NetworkService

High-level orchestrator for the full multiplayer service lifecycle. Manages connecting to a backend platform, authenticating users, creating and joining sessions, kicking players, and tearing down connections. Owned by NetworkManager and accessed via NetworkManager.Service.

Definition

Namespace: Paragon.Core.Network Assembly: Paragon.dll

public class NetworkService

Remarks

NetworkService delegates all platform-specific operations to an IServiceAdapter instance, which is created based on the NetworkServiceType passed to Connect(). Currently, only the Unity Gaming Services adapter (UnityServiceAdapter) is fully implemented; Steam and Epic adapters are stubbed behind preprocessor directives.

The class also manages the NetworkTransport component, adding the correct transport (e.g. UnityTransport, FacepunchTransport) to the Netcode NetworkManager GameObject.

Connection approval is handled internally by delegating to NetworkSession.OnConnectionApproval(), which validates that no duplicate user IDs join the same session.

Quick Lookup

Goal	How
Connect to backend	await service.Connect(NetworkServiceType.UNITY)
Sign in anonymously	await service.SignIn(NetworkServiceType.UNITY)
Quick start (auto join/create)	await service.QuickStart()
Create a session	await service.CreateSession("MySession", 4)
Join a session by ID	await service.JoinSession(sessionId)
Query available sessions	var sessions = await service.QuerySessions()
Leave current session	await service.LeaveSession()
Kick a player	await service.KickPlayer(player)
Full shutdown	service.Shutdown()
Check connection state	service.IsConnected, service.IsSignedIn, service.InSession

Properties

User

public NetworkUser User { get; }

The currently authenticated user. null if not signed in.

Session

public NetworkSession Session { get; }

The current network session. null if not in a session.

IsConnected

public bool IsConnected { get; }

true if a service adapter has been created (i.e. Connect() was called).

IsSignedIn

public bool IsSignedIn { get; }

true if the user has authenticated via SignIn().

InSession

public bool InSession { get; }

true if the user is currently in a session.

Events

OnJoinedSession

public Action<NetworkSession> OnJoinedSession

Invoked when the local user successfully creates or joins a session. Passes the NetworkSession instance.

OnLeftSession

public Action<NetworkSession> OnLeftSession

Invoked when the local user leaves a session. Passes the NetworkSession instance.

Methods

Connect

Creates a platform-specific service adapter and transport layer, then initializes the adapter.

public async Task Connect(NetworkServiceType serviceType)

Parameter	Type	Description
serviceType	NetworkServiceType	The backend platform to connect to

SignIn

Authenticates anonymously via the service adapter and stores the resulting NetworkUser. Sets the Netcode connection data payload.

public async Task SignIn(NetworkServiceType serviceType)

Parameter	Type	Description
serviceType	NetworkServiceType	The backend platform to sign in to

QuickStart

Queries for existing sessions and joins the first one found. If no sessions exist, creates a new one.

public async Task QuickStart(string sessionName = null)

Parameter	Type	Description
sessionName	string	Optional name for the session if one is created

QuerySessions

Queries the backend for available sessions.

public async Task<List<NetworkSessionInfo>> QuerySessions(QuerySessionsOptions queryOptions = null)

Parameter	Type	Description
queryOptions	QuerySessionsOptions	Optional filter/sort options for the query

Returns: A list of NetworkSessionInfo describing available sessions.

CreateSession

Creates a new multiplayer session and invokes OnJoinedSession.

public async Task CreateSession(string sessionName = null, int maxConnections = 4)

Parameter	Type	Description
sessionName	string	Optional display name for the session
maxConnections	int	Maximum number of players allowed (default: 4)

JoinSession

Joins an existing session by its ID and invokes OnJoinedSession.

public async Task JoinSession(string sessionID)

Parameter	Type	Description
sessionID	string	The unique identifier of the session to join

LeaveSession

Leaves the current session and invokes OnLeftSession. No-op if not in a session.

public async Task LeaveSession()

KickPlayer

Removes a player from the session and disconnects their client.

public async Task KickPlayer(NetworkPlayer player)

Parameter	Type	Description
player	NetworkPlayer	The player to kick

KickPlayer both removes the player from the session via session.KickPlayer() and disconnects the client via NetworkManager.API.DisconnectClient(). Both operations are required.

SignOut

Deauthenticates from the backend service and clears the user reference.

public async Task SignOut()

Disconnect

Destroys the transport component and clears the service adapter. Synchronous operation.

public void Disconnect()

Shutdown

Performs a full teardown in order: shuts down the session, signs out, then disconnects. No-op if not connected.

public async void Shutdown()

PrintSessionInfo

Runtime debug command that logs the current session's details (ID, name, max connections, host, players).

[RuntimeCommand]
public static void PrintSessionInfo()

Common Pitfalls

Call Connect before SignIn The service adapter must be created via Connect() before SignIn() can authenticate. Calling SignIn() without a prior Connect() will throw a NullReferenceException.

Cannot change transport while listening SetTransportLayer() throws NotSupportedException if the Netcode NetworkManager is already listening. Shut down the network before switching service types.

Examples

Full Connection Flow

NetworkService service = NetworkManager.Service;

// Connect and authenticate
await service.Connect(NetworkServiceType.UNITY);
await service.SignIn(NetworkServiceType.UNITY);

// Create or join a session
await service.QuickStart("My Game");

// Later: leave and clean up
await service.LeaveSession();
service.Shutdown();

See Also

• NetworkServiceType — enum selecting the backend platform

• NetworkUser — authenticated user identity

• NetworkManager — singleton that owns NetworkService

• ConnectionData — serializable user identity for connection payloads

• NetworkPlayer — player record used in session management