Game Creator 2 — Multiplayer Character

Prerequisites

Before writing any scripts, configure the project so GC2 and NetCrafter example scripts can coexist without compile errors.

Step 1Add the compile define

Go to Edit → Project Settings → Player → Other Settings → Scripting Define Symbols and add:

NETCRAFTER_GC2_EXAMPLE

This guard wraps all GC2 example scripts in the source project. In this tutorial project the scripts are clean — no guard needed.

Step 1Open the GC2 character example scene

In the Project window, navigate to:

Assets/Plugins/GameCreator/Installs/GameCreator.Examples@1.11.28/1 - Characters/1_PlayerMovement.unity

Open it, then save a working copy via File → Save As:

Assets/Scenes/GC2CharacterScene.unity

Step 2Verify single-player movement

Press Play. The GC2 character should:

• Move with WASD / left stick
• Jump with Space
• Have the camera following from behind (Cinemachine or GC2's follow camera)

If movement works, single-player setup is confirmed. Stop Play and continue.

Before writing network code, understand what GC2 exposes for multiplayer use.

Player hierarchy

Player                          ← root; has Character (GC2) component
└── Mannequin                   ← GC2 mannequin pivot (y = -1 offset)
      └── Mannequin             ← has Animator (CompleteLocomotion controller)
            ├── Armature        ← bone hierarchy root (Hips → Spine → …)
            └── Character       ← SkinnedMeshRenderer (mesh + materials)

Key GC2 API for networking

CompleteLocomotion animator parameters

All 17 parameters in the CompleteLocomotion.controller are Float — there are no Bool parameters. Key ones for network sync:

Create a new schema named GC2Character using the Definition Tools:

1. Go to Tools → Pivec Labs → Definition Tools.
2. Click Create Definition.
3. Name it: GC2Character.
4. Click Create.

Then configure the schema fields as described below.

SmartFox Settings

Go to NetCrafter → Settings → SmartFox Settings and configure:

Click Save Settings after making changes.

Project Settings

ClientToServer Message

Create one message named PlayerUpdate with transport ExtensionRequest and handler HandlePlayerUpdate:

ServerToClient Events

Create three events (handler name: leave blank — the server broadcasts these):

PlayerStateUpdate

PlayerJoined

PlayerLeft

Server Action

Step 1Generate client code

In the NetCrafter window → Code tab → click Generate Client Code. This creates SmartFoxConnectionManager.cs, PlayerJoinedEvent.cs, PlayerStateUpdateEvent.cs, PlayerLeftEvent.cs, and related types under Definitions/GC2Character/Generated/Client/.

Step 2Generate and build server code

Click Generate Server Code then Deploy JAR. The extension JAR is named GC2CharacterExtension.jar and is copied to your SFS3 extensions/GC2Character/ folder.

Step 3Add the generated define

In Edit → Project Settings → Player → Scripting Define Symbols, add:

NETCRAFTER_GC2_GENERATED

This unlocks the #if NETCRAFTER_GC2_GENERATED blocks in GC2NetworkManager.cs that call SmartFoxConnectionManager and the generated event types.

B2 Checklist — before continuing

• ☐ Client code generated ✓
• ☐ NETCRAFTER_GC2_EXAMPLE defined ✓
• ☐ NETCRAFTER_GC2_GENERATED defined ✓ ← Easy to miss!
• ☐ Zero compile errors ✓

Remote GC2 characters are instances of the same GC2 Player prefab, stripped of camera-follow components and extended with network sync scripts.

Step 1 — Locate the GC2 Player prefab

In the Project window, find the Player prefab added by the GC2 Characters package. It is typically at:

Assets/Plugins/GameCreator/Installs/GameCreator.Characters@<version>/Player.prefab

Alternatively, use the Player GameObject already in your scene from Part A.

Step 2 — Duplicate and rename

In the Hierarchy, right-click Player → Duplicate. Name the duplicate RemoteGC2Character.

Step 3 — Remove camera components

Unlike the Starter Assets character, there are no input scripts to remove manually. RemoteGC2CharacterController calls character.IsPlayer = false in Awake(), which disables all GC2 input in one call.

