Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- netplay [2020/12/09 18:30] – [How to host a Netplay game (server mode)?] lbrpdx
+++ netplay [2023/07/16 05:26] (current) – Added a link to the VPN client section for standalone emulator multiplayer. markfeuer
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=====Netplay=====
+====== Netplay ======
-====What is Netplay?====
+<WRAP center round important>
+Netplay support in RetroArch is "up in the air" as of early 2023. It is possible it's broken at some point for certain cores, if not all of them.
-Netplay is a feature enabled by RetroArch and some libretro cores to play games with multiple players over the network. If you want to play //Double Dragon// on NES with your buddy who sits several miles away from you… using netplay you can play both as Player 1 and Player 2 over the Internet, like if you were both playing on the same console, sitting next to each other.
+This doesn't apply retroactively to older versions of Batocera (such as v34), which also have older versions of RetroArch, so if you and your buddies use the same old version you should still be able to play together.
+For a guide to set up a VPN client for multiplayer games on standalone emulators separate from Retroarch, visit the [[vpn_client|VPN client]] section.
+</WRAP>
+==== What is Netplay? ====
+Netplay is a feature enabled by RetroArch and some libretro cores to play games with multiple players over the network. If you want to play //Double Dragon// on NES with your buddy who sits several miles away from you… using netplay you can play both as Player 1 and Player 2 over the internet, like if you were both playing on the same console, sitting next to each other.
 How does this black magic work?
@@ Line 11: / Line 19: @@
 Also, all isn't "magic" here. There are several limitations to be aware of:
-	- You need a very stable Internet connection, with a low ping value. Like any other multi-player game over the internet, your user experience is heavily depending on the quality of your internet connection. Prefer wired ethernet networking over wifi if possible.
+  * You need a very stable Internet connection, with a low ping value. Like any other multi-player game over the internet, your user experience is heavily depending on the quality of your internet connection. Prefer wired ethernet networking over wifi if possible.
-	- All players in a Netplay session need to have the same core version, and the same ROM to play together. That means that you need to use the same Batocera release version, and you should always check and compare the MD5 checksums of the ROM that all members in your party are going to use. It **might** work when using a slightly different core version, or ROM, but your mileage may vary. If possible, get all the players use the same versions.
+  * All players in a Netplay session need to have the same core version, and the same ROM to play together. That means that you need to use the same Batocera release version, and you should always check and compare the MD5 checksums of the ROM that all members in your party are going to use. It **might** work when using a slightly different core version, or ROM, but your mileage may vary. If possible, get all the players use the same versions.
-	- Check that you use a core that is compatible with Netplay - see below for the list of cores that support Netplay. Not all cores are compatible, sometimes for the same console, only a few core are compatible with Netplay.
+  * Check that you use a core that is compatible with Netplay - see below for the list of cores that support Netplay. Not all cores are compatible, sometimes for the same console, only a few core are compatible with Netplay.
-	- Check that all the members of your party are using the same architecture. Some cores don't enable cross-architecture Netplay. Picodrive for Megadrive/Genesis will not let you play across a PC and Raspberry Pi, for technical endianness reasons. Whenever this happens, you'll see a message popping-up upon launching the RetroArch core.
+  * Check that all the members of your party are using the same architecture. Some cores don't enable cross-architecture Netplay. Picodrive for Megadrive/Genesis will not let you play across a PC and Raspberry Pi, for technical endianness reasons. Whenever this happens, you'll see a message popping-up upon launching the RetroArch core.
+<WRAP center round important>
+The word "netplay" can mean many things to many kinds of games, in this context this specifically refers to RetroArch's version of Netplay, which is the act of sharing the emulated console's screen across multiple clients.
+It does **NOT** refer to the emulation of the emulated console's actual network playing capabilities. It can only play "couch" multiplayer games such as shared or splitscreen ones. For example, you won't be able to do the Game Boy Advance's cable link play over the network with your buddy.
+However, if a core allows for the emulation of multiple machines on a single client (such as TGBDual emulating two Game Boy originals on a single screen with an emulated cable link connection), then it would be possible to netplay //that// core with your buddy (albeit with the screen output for both the consoles being shown to both players at all times).
+</WRAP>
+==== How to enable Netplay ====
-====How to enable Netplay?====
+First of all, make sure you have Batocera **5.25** or later. Netplay is not available for earlier Batocera releases.
-First of all, make sure you have Batocera 5.25 or later. Netplay is not available for earlier Batocera releases. If you personalized your es_systems.cfg, you need to use the one shipped by Batocera or update yours again based on the current ''/usr/share/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg'' as it has embeds new commands to enable netplay.
+To enable Netplay for libretro cores, navigate to **GAME SETTINGS** -> **NETPLAY SETTINGS** and turn on the toggle switch.
-You need to enable netplay by adding ''global.netplay=1'' in ''/userdata/system/batocera.conf''.
+<WRAP center round info>
+For older versions of Batocera FIXME (which?), enable netplay by adding ''global.netplay=1'' in ''/userdata/system/batocera.conf''.
+</WRAP>
-Once this is done, you can check that Netplay is enabled as when you see the help line at the bottom of the screen that tells you that  button ''X'' in EmulationStation is now used for Netplay options (and not "Random selection" any more)
+Once this is done, you can check that Netplay is enabled as when you see the help line at the bottom of the screen that tells you that  button ''X'' in EmulationStation is now used for Netplay options (and not "Random selection" any more).
 ====How to join a Netplay game (client mode)?====
@@ Line 34: / Line 54: @@
 {{ ::netplay_list.png?nolink&480 |}}
-====How to host a Netplay game (server mode)?====
+==== How to host a Netplay game (server mode) ====
 If you want to host your own Netplay game and let your buddies join it, you can do so by entering the "games" selection menu, and pressing ''X'' to launch a NetPlay server. Tell your buddies to join your Netplay room, when your game is launched it should appear in the menu described above.
@@ Line 54: / Line 74: @@
 ====Current Support for Netplay====
-This is the list for Batocera 5.25, it may change based on the evolution of the cores over time.
+This is the list for Batocera **5.25**:
 **Arcade**