Network Identity 'observers' don't match expectation

I have a scene object that doesn't list all my players in it's 'Observers' list. What defines which players are observers for an object? Is this different for scene objects versus dynamic spawned objects?

I am not using NetworkManager, but my version of it is calling NetworkServer.SpawnObjects.
I am trying to make a game with drop-in/drop-out, and so NetworkServer.SpawnObjects is called without all clients being connected. I expect this is my problem, but I would like some more information about how things are working behind the scenes.

I am using 5.1.1f1

 

Ok, so now things get interesting...
I'm not using the NetworkProximityChecker, nor anything like it. Also, calling NetworkIdentity.RebuildObservers does not add all players to the observers list.
If I were you, I'd probably be asking for a repro case right about now, so I'll look into making a nice simple one for you...

 

Turns out I was wrong about the observers. The only player missing from the list is the one that is hosting (which I guess is ok). So my actual problem is that SyncVar and ClientRpc don't work on scene objects.
I've attached a small project to repro the problem.
- run the host in the editor and connect a standalone client
- have the standalone client click the 'set owner' button
- select the 'test scene object' in the editor hierarchy
- switch inspector to debug mode and you should see that the last send time is still 0

I tried creating a really really simple project to repro the problem, but at some point it starts working. I think my example is small enough that you should be able to find the issue, but let me know if you need anything else.

Thanks

 

That's great to know, but what exactly is the bug? Is it an issue with scene objects only? Can I get around this by dynamically creating my object for the time being?

 

Just curious if 5.1.1p1 was supposed to fix this issue? If it was, something is still broken. If it wasn't, I eagerly await the next one.

 

I'm not using OnStartServer, I'm not even using NetworkManager. Can you double-check my repro please, I'm beginning to think that my issue remains unfixed. At the very least, could you elaborate on the bug you've fixed that you think I'm suffering from.

 

Thanks for looking. New SyncVar warnings are good, I missed those after upgrading. No warning for the RPC that is failing only when called within the property function though? Switching to a member function fixes all of my issues.
Can you explain why the SyncVars and RPCs don't/can't work within a property function? I've read the docs and your blog on the topic, and saw nothing about these caveats.

 

Hmm. I'm confused by the property function infinite recursion you mention. Surely the infinite recursion can only be caused by hook functions? If so, how does a property function affect this situation at all? I can't see a reason why property functions would lead to more infinite recursion than any other function. Maybe I'm missing a piece of the puzzle, please enlighten me.

Have you considered adding something like 'Sync Var Reentrant Bits' to go along with 'Sync Var Dirty Bits' to do runtime testing for infinite recursion caused by hook functions? You could still get some false positives I suppose.

The ClientRpc was an attempt to get something working, since the SyncVars were silently failing at the time. I agree that my use was a contrived example.

 

I've found myself writing SetFoo functions due to the limitation anyway, and I could certainly achieve the same loop were I to make a similar mistake.

 

This is creating problems for me as well. I follow on why setDirtyBit is not set during the syncVar's own hook function because this would cause infinite looping. But I have a completely separate property setter (a state machine) and when the syncVar is set in it's property setter it also does not call the syncVar hook.

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. using UnityEngine;
3. using System.Collections;
4. using UnityEngine.Networking; //needed for NetworkBehavior
5.  
6. public class TestSyncVarHook : NetworkBehaviour
7. {
8.     private int _state;
9.  
10.     [SyncVar(hook="MyHook")]
11.     public int syncVarTest;
12.  
13.     void Update ()
14.     {
15.         if(Input.GetKeyDown(KeyCode.Q))
16.         {
17.             state += 1;
18.         }
19.     }
20.  
21.     private int state //getSet property
22.     {
23.         get
24.         {
25.             return _state;
26.         }
27.         set
28.         {
29.             Debug.Log("Key Q Pressed: OldState=" + _state + "  NewState=" + value);
30.             _state = value;
31.             if(_state == 0)
32.             {
33.                 //Do something
34.             }
35.             else if(_state == 1)
36.             {
37.                 //Do something
38.                 syncVarTest = 55; //This changes the syncVar value, but does not set dirty bit.  Why?
39.             }
40.             else if(_state == 2)
41.             {
42.                 //Do something
43.                 syncVarTest = 66; //This changes the syncVar value, but does not set dirty bit.  Why?
44.             }
45.             else if(_state == 3)
46.             {
47.                 //Do something
48.             }
49.             else
50.             {
51.                 //Do something
52.             }
53.         }
54.     }
55.  
56.     private void MyHook(int newValue)
57.     {
58.         Debug.Log("Hook Called: OldValue=" + syncVarTest + "  NewValue=" + newValue);
59.         syncVarTest = newValue;  //I understand why this shouldn't set dirty bit, because it would cause infinite looping
60.     }
61. }
62.  

 

Oooh awesome. Thanks.