feat!: Network Time (RFC #14) (#845)

* refactor: simplify tick system, introduce server based time

* feat!: remove receive tick

* feat!: remove max received events per tick rate

* feat!: Update components to use new time system. Remove time sync message.

* test: NetworkTime operators and creation tests

* test: Upgrade manual network variable test to new time system

* docs: network config tooltip for tickrate

* feat!: completely remove old network time

* feat: decouple network time system

* feat: NetworkTime use double everywhere

* docs: Improve tick rate tool tip.

* change tickrate to 30

Co-authored-by: Matt Walsh <69258106+mattwalsh-unity@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: LukeStampfli

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Editor/NetworkManagerEditor.cs

@@ -25,15 +25,10 @@ public class NetworkManagerEditor : UnityEditor.Editor
         private SerializedProperty m_ProtocolVersionProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_AllowRuntimeSceneChangesProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_NetworkTransportProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_ReceiveTickrateProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_NetworkTickIntervalSecProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRateProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_EventTickrateProperty;
+        private SerializedProperty m_TickRateProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_MaxObjectUpdatesPerTickProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_ClientConnectionBufferTimeoutProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_ConnectionApprovalProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_EnableTimeResyncProperty;
-        private SerializedProperty m_TimeResyncIntervalProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_EnableNetworkVariableProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafetyProperty;
         private SerializedProperty m_ForceSamePrefabsProperty;
@@ -103,14 +98,9 @@ private void Initialize()
             m_ProtocolVersionProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ProtocolVersion");
             m_AllowRuntimeSceneChangesProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("AllowRuntimeSceneChanges");
             m_NetworkTransportProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("NetworkTransport");
-            m_ReceiveTickrateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ReceiveTickrate");
-            m_NetworkTickIntervalSecProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("NetworkTickIntervalSec");
-            m_MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRate");
-            m_EventTickrateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EventTickrate");
+            m_TickRateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("TickRate");
             m_ClientConnectionBufferTimeoutProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ClientConnectionBufferTimeout");
             m_ConnectionApprovalProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ConnectionApproval");
-            m_EnableTimeResyncProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnableTimeResync");
-            m_TimeResyncIntervalProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("TimeResyncInterval");
             m_EnableNetworkVariableProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnableNetworkVariable");
             m_EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafetyProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafety");
             m_ForceSamePrefabsProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ForceSamePrefabs");
@@ -139,14 +129,9 @@ private void CheckNullProperties()
             m_ProtocolVersionProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ProtocolVersion");
             m_AllowRuntimeSceneChangesProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("AllowRuntimeSceneChanges");
             m_NetworkTransportProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("NetworkTransport");
-            m_ReceiveTickrateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ReceiveTickrate");
-            m_NetworkTickIntervalSecProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("NetworkTickIntervalSec");
-            m_MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRate");
-            m_EventTickrateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EventTickrate");
+            m_TickRateProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("TickRate");
             m_ClientConnectionBufferTimeoutProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ClientConnectionBufferTimeout");
             m_ConnectionApprovalProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ConnectionApproval");
-            m_EnableTimeResyncProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnableTimeResync");
-            m_TimeResyncIntervalProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("TimeResyncInterval");
             m_EnableNetworkVariableProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnableNetworkVariable");
             m_EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafetyProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafety");
             m_ForceSamePrefabsProperty = m_NetworkConfigProperty.FindPropertyRelative("ForceSamePrefabs");
@@ -304,27 +289,13 @@ public override void OnInspectorGUI()
                     }
                 }
 
-                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_EnableTimeResyncProperty);
-
-                using (new EditorGUI.DisabledScope(!m_NetworkManager.NetworkConfig.EnableTimeResync))
-                {
-                    EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_TimeResyncIntervalProperty);
-                }
+                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_TickRateProperty);
 
                 EditorGUILayout.LabelField("Performance", EditorStyles.boldLabel);
-                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_ReceiveTickrateProperty);
-                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_NetworkTickIntervalSecProperty);
-                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRateProperty);
-                EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_EventTickrateProperty);
                 EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_EnableNetworkVariableProperty);
 
                 using (new EditorGUI.DisabledScope(!m_NetworkManager.NetworkConfig.EnableNetworkVariable))
                 {
-                    if (m_MaxObjectUpdatesPerTickProperty != null)
-                    {
-                        EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_MaxObjectUpdatesPerTickProperty);
-                    }
-
                     EditorGUILayout.PropertyField(m_EnsureNetworkVariableLengthSafetyProperty);
                 }
 

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Prototyping/NetworkAnimator.cs

@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ public enum Authority
 
         [SerializeField]
         private float m_SendRate = 0.1f;
-        private float m_NextSendTime = 0.0f;
+        private double m_NextSendTime = 0.0f;
         private bool m_ServerRequestsAnimationResync = false;
         [SerializeField]
         private Animator m_Animator;
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ public override void OnNetworkSpawn()
 
                 if (m_Animator.IsParameterControlledByCurve(parameter.nameHash))
                 {
-                    //we are ignoring parameters that are controlled by animation curves - syncing the layer states indirectly syncs the values that are driven by the animation curves 
+                    //we are ignoring parameters that are controlled by animation curves - syncing the layer states indirectly syncs the values that are driven by the animation curves
                     continue;
                 }
 
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ private void FixedUpdate()
 
         private bool CheckSendRate()
         {
-            var networkTime = NetworkManager.NetworkTime;
+            var networkTime = NetworkManager.LocalTime.FixedTime;
             if (m_SendRate != 0 && m_NextSendTime < networkTime)
             {
                 m_NextSendTime = networkTime + m_SendRate;

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Prototyping/NetworkNavMeshAgent.cs

