Riptide Networking

What Riptide Networking is

Riptide Networking is a free C# library for building multiplayer games. It handles network connections and message delivery, while developers decide which data their game sends and when. Its client-server model can use dedicated servers, relay servers, or a client that also acts as the host. True peer-to-peer networking requires changes to the source.

The project lists built-in UDP and TCP transports, plus a Steam transport. Its documentation describes Reliable, Unreliable, and Notify message modes; reliable messages are sent again until delivery is confirmed. Riptide can be used with Unity or in other .NET environments, including console applications. The default UDP transport is supported on PC, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android. VR and consoles have not been officially tested, and browser-based games are unsupported because there is no web transport.

Riptide is free and is distributed under the MIT license. The project links installation instructions and welcomes bug reports, feature requests, and pull requests; it also links to a Discord server. Player capacity depends on each player's data needs and the available server hardware and bandwidth. Python and Dart/Flutter ports are independently maintained and may not interoperate across versions.

Who it suits

Riptide suits developers building multiplayer games in C# with Unity or another .NET environment who want to choose their own message data and delivery mode. Its server options and listed desktop and mobile UDP support may fit client-server projects, but it does not suit browser-based games.

Limits

Browser-based games are unsupported, and true peer-to-peer networking requires source changes. VR and consoles have not been officially tested; player capacity depends on per-player data needs and available server hardware and bandwidth.

Getting started

1. Open the Riptide Networking project on GitHub.
2. Review the project's installation instructions.
3. Choose Unity or another .NET environment, including a console application.
4. Select a listed transport and configure the client-server setup for your project.

Verdict

Choose Riptide if you are building a C# multiplayer game for Unity or another .NET environment and want a free library with multiple transports and message modes. Look elsewhere if the game must run in a browser or requires peer-to-peer networking without source changes.