Core Concepts¶

This guide covers the fundamental concepts of MafiaNet.

Peers and Connections¶

In MafiaNet, every participant in the network is a peer. The main interface for network communication is RakPeerInterface.

// Create a peer
MafiaNet::RakPeerInterface* peer = MafiaNet::RakPeerInterface::GetInstance();

// Clean up when done
MafiaNet::RakPeerInterface::DestroyInstance(peer);

System Addresses¶

Every peer has a unique SystemAddress that identifies it on the network. This includes the IP address and port.

MafiaNet::SystemAddress address;
address.SetBinaryAddress("192.168.1.100");
address.SetPortHostOrder(60000);

// Or from string
MafiaNet::SystemAddress addr("192.168.1.100:60000");

Packets¶

Network data is received as Packet objects. Each packet contains:

data - Raw byte array of the message
length - Size of the data
systemAddress - Address of the sender
guid - Unique identifier of the sender

MafiaNet::Packet* packet = peer->Receive();
if (packet) {
    // First byte is always the message type
    unsigned char messageType = packet->data[0];

    // Process based on type
    switch (messageType) {
        case ID_NEW_INCOMING_CONNECTION:
            // Handle connection
            break;
    }

    // Always deallocate when done
    peer->DeallocatePacket(packet);
}

Message Priorities¶

Messages can be sent with different priorities:

MafiaNet::Priority::Immediate - Sent immediately, bypasses normal send queue
MafiaNet::Priority::High - Sent before medium and low priority messages
MafiaNet::Priority::Medium - Default priority level
MafiaNet::Priority::Low - Sent after higher priority messages

Reliability Types¶

MafiaNet supports several reliability modes:

Type	Description
`MafiaNet::Reliability::Unreliable`	May be lost, may arrive out of order. Fastest.
`MafiaNet::Reliability::UnreliableSequenced`	May be lost, but if received will be in order. Old packets are dropped.
`MafiaNet::Reliability::Reliable`	Will arrive, but may be out of order.
`MafiaNet::Reliability::ReliableOrdered`	Will arrive in order. Packets wait for missing packets.
`MafiaNet::Reliability::ReliableSequenced`	Will arrive in order. Old packets are dropped.

Ordering Channels¶

Messages can be sent on different ordering channels (0-31). Messages on different channels are ordered independently.

// Channel 0 for game state, channel 1 for chat
peer->Send(&bs, MafiaNet::Priority::High, MafiaNet::Reliability::ReliableOrdered, 0, address, false);  // Game state
peer->Send(&bs, MafiaNet::Priority::High, MafiaNet::Reliability::ReliableOrdered, 1, address, false);  // Chat

BitStream¶

BitStream is the primary way to serialize and deserialize data:

// Writing
MafiaNet::BitStream bs;
bs.Write((MafiaNet::MessageID)ID_GAME_MESSAGE);
bs.Write(playerPosition.x);
bs.Write(playerPosition.y);
bs.WriteCompressed(health);  // Uses less bandwidth for small values

// Reading
MafiaNet::BitStream bsIn(packet->data, packet->length, false);
bsIn.IgnoreBytes(1);  // Skip message ID
float x, y;
bsIn.Read(x);
bsIn.Read(y);
int health;
bsIn.ReadCompressed(health);