6 months later, this is why we are migrating from UNET to Photon

Multiplayer & Networking
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Here’s a good read on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/5l26if/6_months_later_this_is_why_were_migrating_from/

TL;DR: UNET/HLAPI/Lobby/MatchMaker/HostMigration had high potential, but due to lack of support of any kind and no plans for anything to do with UNET/HLAPI for 2017, these features are to be considered abandoned by Unity, especially when compared to how amazing their other docs/support are, by comparison.

Then to top it off, without host migration (a feature still advertised), if your host leaves, every one of your clients crashes along with them.

Unity is still an excellent product with excellent docs, support and tutorials, however, beware of UNET – it’s as if they hired a 3rd party to make this, then that person quit.

Everyone is in the dark and if the docs aren’t even updated 2 major versions later and not answering any Q+A, abandoned is a really appropriate term.

2 Likes
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Yes, the rate of developmnent is scary. I do not understand why they ignore UNET so much.
However can I run Unity based server in Photon? If I remember correctly photon server must be coded in separate tool than unity.

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You can! To start fast, we are using Photon PUN Cloud Servers which uses THEIR servers. Free during development (up to 100 connections for free), then scales based on use.

Once you have more time, you can make your own server using Photon as the template. Or you can stay with their cloud servers forever. They have native integration with PlayFab, too (BaaS).