Game Modes & Sessions

Three modes

GameContextis the session-lifetime source of truth for which mode is running. Every system that behaves differently across modes reads this one place, rather than each inventing its own "am I online?" flag.

using Curitor.PartyCoreKit.Core;

// At session start -- the lobby already does this for you.
GameContext.SetMode(GameMode.OnlineMultiplayer);

// Anywhere that genuinely differs between modes:
if (GameContext.Current.IsOnline)      ShowLobbyPanel();
if (GameContext.Current.IsMultiplayer) ShowSplitScreenHud();

// Back to the menu.
GameContext.ResetSession();

You should rarely need to ask

The mode flag exists for the decisions the architecture cannot make for you — whether to show a lobby, which save backend to use, whether to run matchmaking. It is deliberately not how features become network-aware.

Features are network-aware through the replicator split: a pure logic component, and a transport adapter beside it that simply never wakes up offline. No #if, no IsOnline branch inside the feature. If you find yourself reaching for IsOnline inside gameplay code, that is usually the signal that the thing wants a replicator instead. See Replicators.

What the lobby does

The lobby scene offers three doors: Play Local (single-player or split-screen, depending on how many devices join), Host, and Join. Picking one sets the game mode, loads the chosen level, and places players at the level's spawn points.

A hosted session is described by a SessionInfo: title, id, address and port, which level, how many players it holds, how many are in it, and whether the round is already underway.

Getting two machines into one game

Online play is direct connect: one player hosts, the others connect straight to them. No accounts, no subscription, no service in the middle.

1. One player hosts

   On the Host panel, the session shows its id and the address other machines join at — something like 192.168.1.42. That address is picked from the machine's own network interfaces, preferring the local network one.

2. They read it out

   To the room, over voice chat, in a message. It is four numbers.

3. Everyone else types it into the lobby

   The Join panel has an address field under the session list. Type the address and press Join by address. The port is filled in for you unless you type one with a colon.

One prefab, three modes

The claim in the lead is worth spelling out, because it is what the architecture is for:

One prefab, or one per level

"One prefab" above is the default, not a hard rule. A game mode that wants a damage-free shove instead of a real melee hit, a different stat set, or extra components for just ONE level does not have to reconfigure Player.prefab and every other level along with it. LevelDefinition carries an optional playerPrefabOverride: set it, and every spawn path — a local join, an online connection, a bot — instantiates that prefab instead of the default while this level is active. Leave a level without one, and it keeps spawning the shared default exactly as before.

Multiplayer