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# Networking Implementation Plan
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Step-by-step breakdown for taking Spacewar from single-player-only to working
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multiplayer. `tech.md` describes the target architecture; this doc is the
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ordered checklist for getting there from the current codebase.
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**Current state (as of this doc):** zero networking code exists anywhere in
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the project. The server browser's JOIN button and the main menu's CASUAL
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button just set local `GameConfig` fields and load `world.tscn` — no
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connection is ever made. Everything downstream assumes exactly one player.
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**Guiding principle:** get two peers moving/shooting/dying correctly over
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ENet *first*, with ugly/no prediction. Polish feel (prediction,
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reconciliation, lag comp) only after the authoritative loop is proven
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correct. Don't build matchmaking/Steam/galaxy-war until basic peer-to-peer
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combat works.
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---
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## Phase 0 — Decisions to make before writing code
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- [ ] Pick topology for early dev: dedicated headless server instance vs.
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one client acting as host. (Recommend: always run a dedicated server,
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even locally — avoids a host-migration refactor later, and matches
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the authoritative-server model in `tech.md`.)
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- [ ] Decide the connection target for now: hardcoded `127.0.0.1` / LAN IP
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is fine until Phase 8. Don't build matchmaking yet.
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- [ ] Confirm max casual match size (25v25 per `overview.md`) — this affects
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how much you can get away with naive replication before needing
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interest management / area-of-interest culling.
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---
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## Phase 1 — ENet bootstrap & connect flow
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**Goal:** two Godot instances can connect over ENet and see each other join/leave.
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- [ ] Add a `NetworkManager` autoload (new, alongside `GameConfig` in
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`autoload/`) that owns the `ENetMultiplayerPeer`, exposes
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`host_server(port)` / `join_server(ip, port)`, and connects to
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`multiplayer.peer_connected` / `peer_disconnected` / `connected_to_server`
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/ `connection_failed`.
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- [ ] Wire `menu/server_browser.gd`'s `_on_join_pressed` (currently just sets
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`GameConfig` fields and changes scene) to actually call
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`NetworkManager.join_server(...)` and only transition to `world.tscn`
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on `connected_to_server`.
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- [ ] Add a minimal headless server launch path (`--server` CLI flag or a
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separate export target) that calls `host_server()` and loads
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`world.tscn` without a local player.
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- [ ] Smoke test: launch one headless server + two client instances, confirm
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`peer_connected` fires on the server for both and each client sees the
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other's peer_id.
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---
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## Phase 2 — Per-peer player state
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**Goal:** replace the single-player assumption in `GameConfig` with a real
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per-peer registry.
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- [ ] Split `autoload/game_config.gd`: keep shared/match-wide constants
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(thrust, speed, fire rate, `world_bounds`, etc.) as-is, but move the
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per-player fields (`player_name`, `player_race`, `player_ship_path`,
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`player_ship_scale`, `player_ship_speed_factor`) out of flat globals
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into a `Dictionary[int, PlayerInfo]` keyed by `peer_id`, on
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`NetworkManager` or a new `PlayerRegistry` autoload.
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- [ ] On connect, client sends its chosen name/race/ship to the server via
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RPC (`@rpc("any_peer", "call_local", "reliable") submit_loadout(...)`);
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server stores it in the registry and relays to all peers so everyone
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knows everyone's loadout.
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- [ ] Update `menu/team_select.gd` (currently sets `GameConfig` fields
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directly and emits local `team_selected`) to submit the choice via
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this RPC path instead.
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- [ ] Update anywhere still reading `GameConfig.player_name` /
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`player_race` / `player_ship_path` directly to read from the local
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peer's entry in the registry instead.
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---
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## Phase 3 — Spawning multiple ships
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**Goal:** N ships exist in `world.tscn`, one per connected peer, each owned
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by the right client.
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- [ ] `world.tscn` currently has a single hardcoded ship node named "Player"
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as a direct child. Remove it; replace with an empty `Node2D`
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container (e.g. `Ships`) that ships get added to at runtime.
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- [ ] Add a `MultiplayerSpawner` in `world.tscn` pointed at the `Ships`
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container, with `ship.tscn` in its spawnable scene list.
