Message Queue System For Multiplayer Networking
In this example, we will show how to use the
ObservedQueue class in Unity to manage a message queue for multiplayer networking. The idea is to receive incoming network messages on a separate thread, and notify subscribers whenever a new message is added to the queue.First, let's define a simple class to represent a network message:
public class NetworkMessage
{
public int senderId;
public string message;
public NetworkMessage(int senderId, string message)
{
this.senderId = senderId;
this.message = message;
}
}
Next, let's create the
MultiplayerNetworkManager class that will handle the message queue and subscribers:using System.Collections.Generic;
using UnityEngine;
using Observed;
public class MultiplayerNetworkManager : MonoBehaviour
{
private ObservedQueue<NetworkMessage> messageQueue = new ObservedQueue<NetworkMessage>();
private List<Action<NetworkMessage>> subscribers = new List<Action<NetworkMessage>>();
private void Start()
{
// Subscribe to the messageQueue's events
messageQueue.Subscribe((message, changeType) =>
{
if (changeType == ChangeType.Added)
{
// Notify subscribers of new message
foreach (var subscriber in subscribers)
{
subscriber(message);
}
}
});
// Start the worker thread that listens for incoming network messages
StartCoroutine(ReceiveMessages());
}
private IEnumerator ReceiveMessages()
{
while (true)
{
// Pretend to receive a network message
NetworkMessage receivedMessage = new NetworkMessage(0, "Hello from player 0");
messageQueue.Enqueue(receivedMessage);
yield return null;
}
}
public void SubscribeToNetworkMessages(Action<NetworkMessage> callback)
{
subscribers.Add(callback);
}
public void UnsubscribeFromNetworkMessages(Action<NetworkMessage> callback)
{
subscribers.Remove(callback);
}
}
Finally, let's create a class that will be a subscriber to the message queue:
using UnityEngine;
public class NetworkMessageDisplay : MonoBehaviour
{
private void Start()
{
// Subscribe to network messages
MultiplayerNetworkManager networkManager = GetComponent<MultiplayerNetworkManager>();
networkManager.SubscribeToNetworkMessages(OnNetworkMessageReceived);
}
private void OnNetworkMessageReceived(NetworkMessage message)
{
Debug.Log($"Received message from player {message.senderId}: {message.message}");
}
}
With these classes, you now have a basic setup for receiving and handling network messages in a multi-threaded environment in Unity. The
ObservedQueue class allows you to efficiently manage and notify subscribers of changes to the message queue, making it a great solution for multiplayer networking.Last modified 3mo ago