Editing DirectPlay

{{Short description|Microsoft DirectX API component}}
{{Primary sources|date=April 2009}}
{{Update|date=October 2021}}
'''DirectPlay''' is part of [[Microsoft]]'s [[DirectX]] [[API]]. It is a network communication library intended for [[computer game]] development, although it can be used for other purposes.

DirectPlay is a high-level software interface between applications and communication services that allows games to be connected over the [[Internet]], a [[modem]] link, or a [[computer network|network]]. It features a set of tools that allow players to find game sessions and sites to manage the flow of information between hosts and players. It provides a way for applications to communicate with each other, regardless of the underlying online service or protocol. It also resolves many connectivity issues, such as [[Network Address Translation]] (NAT).

Like the rest of DirectX, DirectPlay runs in COM and is accessed through [[component object model]] (COM) [[interface (computer science)|interfaces]]. By default, DirectPlay uses [[multi-threaded]] programming techniques and requires careful thought to avoid the usual threading issues. Since DirectX version 9, this issue can be alleviated at the expense of efficiency.

==Networking==
DirectPlay is built on the [[User Datagram Protocol]] (UDP) to allow it speedy communication with other DirectPlay applications. It uses TCP and UDP ports 2300 to 2400 and 47624.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/mc-dpl4cs|title = &#91;MC-DPL4CS&#93;: DirectPlay 4 Protocol: Core and Service Providers| date=23 April 2024 }}</ref>
==Interfaces==
*The primary interfaces (methods of access) for DirectPlay are:
**IDirectPlay8Server, which allows access to [[Server (computing)|server]] functionality
**IDirectPlay8Client, which allows access to [[client (computing)|client]] functionality
**IDirectPlay8Peer, which allows access to [[peer-to-peer]] functionality
*Secondary interfaces are:
** Various lobby interfaces that allows players to find and prepare a game before it actually commences.
** Thread management interfaces that allows the programmer to fine-tune resource usage. This also allows for a general disabling of worker [[Thread (computer programming)|thread]]s so that tricky [[multithreading (software)|multi-threaded]] issues are avoided at the cost of decreased responsiveness.
** Various [[network address translation]] (NAT) interfaces that make it easier for players behind [[Router (computing)|router]]s to host games. Most players on [[broadband]] internet connections face this problem.
** Various voice communication interfaces known as ''DirectPlay Voice'' that make it easier to support audio communication and voice input in games.
** Various queue monitoring interfaces that allow the application to get feedback on how much data has been sent and received as requested. This allows an application to decrease/increase the amount of data sent in accordance with the capabilities of the receiver.

==DirectPlay Voice==
DirectPlay Voice was introduced in [[Windows Me]] as part of DirectX 7.1 for multiplayer games.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2000/feb00/directvoicepr.aspx |title=Microsoft DirectX to Feature Real-Time Voice Technology |date=2012-10-23 |website=Microsoft News Center |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023203854/http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/press/2000/feb00/directvoicepr.aspx |archive-date=2012-10-23 |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> It is a voice communications, recording and playback API that allows gamers to use [[voice chat]] in games written to take advantage of the API, through a DirectPlay network transport session itself.

==Current status==
DirectPlay was traditionally one of the components of DirectX that received less attention, but for DirectX version 8 it received a major overhaul and became a relatively lightweight networking library. However, as part of Microsoft's unveiling of [[XNA (Microsoft)|XNA]] in 2004, Microsoft announced that DirectPlay would be [[deprecated]] in favor of [[Games for Windows - Live]] technology already available on [[Xbox]] and being ported for use on [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] [[personal computer|PCs]]. DirectPlay was supported in DirectX DLLs for the lifetime of Microsoft Windows XP. However, starting from the autumn of 2007, the headers and libraries — vital components if developers wanted to develop new programs utilizing the technology — were removed from the DirectX SDK.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} 

In [[Windows Vista]], DirectPlay has been deprecated and DirectPlay Voice and DirectPlay's [[Network Address Translation|NAT]] Helper have been removed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/dxtecharts/directx-9-frequently-asked-questions#What_changes_were_made_to_the_DirectX_runtime_for_Windows_Vista__ |title=DirectX Frequently Asked Questions - Win32 apps |last=White |first=Steven |website=Windows Dev Center |language=en-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125065952/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/dxtecharts/directx-9-frequently-asked-questions#What_changes_were_made_to_the_DirectX_runtime_for_Windows_Vista__ |archive-date=2020-01-25 |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> In [[Windows 10]], DirectPlay is fully deprecated, and modern game development has transitioned to more current technologies like Xbox Live and other networking APIs.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==See also==
*[[DirectX]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/ms805688(v=msdn.10) Microsoft's DirectPlay documentation]
* [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=529f03be-1339-48c4-bd5a-8506e5acf571&DisplayLang=en Microsoft DirectX 9] The last SDK to ship with DirectPlay headers and libraries.

Some alternative libraries which serve the same purpose as DirectPlay
* {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708005356/http://hawksoft.com/hawknl/|title=HawkNL}}
* {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423122441/http://www.opentnl.org/|title=OpenTNL}}
* [http://www.jenkinssoftware.com/ Raknet]

[[Category:DirectX]]
[[Category:Computer networking]]