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- [ ] Server-side: on `peer_connected` (or once loadout is submitted),
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instantiate `ship.tscn` for that peer under `Ships`, set
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`set_multiplayer_authority(peer_id)` on the ship root, name the node
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by peer_id (e.g. `str(peer_id)`) so it replicates deterministically.
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- [ ] On `peer_disconnected`, despawn that peer's ship and remove it from
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the registry.
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- [ ] **Camera2D fix:** `ship.tscn` currently bakes a `Camera2D` into the
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scene itself, which breaks with multiple instances. Move the camera
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out of `ship.tscn`; in `ship_movement.gd`'s `_ready()`, only create/
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activate a `Camera2D` if `is_multiplayer_authority()` is true (i.e.
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this is the local player's own ship).
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- [ ] **HUD fix:** `ship_movement.gd` currently pushes health to
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`/root/World/HUD/HealthLabel` via a hardcoded absolute path. Gate this
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the same way — only the locally-authoritative ship should update the
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local HUD.
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---
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## Phase 4 — Split input from simulation
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**Goal:** stop reading `Input.is_action_pressed()` inside the shared
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simulation code; every ship's movement should be driven by whoever is
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authoritative for it (server), fed by input coming from the owning client.
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- [ ] In `ship_movement.gd`, extract the current `_physics_process` block
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(lines ~45–66, direct `Input.is_action_pressed` calls) into a small
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input struct/dictionary (`{thrust: bool, rotate: float, firing: bool}`)
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gathered only when `is_multiplayer_authority()` on the *client* side.
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- [ ] Add `@rpc("any_peer", "call_remote", "unreliable") send_input(input)`
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on the ship: client calls it every physics tick with its local input;
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server receives it, validates the sender is this ship's owning peer,
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and stores it as "current input" for that ship.
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- [ ] Server's `_physics_process` runs the actual movement/`move_and_slide`
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simulation using the last-received input for every ship it owns
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authority over (the server owns authority over all ships in the
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dedicated-server model).
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- [ ] Add a `MultiplayerSynchronizer` per ship replicating `position`,
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`rotation`, `velocity` from server → clients.
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- [ ] Get this working *without* prediction first: local ship will feel
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laggy (input → server → back). That's expected at this stage — fixed
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in Phase 7.
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---
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## Phase 5 — Shooting / bullets over the network
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**Goal:** bullets are server-simulated and replicated, not spawned locally
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by each client.
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- [ ] `ship_movement.gd`'s fire logic (~line 72) currently does
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`get_parent().add_child(bullet)` directly on whichever peer runs it.
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Change so firing is just another bit in the input struct from Phase 4;
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server decides when a shot is actually fired (respecting fire-rate
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cooldown server-side, not trusting client timing).
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- [ ] Server instantiates `bullet.tscn` via a `MultiplayerSpawner` (or
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manual spawn + RPC) under a shared `Bullets` container in
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`world.tscn`.
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- [ ] `bullet.gd` currently self-simulates movement in `_process` and
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resolves damage locally via `body_entered`. Keep bullet *movement*
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client-side-predicted for visual smoothness if desired, but damage
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resolution (`take_damage()` call, ~lines 15–20) must only happen on
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the server's copy of the bullet.
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- [ ] Despawn bullets server-side when out of `world_bounds`; replicate
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despawn to clients.
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---
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## Phase 6 — Server-authoritative health / death / respawn
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**Goal:** no client can kill, heal, or respawn anything except by asking the
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server.
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- [ ] Move `take_damage` / `_die` / `_respawn` (`ship_movement.gd` lines
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~104–135) so the actual state mutation only runs where
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`multiplayer.is_server()` is true. Clients only ever display the
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replicated result.
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- [ ] Add an authority check at the top of `take_damage`: reject calls that
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didn't originate from the server (bullets are already server-spawned
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after Phase 5, so this mostly falls out naturally — but double check
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nothing client-side can still call it directly).
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- [ ] Replicate `health`, `is_dead` (or similar) via the ship's
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`MultiplayerSynchronizer` from Phase 4 so HUD and visuals update on
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all clients.
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- [ ] Respawn: server decides timing/position and re-broadcasts spawn
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state; don't let respawn timers run independently on each client.
