Hi there!
[img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45279094/3b8bd2b885edf19a72d87d8d74512e225f28fba1.png[/img]
Development of multiplayer mode has begun. It'll be rolled out in three phases:
[list]
[*] First, the single player mode will run under the hood in "host" mode - but no one will be able to join yet
[*] As a second step one player will be able to host his/her local game and friends can join in
[*] The third phase consists of providing a dedicated server (most likely Linux in the beginning) that will allow you to host a persistent world
[/list]
Doing the refactoring of the code base like this gives me the chance of testing the core aspects of multiplayer while still technically running a single-player game as a first step.
Then with the second and most crucial phase the Network code will be activated and Sandbox Apocalypse can be experienced in Multiplayer for the first time. My plan is to be able to let a player seamlessly switch Multiplayer on and off and by this either playing on his/her own in the world or sharing it with other people.
When developing the dedicated server I will primarily focus on performance and server/world management.
There is no fixed timetable for the 3 phases but I'm already in the midst of phase-one-development.
All that being said, content and world updates will go along with these releases.
Ben