You do need to remove camera-follow components so the scene camera does not try to track this remote character:

• Remove or disable any GC2 Camera Motor child GameObject
• Remove or disable any Cinemachine Virtual Camera that follows this character
• Remove any camera target components that reference the main follow camera

Step 4 — Add network components

On RemoteGC2Character, use Add Component to attach:

• RemoteGC2CharacterController
• GC2CharacterColorManager
• RemoteAnimationEventReceiver

Step 5 — Set up the name display

5.1 Create the Canvas

1. Right-click RemoteGC2Character in the Hierarchy → UI → Canvas.
2. Name it NameCanvas.
3. On the Canvas component: set Render Mode to World Space.
4. On the NameCanvas Transform:
   • Position: X=0, Y=2.2, Z=0
   • Rotation: X=0, Y=0, Z=0
   • Scale: X=0.01, Y=0.01, Z=0.01
   ⚠️

   The default Canvas scale is 100× too large for world space. Setting scale to 0.01 makes it the right size relative to the character.
5. On the Rect Transform: Width = 200, Height = 50.

5.2 Add the Text

1. Right-click NameCanvas → UI → Text - TextMeshPro.
2. Name it NameText.
3. If prompted to import TMP Essentials, click Import TMP Essentials.
4. On the Rect Transform: set Anchor to stretch/stretch (fill the canvas); set Left, Right, Top, Bottom offsets to 0.
5. On the TMP_Text component:
   • Alignment: Center Middle
   • Font Size: 36
   • Color: White

5.3 Add and wire PlayerNameDisplay

1. Select the NameCanvas child of RemoteGC2Character.
2. Click Add Component and add PlayerNameDisplay.
   ⚠️

   PlayerNameDisplay must be on NameCanvas, not on the root RemoteGC2Character. The component calls transform.LookAt() in LateUpdate to billboard the label toward the camera. When placed on the root, this rotates the entire character. On NameCanvas it only rotates the name label.
3. On the PlayerNameDisplay component:
   • Name Text: drag the NameText TMP child from the Hierarchy into this field.
   • Camera Transform: leave empty — GC2NetworkManager assigns this at runtime from the main camera.

Step 6 — Save as a prefab

Drag RemoteGC2Character from the Hierarchy into:
Assets/PivecLabs/Examples/GC2/Prefabs/RemoteGC2Character.prefab

(Create the Prefabs folder first if it does not exist.)

Step 7 — Remove from the Hierarchy

Delete RemoteGC2Character from the Hierarchy — it is now a prefab asset and no longer needs to live in the scene. You will assign it to GC2NetworkManager in Part B4.

Components on the final RemoteGC2Character prefab

B4.1Create the NetworkManager

1. In the Hierarchy, right-click the scene name → Create Empty.
2. Name it NetworkManager.
3. Confirm its Transform Position is 0, 0, 0 (click ⋮ → Reset if not).
4. With NetworkManager selected, click Add Component, search for GC2NetworkManager, and add it.

B4.2Add GC2UIManager

1. Create a second empty GameObject named UIManager.
2. Add the GC2UIManager component to it.
3. (Or add both components to the same NetworkManager GameObject — either approach works.)

B4.3Assign the remote character prefab

1. Select NetworkManager → GC2NetworkManager component.
2. In the Remote Players section, drag RemoteGC2Character.prefab from:
   Assets/PivecLabs/Examples/GC2/Prefabs/RemoteGC2Character.prefab
   into the Remote Character Prefab field. Confirm it shows RemoteGC2Character (not None).

B4.4Add the ConnectionManager prefab

1. In the NetCrafter window, go to Scenes → Prefab Generator → Create ConnectionManager Prefab.

B4.5Add to existing scene

1. In the NetCrafter window, click Scene Assistant → Add to Existing Scene.
2. This places ConnectionManager, NetCrafterSceneEventRouter, and NetCrafterEventDispatcher in the scene.

B4.6Wire Scene Events

In the NetCrafter window → Scenes → Scene Events, wire the three network events to GC2NetworkManager:

GC2NetworkManager automatically subscribes to the RoomJoined event in Start() via NetCrafterEventDispatcher — no manual wiring needed for room join.

B4.7Run In Background

To keep the connection alive when the Unity Editor loses focus during multiplayer testing:

1. Go to Edit → Project Settings → Player → Resolution and Presentation
2. Enable Run In Background

B4.8Add GC2CharacterColorManager to the local Player

Select the Player GameObject in the scene and add the GC2CharacterColorManager component. GC2NetworkManager uses this at runtime to tint the local character with the player’s assigned colour.

