Multiplayer Game in C++/TypeScript

A real-time multiplayer game built with a C++ server and TypeScript client, including custom binary serialization, physics simulation, and entity interpolation.

Overview

This project is an educational multiplayer game implementation that showcases:

• Custom C++ Game Server: High-performance server architecture with entity component system (ECS)
• TypeScript Client: Game can be played in a web browser
• Real-time Networking: Custom binary packet serialization for efficient client-server communication
• Physics Simulation: Server-authoritative physics using Box2D
• Entity Management: Component-based architecture for scalability and managing entities

Features

• Real-time multiplayer gameplay with low-latency networking
• Client-side interpolation for smooth movement
• Server-authoritative physics and collision detection
• Custom binary packet serialization
• WebSocket (TCP) networking
• Entity Component System (ECS) architecture

Tech Stack

Server (C++)

• Language: C++17
• Build System: CMake 3.10+
• Package Manager: vcpkg

Core Dependencies:

• Box2D - Industry-standard 2D physics engine for collision detection and rigid body dynamics
• uWebSockets - High-performance WebSocket library for real-time client-server communication (This is what Bun.js uses natively for its http server)
• EnTT - Fast and reliable Entity Component System (ECS) library for game entity management

Client (TypeScript)

• Language: TypeScript 5.6+
• Build Tools: Webpack 5 with development server

Core Dependencies:

• PixiJS 8.9 - Hardware-accelerated 2D rendering engine using WebGL, providing sprite rendering, animation, and more

Development Tools:

• Webpack - Module bundler with hot reload support
• TypeScript Loader - Transpiles TypeScript to JavaScript
• CSS Loaders - Processes and bundles stylesheets
• HTML Plugin - Generates and injects bundles into HTML
• Copy Plugin - Manages static assets
• Clean Plugin - Cleans build directories

Project Structure

├── server/              # C++ game server
│   ├── src/            # Server source files
│   ├── include/        # Header files
│   └── CMakeLists.txt  # Build configuration
└── client/             # TypeScript client
    ├── src/            # Client source files
    ├── package.json    # Dependencies
    └── webpack.config.js

Building & Running

Prerequisites

Server:

• CMake 3.10 or higher
• C++17 compatible compiler (GCC, Clang, or MSVC)
• vcpkg package manager
• Environment variable VCPKG_ROOT set to your vcpkg installation path

Client:

• Node.js and npm

Postgres Setup

docker compose up -d db

This command will build the db image using docker and run it in the background. Use docker compose down to stop the database when you're done.

TypeScript Web Server

Please consult the web/README.md for instructions on setting up and running the TypeScript web server.

C++ Game Server

cd server
./build.sh [--release or --debug] [--run]

TypeScript Client

cd client
npm install
npm run dev

License

This project is licensed under the terms found in the LICENSE file.

Contributing

While this is primarily a learning project, suggestions and feedback are welcome! Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.