BVE Multiplayer Development Resume's

Happy New Years everyone! Its been about 3 years since the last OBND Multiplayer update was pushed out June 29 2023! We had ran out of a budget to continue development but we have now acquired a temp footing to get us back to where belong to get this project out and released. Our last point of progress was migrating from openBVE 1.4.3 into into the latest version of openBVE 1.9.

Some of the updates are noted here below during testing: 

•    Performance: Stable FPS between 40-120 was found, even with 8-9 players and 5 different trains in use, players sometimes had to move further away about 2 stations for even more performance.
•    Improvements: Some crashes were observed, primarily related to camera views and other minor issues, which are being documented, no major server crashes were found. The server was highly reliable and perfoming as it should.

Findings 2023-25
1.    Improper Game Installation
 .Players ran the program directly from zip folders or merged it with the main BVE game folder.
.This caused OpenGL errors and other file-related issues recorded in bug reports.
2.    Poor File Organization
.Some players ran the game from OneDrive or disorganized directories.
.Missing assets and duplicate folder structures (e.g., /Train/R42/R42 instead of /Train/R42) caused loading issues.
.Files stored in read/write-protected folders prevented the game from accessing critical data, leading to crashes.
3) Unauthorized File Modifications
.Players edited core files (e.g., ats.dll) to modify roll signs, routes, or trains.
.These unauthorized changes sent incorrect data to the server, causing the game to crash.
4) Overcrowding at Spawn Points
.Players lingered in layup areas or spawn zones, leading to server crashes.
.The exact cause of these crashes is still unknown, but players are advised to avoid lingering in these areas after spawning.

With this success comes hidden issues we must correct in order for us to deliver this product to the public. Migrating over into 1.9 users will experience issues as we transition over from a single player type game to a multiplayer game where multiple people will be joining a session at various times. 

Our next focus will be the following 
1) Improve and eliminate program abnormalities: F3 camera issues, sound problems, game errors, server failures -communication/packet losses 
2) Re implementing previous added features from 1.4.3 into the latest 2025/26 versions of BVE. 
A) Upgrade the dispatchers board with a new UI an Control Menu 
B) Route information box upgrades for players in a session 
C) Train Corrections: Fix sound problems / animations and plugins 
3) Web controls and server management: Creating the CDN, asset verification and backend security systems needed to prevent tampering with sessions addon and other features.