GC2NetworkManager.cs is the top-level coordinator. It handles the connection lifecycle, spawns and removes remote GC2 characters, runs the 20 Hz send loop, and forwards typed events from the NetCrafter event router.

Key responsibilities

• Awake() — finds the GC2 Character in the scene; sets character.IsPlayer = false to block all input during login
• Connect() — called by the login button; passes the player name to SmartFoxConnectionManager
• OnRoomJoined() — sets character.IsPlayer = true (re-enables GC2 input); gets the Animator via character.Animim.Animator; starts the send loop
• SendPlayerUpdate() — runs at 20 Hz (50 Hz while jumping); reads position, rotation, and GC2 animator params; sends via SmartFoxConnectionManager
• OnPlayerJoined() / OnPlayerLeft() — spawn/destroy remote character GameObjects
• OnPlayerStateUpdate() — forwards state to the matching RemoteGC2CharacterController

private void Awake()
{
    // Find the GC2 Character in the scene (local Player has IsPlayer = true by default)
    _localCharacter = FindAnyObjectByType<Character>();
    if (_localCharacter != null)
        _localCharacter.IsPlayer = false; // block all GC2 input until room join
}

public void OnRoomJoined()
{
    Cursor.lockState = CursorLockMode.Locked;
    Cursor.visible   = false;

    if (_localCharacter != null)
    {
        _localCharacter.IsPlayer = true;                  // re-enable all GC2 input
        _localAnimator = _localCharacter.Animim.Animator; // Animator lives on inner Mannequin
    }
#if NETCRAFTER_GC2_GENERATED
    int uid = SmartFoxConnectionManager.Instance?.LocalUserId ?? 0;
    _localPlayerId = uid >= 0 ? uid : 0;
#endif
    _localColorIndex = _localPlayerId % GC2CharacterColorManager.PlayerColors.Length;

    if (_localCharacter == null)
    {
        Debug.LogError("[GC2NetworkManager] No GC2 Character found in scene.");
        return;
    }
    _localCharacter.GetComponent<GC2CharacterColorManager>()?.SetColor(_localColorIndex);
    _localCharacter.GetComponentInChildren<PlayerNameDisplay>(true)?.Hide();

    _isConnected = true;
    uiManager?.ShowGamePanel();
    StartCoroutine(SendUpdateLoop());
}

public void OnPlayerStateUpdate()
{
#if NETCRAFTER_GC2_GENERATED
    var payload = NetCrafterSceneEventRouter.Instance?.GetLastPayload("PlayerStateUpdate");
    if (!(payload is PlayerStateUpdateEvent ev)) return;
    if (!_remoteCharacters.TryGetValue(ev.playerId, out var remoteGo)) return;
    var ctrl = remoteGo?.GetComponent<RemoteGC2CharacterController>();
    ctrl?.SetNetworkState(
        new Vector3(ev.posX, ev.posY, ev.posZ),
        ev.rotY, ev.speed, ev.motionSpeed, ev.animState,
        ev.speedY, ev.grounded, ev.stand);
#endif
}

Key differences from CharacterNetworkManager

GC2UIManager.cs manages two panels: a login screen before the player connects, and a game panel showing the connected-players list. It is structurally identical to CharacterUIManager.

B6.1Create the Canvas

1. Right-click the Hierarchy → UI → Canvas — Render Mode: Screen Space - Overlay
2. Name it UICanvas

B6.2Create the Login Panel

1. Right-click UICanvas → UI → Panel — name it LoginPanel
2. Add a TMP Text child — title: GC2 Character Demo, font size 36, centre-aligned
3. Add a TMP InputField — name it PlayerNameInput, placeholder: Enter your name...
4. Add a TMP Button — name it ConnectButton, label: Connect
5. Add a TMP Text — name it StatusText, small font, for connection messages

B6.3Create the Game Panel

1. Right-click UICanvas → UI → Panel — name it GamePanel, set inactive in the Inspector
2. Resize to a small corner panel (e.g. top-right, 200×200 px)
3. Add a TMP Text child — name it PlayerListText, set alignment to top-left

B6.4Attach and wire GC2UIManager

1. Select the UIManager GameObject (created in B4.2); confirm GC2UIManager is attached
2. In the Inspector, wire all fields:
   • Login Panel → LoginPanel
   • Player Name Input → PlayerNameInput
   • Connect Button → ConnectButton
   • Status Text → StatusText
   • Game Panel → GamePanel
   • Player List Text → PlayerListText
3. Wire ConnectButton’s On Click event → GC2NetworkManager.Connect()

In the NetCrafter window → Code → Config Generator → click Generate Zone Config. Copy the generated GC2Zone.zone.xml to your SFS3 server/zones/ folder and restart SFS3.

