[MUD-Dev] UDP vs TCP for MUD/MMORPG project.

[Jason Slaughter]

Hello, I am working on my own MUD/MMORPG type project. Game play
will be similiar to a mud, however it will use it's own client so
that it can include a GUI, graphics, etc.

I was planning to do it using UDP... My justification for using UDP
is that it requires less resources than TCP. I can have one open
port recieving message packets, and don't need to maintain a
continuous connection, even when the user is doing nothing. Also, a
UDP system fits better in the architecture of my game: It is better
in my game to send discrete encoded messages representing an
"event", than it is to send a continuious stream of text.

However, I have heard from some people that UDP cannot be used
reliably for such a thing... that it is common for people's firewall
to not let UDP packets pass, that service providers block UDP
packets to stop file-sharing, etc. etc., and that the only reliable
solution is to use TCP.

Is this true??? Is UDP really that big of a problem? It seems like
scare-mongering to me, or that people are just so used to TCP that
they don't know any different... but my technical knowledge of the
subject isn't great (I am doing this as a learning project), so I
could be totally wrong. I would greatly appreciate people's advice!

Thanks,
RexRhino
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev