Hello,
I am just wondering about multi-connected clients, connected to a server.
Is there a possible way to do such?

I have heard things about "WinSock" but IDK how to use that, if so can I have a documentation.

And also I have learned about "Microsoft Direct Play" for multiuser purposes but it's been depricated. Can I still use it?

Thanks. :)

Dani AI

Generated

asked about supporting multiple connected clients for presence, chat and VoIP; correctly asked what the clients need to do. DirectPlay has been deprecated for years and is not a good choice for new work. On Windows/.NET the practical options are either a higher-level real-time framework that hides socket details, or a custom socket server using the .NET socket APIs when very fine control is required.

For presence and chat the fastest path is a real-time hub: SignalR (ASP.NET) provides persistent connections, automatic fallbacks, and simple pub/sub semantics for online status and messages (SignalR docs). If building a desktop client in VB.NET is required, the same signaling ideas apply: use async sockets or a SignalR client rather than a thread-per-client TcpListener to avoid scalability and responsiveness problems.

Voice is a different problem: use proven media stacks instead of raw TCP. WebRTC handles codecs, jitter buffers, NAT (STUN/TURN) and SRTP; it is the current standard for low-latency voice in apps (WebRTC). For native apps, consider existing projects (PJSIP, Mumble server, FreeSWITCH/Asterisk, or a WebRTC SFU) and use Opus for audio quality (Opus). Key points: use UDP/RTP for audio, plan for NAT traversal, implement jitter buffering and echo cancellation, and secure signaling and media. For a small flight-sim group, prototype chat with SignalR and pair it with an off-the-shelf VoIP server or WebRTC SFU before attempting a from-scratch audio implementation.

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It all depends on what the connected clients are suppose to do 9in your application. Is it just normal data interaction, other interaction etc?

You need to give us some more information please.

Well, I am planning on making an application for my group in Flight Simulator. What the client I am hoping to make it do is Show users status online, chat, and Voice Over IP capabilities.

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