The official Scirra Multiplayer Signalling Server helps peers using the Construct 3 and Construct 2 Multiplayer object find and connect to each other. The signalling server does not relay any actual game data: it merely relays connection details so that peers can make direct connections to each other, and the actual gameplay data travels over those peer-to-peer connections, not via the signalling server. As a result bandwidth requirements should be minimal.
Scirra hosts a free official signalling server at wss://multiplayer.scirra.com, running on a high-end dedicated server with a gigabit connection. If this is suitable for your needs, you do not need to run your own signalling server. You may also prefer to rely on the official server if you are not prepared to also run a dedicated server with an SSL certificate, which normally involves additional fees.
The signalling server is based on node.js and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.
You may also wish to consider:
- Having a publicly reachable server with a direct connection to the Internet (without using Network Address Translation)
- Acquiring an SSL certificate to encrypt the connection to the signalling server, which improves connectivity for some devices
- Also hosting a TURN server (separate server software required) to improve connectivity for peers where STUN cannot achieve connectivity, e.g. symmetric NAT
The signalling server can work with none of the above, but the percentage of users who can successfully connect to the server across the Internet may be reduced. The signalling server can also be used offline on local area networks (LANs) where no SSL certificate or STUN/TURN servers are necessary.
The purchase is a license to run a single signalling server. If you wish to run multiple signalling servers concurrently, additional purchases must be made.
