It is frustrating to say the least. But it is obvious that any multiplayer solution other than steam (according to any multiplayer video that is available) is discouraged. And if by chance you do come across any video tutorial, that says otherwise, it is not something you would never use in production of any serious game. It is hard to balance the knowledge that no two games are alike and trying to find Unreal info on how to best proceed with the game you want to create without being truly disappointed. While Unreal documentation and tutorials are so widely available, there is just no way to cover all the bases and we understand that. We have even looked at community based solutions for open world multiplayer games, and while they are good for most games, again not all games are the same or have the same expectations or goals to meet.
We actually decided to give Unreal another look after discovering you could run more than one map on a server, but still disappointed that there is so much that is still lacking. Granted, with source, you can create your own network manager and server backend to handle asynchronous updates from rpc of player info (non sql), but then we have to justify using an engine that is not only limited due to it’s design, but will also limit the prospective players (due to requirements) *Granted Fortnite has a good player base, but the numbers would be so much greater if so many were not restricted due to not having the latest computer to play it. I have players that tell me they would love to play Fortnite on their computer, but their computer won’t handle it (it keeps them on my servers so no problem there). *But let’s be honest here, having a limit of 100 players to a server completely rules out the “Massive” in MMO and so it should be just MO at that point. There is no way to compete in the market like that.
Also, if Unreal was ‘just a renderer’ it would be called a framework, just like the other renderer frameworks out there and not an engine.(I don’t know of any renderers that have level editors)
If you need to restart your servers every 24 hours, something is wrong, and do not release your game to the public. Your only going to ■■■■ off your players who just want to play interrupted. Everytime you restart your server, you are essentially kicking your players out of your game and giving them the opportunity to go somewhere else. The market is hard enough to compete in as it is. Players come and go as it is, don’t give them a reason.
For a decade now, we have been using the 90s technology for our games and while it works great and we run over 60 maps on a single dedicated server with hundreds of players, it doesn’t compare to today’s graphics. We hope to bring our next game out with the latest graphics without limiting our team or our players in what can be done.
While Unreal is not ready yet to be a true MMO/open world multiplayer platform today, we do look forward to Unreal becoming the go to engine for developing these platforms in the future.