HUD Synchronization

Roger Betz
Jun 3
2 min read

Night of the Breach – Development Update

Tonight's development session focused entirely on multiplayer testing and verification, and the results were better than expected.

First Real Multiplayer Verification

Using Unreal Engine's Listen Server testing, we launched our first true 2-player multiplayer sessions and began systematically testing core gameplay systems.

Verified Working

Players:

Host and Client both spawn correctly.
Players can see each other.
Players can move independently.
Projectiles replicate correctly between players.

Zombies:

Zombies spawn correctly for both players.
Zombie movement replicates correctly.
Zombie deaths replicate correctly.
Wave progression continues correctly in multiplayer sessions.

This is the first time we've fully verified these systems under multiplayer conditions.

Multiplayer HUD Investigation

During testing we discovered a significant issue:

Host HUD updated correctly.
Client HUD remained frozen.
Wave count, remaining zombies, and total kills did not update for connected clients.

A detailed multiplayer audit identified the root cause. The underlying wave data was already replicating across the network, but HUD updates were only being sent to the host player.

Rather than rebuilding the system, we implemented a proper multiplayer-safe solution using replicated wave variables and client-side HUD refresh events.

After implementation and testing:

HUD Synchronization Now Working

Verified:

Wave Number synchronizes correctly.
Remaining Zombie Count synchronizes correctly.
Total Zombie Kill Count synchronizes correctly.
Host and Client now display identical wave information.

This is a major milestone because it confirms that multiplayer clients are now receiving and displaying the same gameplay state as the host.

Multiplayer Readiness Update

Current verified multiplayer systems:

Working

Player spawning
Player visibility
Projectile replication
Zombie spawning
Zombie movement
Zombie deaths
Wave progression
Wave HUD synchronization
Kill counter synchronization

Remaining Known Multiplayer Issue

Remote player animation replication (currently displaying a T-pose)

This issue has been isolated and will become the next multiplayer investigation.

Updated Readiness Estimate

LAN Multiplayer

Estimated Readiness: 70-75%

Steam Listen Server Multiplayer

Estimated Readiness: 60-65%

The biggest improvement from this session is that multiplayer gameplay and multiplayer HUD synchronization are now both verified through live testing rather than assumptions.

Next Steps

Upcoming focus areas:

Remote player animation replication.
Additional multiplayer stress testing.
Continued LAN and Steam multiplayer validation.
Gameplay feature development built on the now-verified multiplayer foundation.

For the first time, we can confidently say that two players can join the same session, fight the same zombies, progress through the same waves, and view synchronized gameplay information.

That's a huge milestone for Night of the Breach and another step toward full co-op survival gameplay.