FS-UAE supports online play by synchronizing the emulators for all players in a game. The mechanism is designed in a way which ensures that the emulators will not get out of sync if used correctly.
The net play feature has been tested by players from several countries and works well 🙂
FS-UAE Launcher Net Play
The launcher enhances online play by integrating chat room functionality into the launcher itself. Options are synchronized for all players by the launcher automatically, ensuring that the game is set up correctly before it starts.
The net play GUI needs to be activated in the launcher first.
The reason for this is that, while it works well, it will be a lot more user friendly with a more extensive GUI. Currently, you need to type a couple of commands to get it running – this can scare off some users, which is why you explicitly need to enable it for now. Read the guide for Launcher net play for more information.
FS-UAE Net Play
You can use FS-UAE in net play mode directly without using the launcher. But in this case, you must ensure that all players have compatible config before the game is started. Read the documentation page for FS-UAE net play for more information.
Is it possible to run 2 different amiga systems online, 1 my end, 1 their end, instead of doing split-screen over the internet?!
Hi, the net play feature basically makes it possible for two (or more) players to play like they would if they sat next to each other on one real Amiga. So the answer is no. There are only a few Amiga games which supports linking 2 different Amiga systems – an example is Lotus 2 where you could link up two Amigas with a serial cable. FS-UAE net play does not support this.
Will save/load states be compatible during online play?
Loading and saving states work fine in net play. But it is important that all players have identical save states (they are not transferred). So when you start a net play session, it does not show save states you have used in “single player mode”. If you save a state during net play, you can load it in the same session. When you later start a new net play session with the same game, the save states will be gone – this is to avoid issues with not all players having the same save state.
It is possible to copy a pre-existing save state manually from one player to other players, and load it in a net play session. But this is not “supported” or documented.