Fishnet research

https://fish-networking.gitbook.io/docs/tutorials/getting-started

Easy to install via asset store in unity Incompatible with Netcode for Gameobjects Both peer2peer & server based Uses (and provides) a NetworkManager to establish connections, host sessions and handle client-server communication Provides easy user interface for quick testing with NetworkHudCanvas Adds a player prefab to the NetworkManager for spawning Client authorative movement -> increased risk of cheating Can be synced with NetworkTransformComponent Objects need to be spawned or despawned Syncvars are used to synchronize variables Use networkbehaviour instead of monobehaviour for network objects Player camera can be spawned after player or placed beforehand and then claimed by a player Cinemachine recomended Fishnet uses Tugboat component for connections not on local machines

More general features in fishnet https://fish-networking.gitbook.io/docs/tutorials/getting-started/commonly-used-guides

Comparison https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bj5uLdnxZYlJykBg3Qd9BNOtvE8sp1ZQ4EgX1sI0RFA/edit?gid=233715429#gid=233715429

Fishnet is better in terms of performance but costs more https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/1mw4i6l/is_fishnet_steamworks_the_best_multiplayer/

Fishnet does not support p2p outright (although with a listen server a supernode p2p network could be achieved)

Fishnet has significantly better latency results then mirror https://fish-networking.gitbook.io/docs/overview/readme/features/performance/fish-networking-vs-mirror

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unity3D/comments/xestob/is_there_a_benchmark_comparing_the_different/

Fishnet cheaper then alternatives / free https://www.reddit.com/r/unity/comments/1e8kbyj/mirror_photon_or_netcode_for_gameobjects/

https://fish-networking.gitbook.io/docs/overview/readme/pro-projects-and-support

https://discussions.unity.com/t/best-networking-library-against-cheating-hacking-and-your-experiences/890198/3

Results of fishnet: Outscores mirror by a big margin on performance (bandwidth, fps, server performance) Fishnet + photon fusion are generally the best in terms of performance, with photon fusion being slightly better. Pro plan has lag compensation which can rollback colliders to provide more accurate collisions and network level of detail which reduces bandwith by 95%

Nearly all multiplayer frameworks maintain good levels of consistency, none is really better then the other.

In terms of scaling, fishnets free edition still support a lot of concurrent users. You still however would need to find a server to host on. Matchmaking also is not integrated into fishnet (unlike photon fusion) so you still need to implement that yourself (which gets harder the larger the scale)

Fishnet works with both server and client authority. Pro plan has automatic code stripping which removes sensitive code from clients.

Fishnet is mostly free (and even has free clientside prediction). They also offer paid plans tho with their pro plan having lag compensation, automatic code stripping and network level detail. Fishnet also has 'projects' which are basically a template including login systems and lobbies.

Conclusion: choosing a networking framework depends mostly on scale, budget and a lot of personal preference.