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---
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## Phase 7 — Client-side prediction & reconciliation
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**Goal:** local ship feels responsive despite server round-trip; remote
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ships move smoothly despite update-rate gaps.
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- [ ] Local client: predict own ship's movement immediately on input
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(re-run the same movement function locally that the server runs),
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rather than waiting for the server echo.
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- [ ] Server periodically sends authoritative position/velocity/tick back to
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the owning client; client reconciles by snapping/blending toward it
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if prediction drifted (basic version: hard snap if error exceeds a
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threshold; polish later with smoothing).
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- [ ] Remote ships (not locally owned): interpolate between the last two
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received network states instead of snapping on every update.
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- [ ] This is the highest-skill, most iterative phase — budget real time for
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tuning "feel," not just correctness.
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---
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## Phase 8 — Real server browser / connect flow
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**Goal:** menus do what they currently only pretend to do.
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- [ ] `menu/server_browser.gd`'s server list is a single hardcoded
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"Trench Wars 0/32" entry. Replace with either: (a) a small manual
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"enter IP" field for direct-connect testing, or (b) if a lightweight
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server-list service exists by this point, query it.
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- [ ] `menu/main_menu.gd`'s CASUAL/RANKED buttons currently skip networking
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entirely and load `world.tscn` locally. Route CASUAL through the same
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`NetworkManager.join_server` path once a target server is chosen.
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- [ ] Handle connection failure / timeout UI (currently nothing exists for
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this — `connection_failed` signal has no handler anywhere).
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---
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## Phase 9 — Testing & hardening
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- [ ] Test with 2 clients, then push toward the real casual target (25v25)
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to find where naive full-replication breaks down (bandwidth, spawn
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storms). Consider interest management / relevance culling only if
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needed at that scale — don't build it preemptively.
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- [ ] Artificially add latency/packet loss locally (Godot has debug tools
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for this, or use `tc`/`netem` on Linux) and verify prediction/
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reconciliation still feels acceptable.
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- [ ] Verify a client can't cheat: send garbage/rapid-fire input via a
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modified client and confirm the server-side rate limits / bounds
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checks (added in Phases 4–6) actually hold.
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---
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## Phase 10 — Deferred / parallelizable (not blocking core multiplayer)
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These don't block getting ship-vs-ship combat working over the network and
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can happen in parallel or after Phases 1–9:
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- [ ] Matchmaking backend (queue, MMR, lobby assignment) — see `tech.md`'s
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Go/Node + Redis + Postgres sketch.
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- [ ] GodotSteam integration (auth, VAC, lobbies).
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- [ ] Lag compensation (server-side rewind for hit validation) — only
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matters once hit-detection precision is actually being contested;
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skip until basic damage registration is proven reliable.
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- [ ] Bot fill for casual matches (`bots.md`) — depends on Phases 3–6 being
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done, since bots need to be simulate-able the same way real players'
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ships are.
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- [ ] Galaxy war meta / sector control — orthogonal system, layer on top
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once match-level multiplayer is solid.
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---
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## Effort summary
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| Phase | Relative effort | Notes |
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|---|---|---|
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| 1. ENet bootstrap | Small | 1–2 days |
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| 2. Per-peer state | Small–Medium | Mechanical, touches every menu script |
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| 3. Spawning | Medium | Camera/HUD ownership bugs are the sharp edges |
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| 4. Input/sim split | Medium | The core refactor of `ship_movement.gd` |
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| 5. Bullets | Small–Medium | Mostly follows the pattern from Phase 4 |
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| 6. Authoritative health | Medium | Mostly enforcement of what Phase 4/5 set up |
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| 7. Prediction/reconciliation | Medium–Large | Iterative feel-tuning, not just correctness |
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| 8. Real menus | Small | UI wiring once NetworkManager exists |
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| 9. Testing/hardening | Medium | Scales with target match size (25v25) |
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| 10. Deferred systems | Large, but parallelizable | Doesn't block core multiplayer |
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**Bare working version (Phases 1–6, no prediction polish):** roughly 1–2
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weeks of focused work. **Feeling good at 25v25 (through Phase 9):** the long
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pole — budget significantly more for iteration on Phase 7 in particular.
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user