Quazal Releases Net-Z 4.2, Rendez-Vous 1.1

Quazal, a developer of online networking middleware technology for PCs and major consoles, has announced the release of new versions of its in-game networking middleware, Net-Z, and Rendez-Vous, their flexible and extensible lobby and matchmaking system. Among other new features, Net-Z 4.2 introduces improved message bundling for reduced bandwidth consumption, enhanced NAT traversal to help with what is likely the most frustrating issue with developing online games, and new user-defined pre-connection tests to more accurately show users what type of connection quality they should expect when joining. New versions of SyncSim for Net-Z and Voice for Net-Z are also released alongside Net-Z 4.2. “Net-Z 4.2 continues with the refinement of the tried and tested core technology. With this release, we’ve targeted certain key issues, including bandwidth usage, end-user experience, particularly on pure connectivity issues, and a greater ease-of-use for developers,” stated Mike Drummelsmith, Developer Relations Manager at Quazal. “The easier we can make it for developers to overcome these constant network hassles, the more they can focus on simply making great multiplayer games” Rendez-Vous 1.1 reaches its final release status with this new version, from the previous release candidate. While numerous enhancements have been made to both the client end and the server-side backend, particularly interesting new features of Rendez-Vous 1.1 include the notion of active and inactive participation, allowing more accurate statistics and results tracking, a more robust implementation of shared database tables, allowing developers to easily share information between games, and a new Health Service, letting lobby administrators monitor and regulate the database and backend. “Rendez-Vous has rapidly become a major focus at Quazal, mainly due to the incredible demand in the development and publishing industry. This new release introduces a number of features focused on the management and robustness of the server components, giving licensees strong confidence in the stability and scalability of the system as a whole, “said Sylvain Beaudry, President of Quazal.