I want to set up a listen server between 2 players, but have the experience be so that you don’t have to click on any host / join buttons. So from Main Menu → press start game button → takes you to some sort of landing page where if no session exists, create a session and wait for another player, or if a session exists join that session. What I’m trying to avoid is if there is a delay between creating a session and finding one, that 2 sessions are being created (hence my thought that there needs to be a landing/transition/lobby map).
Let me know if this makes sense, I can also post screenshots of what I’ve done so far!
Server instances can only run a single game mode and level at any given time.
That out of the way, Your client is the lobby.
Client starts → Pings MM Service → Builds server lists via response in UI.
Client selects server and joins, or Client requests a new server, then auto joins when it is spun up.
This is the general process.
If you want to have a 3D world space you can run around in with other players while browsing/waiting for sessions… then you need to deploy a server instance with a specific map.
From here clients start → click join lobby from UI. MM connects you to a lobby server in which you join.
From here the same lobby connects with MM for available Play servers. You then have to select an option and join the other server.
Extremely wasteful all in all. Also add a lot of client downtime of joining a lobby server, loading its content, then joining a different server and loading its content.