Out of date with SFS... what's new?

[JohnnyD]

I can't see a general discussion section on the forum so here will have to do (please move if preferred).

I worked extensively with SFS 1.x several years ago as a full-time job for a couple years. 2X was just being released at the time, I think. I've now got a couple of game ideas for which I think SFS would be a good fit - sort of like the .io games (Agar, Slither) in the sense of a casual, almost stateless MMO.

Back then, SFS had a free version which would support a small number of clients (20?) but I cannot see this anymore and I certainly can't afford €3000 on a hobby project. Am I missing something or has SFS gone big?

What has broadly changed in the last 5 years? I know there are many more SFS clients now - it used to be just Java/Flash IIRC. And is there a more general community where I can hang out and chat with active SFS developers?

Thanks

[Lapo]

Hi and welcome back

Back then, SFS had a free version which would support a small number of clients (20?) but I cannot see this anymore and I certainly can't afford €3000 on a hobby project. Am I missing something or has SFS gone big?

We haven't changed the formula. SFS2X is available for free with a license for 100 CCU and 100% of the features (no time limits).
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/download#p=installer

What has broadly changed in the last 5 years? I know there are many more SFS clients now - it used to be just Java/Flash IIRC. And is there a more general community where I can hang out and chat with active SFS developers?

The philosophy of SFS2X is similar to what you've learned with SFS PRO, only there's a lot more
Support for MMO Rooms, websockets, wider range of client technologies, support, better security, improved existing features etc...

To give you an overview of the differences take a look at this comparison:
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/products

Hope it helps

[JohnnyD]

Many thanks Lapo, and good to see you after all these years... 10 years since I joined!

Thanks for clarifying, I had missed the community edition so that's really great. I remember reading blog articles about 1.x Pro performance years ago, do you have anything comparing 1.x and 2X - and discussing why 2X is better specifically? All my knowledge is with 1.x Pro so a "transition guide" would be really handy.

May I ask, why do you still sell 1.x licenses? Is it just for legacy, or are there any reasons why someone would choose 1.x rather than 2X? Is 1.x still being developed/maintained?

[Lapo]

Many thanks Lapo, and good to see you after all these years... 10 years since I joined!

Thanks for clarifying, I had missed the community edition so that's really great. I remember reading blog articles about 1.x Pro performance years ago, do you have anything comparing 1.x and 2X - and discussing why 2X is better specifically? All my knowledge is with 1.x Pro so a "transition guide" would be really handy.

There isn't a specific guide for PRO users.
The easiest way to get started is via the Example packs provided here:
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/download#p=examples
And the relative tutorials:
http://docs2x.smartfoxserver.com/

The documentation website is designed to walk you through the features in 2X regardless of your previous knowledge of SFS 1.x. Of course, if you have that knowledge you'll be able to speed through many of those sections.

May I ask, why do you still sell 1.x licenses? Is it just for legacy, or are there any reasons why someone would choose 1.x rather than 2X?

Yes we do sell 1.x licenses.
The reasons why choosing are 2X many, comparing the products (as per the page I linked in the prev. post) would already give you a good overview.
I'd say the three main reasons are:

1- Performance: binary and compressed protocol vs old text protocol
2- Security: there's a lot of security features in 2X that are missing in 1.x, including encrypted protocol via standard TLS 1.2
3- Client support: we support all major technologies. From native iOS and Android, to Unity, Flash, C++, HTML5 etc...

Is 1.x still being developed/maintained?

It is maintained but not developed.

Finally take a look at our licensing options. Besides the usual licensing model we also have "elastic licenses" which are rechargeable and start as low as $10.
http://www.smartfoxserver.com/buy/sfs2x#p=elastic

Hope it helps

[JohnnyD]

Oh I can totally see why I would prefer to use 2X for a new project, and consider upgrading an old project from 1.x -> 2X.

But I was wondering if there are any reasons why someone starting a new project would NOT use 2X? I can see it lacks AS2 support but other than that... is there ANY case where 2X would be less suitable?

I imagine I'd just re-learn SFS with 2X since it's been a few years anyway but I'm curious.

[Lapo]

But I was wondering if there are any reasons why someone starting a new project would NOT use 2X? I can see it lacks AS2 support but other than that... is there ANY case where 2X would be less suitable?

Client support.
If you're working with Flash, then SFS 1.x is still a valid option, via AS2 and AS3.
For all other platforms though we don't have up to date APIs, while SFS2X supports all the major environments.

Cheers