Development Server

The Player.IO Development Server is a special game server for use during development and debugging of Player.IO multiplayer code.

It's been built with a focus on ease of use and flexibility.

Userlist

All players currently connected are shown in a userlist. Additionally, all the properties the developer has given to each user is shown in columns on each row. This allows for a very simple, direct look into the games state.

Bandwidth

When developing multiplayer games, it's always a good idea to keep an eye on the bandwidth usage. The developement server makes it drop-dead easy to figure out how much bandwidth your game is using, showing both the current total-, up- and downstream bandwith for any room. You can also see the bandwidth usage of each connected player directly in the userlist.

Console Output

Everything you write to the console while the game is running is displayed in the console output area. This is a great simple way to keep track of the timeline of events.

Proper Debugging

Breakpoints, Stepping over code, See-value-on-hover and all the other professional debugging methods are fully supported.

Debug Actions

During development it's often very helpful for the developer to be able to run specific pieces of code or events whenever the developer wants. Debug Actions are just that. The developers sets up a list of actions, and the development server shows the actions as buttons that can be invoked at anytime. Simple, but very powerful. You can even have debug actions based on (x,y) coordinates from clicks to the debug visualization.

Debug Visualization

Sometimes, text is just not enough. For those times, you can write your own visualization of the game state that is displayed directly in the development server. This makes it really easy see how the game percives the world.