The generated config will match this structure (required stubs included to prevent SFS3 NullPointerExceptions):

<zone>
  <name>GC2Zone</name>
  <allowGuestUsers>true</allowGuestUsers>
  <guestUserNamePrefix>Guest#</guestUserNamePrefix>
  <maxUsers>100</maxUsers>
  <wordsFilter active="false"/>
  <floodFilter active="false"/>
  <rooms>
    <room>
      <name>GameRoom</name>
      <groupId>default</groupId>
      <password></password>
      <maxUsers>50</maxUsers>
      <maxSpectators>0</maxSpectators>
      <isDynamic>false</isDynamic>
      <isGame>false</isGame>
      <isHidden>false</isHidden>
      <autoRemoveMode>DEFAULT</autoRemoveMode>
      <permissions>
        <flags>PUBLIC_MESSAGES,ROOM_NAME_CHANGE</flags>
        <maxRoomVariablesAllowed>30</maxRoomVariablesAllowed>
      </permissions>
      <events>USER_ENTER_EVENT,USER_EXIT_EVENT</events>
      <badWordsFilter isActive="false"/>
      <roomVariables/>
      <extension>
        <name></name><type>JAVA</type><file></file>
        <propertiesFile></propertiesFile><reloadMode>AUTO</reloadMode>
      </extension>
      <mmoSettings>
        <isActive>false</isActive>
        <defaultAOI>100,100,0</defaultAOI>
        <lowerMapLimit></lowerMapLimit>
        <higherMapLimit></higherMapLimit>
        <forceFloats>false</forceFloats>
        <userMaxLimboSeconds>50</userMaxLimboSeconds>
        <proximityListUpdateMillis>500</proximityListUpdateMillis>
        <sendAOIEntryPoint>true</sendAOIEntryPoint>
      </mmoSettings>
      <allowOwnerInvitation>true</allowOwnerInvitation>
      <suppressUserList>false</suppressUserList>
      <allowAudioStreaming>false</allowAudioStreaming>
    </room>
  </rooms>
  <privilegeManager active="false"/>
  <extension>
    <name>GC2Character</name>
    <type>JAVA</type>
    <file>com.piveclabs.gc2.GC2CharacterExtension</file>
    <propertiesFile></propertiesFile>
    <reloadMode>AUTO</reloadMode>
  </extension>
  <buddyList active="false"/>
  <databaseManager active="false"/>
  <udpSettings>
    <keepAlive>true</keepAlive>
    <rdpQualitySetting>BEST_EFFORT</rdpQualitySetting>
    <rdpReliableChannelType>2</rdpReliableChannelType>
  </udpSettings>
</zone>

Step 1Start SFS3

Launch SFS3 and confirm the GC2Zone appears in the AdminTool. The GC2CharacterExtension should be listed under Extensions.

Step 2First client

1. Press Play in Unity Editor.
2. The Login Panel appears. Enter a name (e.g. Alice) and press Connect.
3. The Login Panel hides, cursor locks, and the GC2 character starts responding to WASD + Space.
4. Alice's name should appear in the player list.

Step 3Second client

1. Build and run a standalone player, or open a second Unity Editor instance.
2. Enter a different name (e.g. Bob) and connect.
3. In Alice's editor: Bob's GC2 character appears, tinted a different colour, with Bob's name tag above their head.
4. Move Bob — Alice should see the animation playing correctly (idle → walk → run).
5. Jump Bob — Alice should see the jump animation replicate.

Step 4Disconnect test

Stop Bob's client. Alice should see Bob's character disappear and the player list update automatically.

The GC2 tutorial establishes the same multiplayer foundation as the Character tutorial using GC2's API. Here are logical extensions:

This tutorial demonstrates NetCrafter's compatibility with Game Creator 2. The network schema, server extension, and zone config are identical to the Character Tutorial — only the Unity-side scripts differ. Any NetCrafter schema update applies equally to both tutorials without changes to the server layer.