@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ private void Awake()
         }
 
         private Vector3 m_LastDestination = Vector3.zero;
-        private float m_LastCorrectionTime = 0f;
+        private double m_LastCorrectionTime = 0d;
 
         private void Update()
         {
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ private void Update()
                 }
             }
 
-            if (NetworkManager.NetworkTime - m_LastCorrectionTime >= CorrectionDelay)
+            if (NetworkManager.LocalTime.Time - m_LastCorrectionTime >= CorrectionDelay) // TODO this is not aliased correctly, is this an issue?
             {
                 if (!EnableProximity)
                 {
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ private void Update()
                     OnNavMeshCorrectionUpdateClientRpc(m_Agent.velocity, transform.position, new ClientRpcParams { Send = new ClientRpcSendParams { TargetClientIds = proximityClients.ToArray() } });
                 }
 
-                m_LastCorrectionTime = NetworkManager.NetworkTime;
+                m_LastCorrectionTime = NetworkManager.LocalTime.Time;
             }
         }
 

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Runtime/Configuration/NetworkConfig.cs

@@ -61,28 +61,10 @@ public class NetworkConfig
         internal Dictionary<uint, NetworkPrefab> NetworkPrefabOverrideLinks = new Dictionary<uint, NetworkPrefab>();
 
         /// <summary>
-        /// Amount of times per second the receive queue is emptied and all messages inside are processed.
+        /// The tickrate of network ticks. This value controls how often MLAPI runs user code and sends out data.
         /// </summary>
-        [Tooltip("The amount of times per second the receive queue is emptied from pending incoming messages")]
-        public int ReceiveTickrate = 64;
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Duration in seconds between network ticks.
-        /// </summary>
-        [Tooltip("Duration in seconds between network ticks")]
-        public float NetworkTickIntervalSec = 0.050f;
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// The max amount of messages to process per ReceiveTickrate. This is to prevent flooding.
-        /// </summary>
-        [Tooltip("The maximum amount of Receive events to poll per Receive tick. This is to prevent flooding and freezing on the server")]
-        public int MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRate = 500;
-
-        /// <summary>
-        /// The amount of times per second internal frame events will occur, e.g. send checking.
-        /// </summary>
-        [Tooltip("The amount of times per second the internal event loop will run. This includes for example NetworkVariable checking.")]
-        public int EventTickrate = 64;
+        [Tooltip("The tickrate. This value controls how often MLAPI runs user code and sends out data. The value is in 'ticks per seconds' which means a value of 50 will result in 50 ticks being executed per second or a fixed delta time of 0.02.")]
+        public int TickRate = 30;
 
         /// <summary>
         /// The amount of seconds to wait for handshake to complete before timing out a client
@@ -206,9 +188,7 @@ public string ToBase64()
                     writer.WriteString(config.RegisteredScenes[i]);
                 }
 
-                writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.ReceiveTickrate);
-                writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRate);
-                writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.EventTickrate);
+                writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.TickRate);
                 writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.ClientConnectionBufferTimeout);
                 writer.WriteBool(config.ConnectionApproval);
                 writer.WriteInt32Packed(config.LoadSceneTimeOut);
@@ -249,9 +229,7 @@ public void FromBase64(string base64)
                     config.RegisteredScenes.Add(reader.ReadString().ToString());
                 }
 
-                config.ReceiveTickrate = reader.ReadInt32Packed();
-                config.MaxReceiveEventsPerTickRate = reader.ReadInt32Packed();
-                config.EventTickrate = reader.ReadInt32Packed();
+                config.TickRate = reader.ReadInt32Packed();
                 config.ClientConnectionBufferTimeout = reader.ReadInt32Packed();
                 config.ConnectionApproval = reader.ReadBool();
                 config.LoadSceneTimeOut = reader.ReadInt32Packed();

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Runtime/Core/NetworkBehaviour.cs

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 using MLAPI.Configuration;
 using MLAPI.Logging;
 using MLAPI.Messaging;
+using MLAPI.Timing;
 using MLAPI.NetworkVariable;
 using MLAPI.Profiling;
 using MLAPI.Reflection;
@@ -296,7 +297,6 @@ protected NetworkBehaviour GetNetworkBehaviour(ushort behaviourId)
         /// </summary>
         public ulong OwnerClientId => NetworkObject.OwnerClientId;
 
-
         /// <summary>
         /// Gets called when message handlers are ready to be registered and the network is setup
         /// </summary>

com.unity.multiplayer.mlapi/Runtime/Core/NetworkBehaviourUpdater.cs

@@ -7,27 +7,12 @@ public class NetworkBehaviourUpdater
     {
         private HashSet<NetworkObject> m_Touched = new HashSet<NetworkObject>();
 
-        /// <summary>
-        /// Stores the network tick at the NetworkBehaviourUpdate time
-        /// This allows sending NetworkVariables not more often than once per network tick, regardless of the update rate
-        /// </summary>
-        public ushort CurrentTick { get; set; }
-
 #if DEVELOPMENT_BUILD || UNITY_EDITOR
         private ProfilerMarker m_NetworkBehaviourUpdate = new ProfilerMarker($"{nameof(NetworkBehaviour)}.{nameof(NetworkBehaviourUpdate)}");
 #endif
 
         internal void NetworkBehaviourUpdate(NetworkManager networkManager)
         {
-            // Do not execute NetworkBehaviourUpdate more than once per network tick
-            ushort tick = networkManager.NetworkTickSystem.GetTick();
-            if (tick == CurrentTick)
-            {
-                return;
-            }
-
-            CurrentTick = tick;
-
 #if DEVELOPMENT_BUILD || UNITY_EDITOR
             m_NetworkBehaviourUpdate.Begin();
 #endif