and optimizations to support massive player bases and complex game worlds.
• Auto Scale: Advanced performance metrics, monitoring, and auto scaling
• High Availability: Features designed to ensure continuous uptime and reliability, including advanced fault tolerance and automated failover mechanisms.
• Enhanced Security: Additional security features to protect game data and player information, including advanced authentication, encryption, and access controls.
• Performance Monitoring and Analytics: Comprehensive monitoring and analytics tools to track server performance, player activity, and other critical metrics.
• Priority Support: Access to dedicated support teams and prioritized assistance to resolve issues quickly and efficiently.

The Enterprise Edition is ideal for game studios and enterprises looking to leverage Horizon’s capabilities for large-scale, commercial game projects. It provides the tools and support necessary to deliver a high-quality, reliable gaming experience to players.

How to help

Your involvement is crucial to the success and growth of Horizon. Here are some ways you can contribute and support our project:

Join Our Discord Server

One of the best ways to get involved is by joining our Discord server. This platform serves as a hub for developers, gamers, and enthusiasts to collaborate, share ideas, and provide feedback. By joining our Discord community, you can:

• Connect with Developers: Engage with the Horizon development team and other community members to discuss ideas, troubleshoot issues, and share your experiences.
• Stay Updated: Receive the latest news, updates, and announcements about Horizon and our other projects.
• Collaborate on Projects: Participate in collaborative projects, contribute to discussions, and work on improvements and new features.

Raise Awareness

Help us spread the word about Horizon and our other projects by:

• Sharing on Social Media: Follow us on social media platforms and share our posts to help raise awareness and interest.
• Writing Articles or Blog Posts: Write about your experiences with Horizon, its features, and how it can benefit other developers. Share these articles on forums, blogs, and social media.
• Giving Talks or Presentations: If you’re attending conferences, meetups, or other events, consider giving a talk or presentation about Horizon and its capabilities.
• Creating Tutorials or Videos: Develop tutorials or video content that showcases how to use Horizon, its features, and best practices. This can help new users get started and understand the full potential of the platform.

Contribute to Development

If you’re a developer, consider contributing to the Horizon project by:

• Submitting Pull Requests: Help improve Horizon by fixing bugs, adding new features, or enhancing existing functionality. Review our contribution guidelines and submit pull requests to our repository.
• Reporting Issues: If you encounter any bugs or issues, report them on our GitHub issue tracker. Provide detailed information to help us understand and resolve the problems quickly.
• Participating in Discussions: Engage in discussions on GitHub, our forums, or Discord to share your insights, suggest improvements, and provide feedback on proposed changes.

Provide Feedback

Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve Horizon. Let us know what you think about:

• User Experience: Share your thoughts on the user interface, ease of use, and overall experience with Horizon.
• Feature Requests: Suggest new features or enhancements that you believe would benefit the community and improve the platform.
• Performance and Stability: Report any performance issues or stability concerns to help us optimize Horizon for all users.