Inter-vehicle networking API

[Pandapip1]

I'd appreciate it if I could make a networked group of vehicles that can communicate with one another directly. I don't have any strong opinions on how the API would be shaped.

[trk20]

Definitely feasible, I'll give it some thought

[trk20]

Update: I've put in some thought, the two front-runner concepts currently are shared state and event driven communication - here's what both could look like

---

Shared State

Sort of like writing to a shared blackboard, stateful by nature

[Shared(VariableScope.Fleet)]
public ITarget? CurrentFleetTarget;

// on any vehicle with the same declaration
if(CurrentFleetTarget != null)
  mainWeapon.Track(CurrentFleetTarget); // access shared state
//...
CurrentFleetTarget = newFleetTarget; // modify shared state

Alternative declaration:

// declare sharing by initialization parameter
Fleet.Shared<ITarget?>("combat/primary") CurrentFleetTarget;

Event Driven

Evaluation only happen in response to a published message, stateless by nature

[OnStart]
public void Init(){
  EventNotifications.Subcribe<string>("notifications", 
    n => Log.Info($"Got notification {n.Message} from {n.Source}")
  );
}

//...

EventNotifications.Publish<string>("notifications", "Hello"); // will notify subscibers

// alternative receiver
[OnEvent("notifications")]
public void DoSomething(IFriendlyConstruct sender, string message){...} // method attribute instead of lambda

[Pandapip1]

I think whichever one to use comes down to personal preference. If it's not too much work, there's an argument to be made to implement both of them. There are cases where each is the more ergonomic option.