Multiplayer Mode

Synthesia is a living project. You can help by sharing your ideas.
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Jande22
Posts: 8

Post by Jande22 »

I would like to take this time to suggest multiplayer mode via the internet much like how alot of games allow the person who created the game to be the host of it.
or even local two player where you can host a lan game if you and a buddy both have synthesia.
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

What did you have in mind? Both people playing the same thing, trying to get a better score? Two players cooperating on different tracks of the same song?
Jande22
Posts: 8

Post by Jande22 »

Well I was thinking two people competing for scores to start with, and maybe a possible future in a cooperative mode?
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

An online scoreboard is something I was really excited to make a while back now. It's certainly still on the schedule too. A bunch of important stuff came up though concerning the sort of core gameplay. I still want to make sure I get that part right before I head off along any "extra" features like online stuff.

Don't take that as a negative though... a lot of that "extra" stuff is what I want to get to the most but just haven't gotten a chance. When I do add online features of any kind, a scoreboard will come first. It's sort of the easiest to do, so it'll be a nice way to start.

With an online scoreboard, you can effectively simulate multiplayer (score competition) whether you're in the same room, across town, or across the world.
kinnik
Posts: 13

Post by kinnik »

Hello Nicholas and community!!
I totally adore and am soo stoked for the sheet music addition. What a great program you be making Nich!

Besides sheet music, the next feature i'd like is also multiplayer.. BUT i only really care about multiplayer on one computer with multiple keyboards inputing to their own track. Should be not so difficult, I would think. Maybe already possible? I could "simply" wire the inputs together via glovePie or some other software midi patch application but I think there would be problems when both people press the same key on different keyboards. (Did that make sense?)

Just to make clear what my dream feature would be: my buddy on lead synth, another buddy on pads, me on base synth and me other buddy on a full-on vDrum kit. All wired up to a single computer with a projector putting up each of our sheet music scrolling across the wall in front of us all... umm.. with the signal wired though midiYoke and sent to a copy of Cubase rewired with Reason for synths and hooked up to Kontakt for the drum kit. <-do you know if anyone has wrote a tutorial on how to do that yet? if not I'll try and punch somthing out.. bad spelling and all. ;p or anyone have a tip on a freeware solution to do similar stuff?

Awe jeez, us north-american middle class have it way too good... When Synthesia is released as pay program (AT ONLY 15$) I will donate at least one copy to someone who cannot afford it or cannot buy it for whatever reason. fyi, I'm not yet rich and i dont have all those things i was dreaming about.. (only one synth and no vDrum... yet.)
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

Hmm, you're not asking for a lot, are you? ;)

Overall that seems like a pretty tough logistical problem (you'd need a bunch of USB ports or MIDI equipment... not to mention all the actual music equipment). That would make it a feature not very many people would be able to use. So, I'd certainly try to serve the "majority" first by getting all the really important stuff in the game up front. But, I could see something like that climb the feature voting list once I get that up on the site.

And, there will probably be ways to fake it in the meantime. I w as considering adding game controller support soon as an alternate/dual input source (mostly for any USB drum-sets that a certain game company has been distributing pretty widely lately). But it was going to be a "just map these game controller buttons to these notes" sort of interface. I suppose with lots of inputs and lots of potential mappings, you could get almost the effect you were talking about. The game would just think you were one player still -- again, in the meantime before official support is added.

So, while I'm not shooting you down, it will be a while before I get a chance to get that sort of support in there. Maybe sooner than I think once the feature voting goes up, though...
kinnik
Posts: 13

Post by kinnik »

:D Maybe its harder than I thought... I can use GlovePie or whatever software midi patch router to make all the pianos and "certain drum game controllers" patch into just the one midiYoke input port but I think when two people need to press the same note, one will probably cancel the other... I'll try it and tell you if it works.

Funny, I was thinking about getting "certain controller" for just that reason today... I think synthesia will be way better than "certain game" for my tastes in music and gaming. Umm... why are we saying "certain" instead of just plugging their game here?
Nicholas
Posts: 13135

Post by Nicholas »

That's fair, Rock Band is pretty awesome. Although, I'm not sure any sort of drum interface in Synthesia could do it justice. If you're picking up the drums, you might as well pick up the game too and just rock out with that instead. :D

I haven't quite made it there yet, but I hear by the time you reach the later half of the hard difficulty, you're really just learning to be a drummer.
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