MudEngine Part 11: Peer-to-Peer (Hybrid)

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Congratulations!

You just rebuilt the MudEngine as a peer-to-peer application — no central server, no fullstack deployment, no cloud dependency.

The architecture in three sentences

Desktop players connect directly via QUIC — no server, no relay. Browser players connect via WebSocket to a tiny relay that pipes their messages into the same gossip mesh. The host's desktop app owns the game world — the same GameState, can_move(), and quest logic from Parts 7–9, running in-process alongside the Dioxus UI.

What you removed compared to Part 10

dioxus/fullstack — no Axum, no server functions, no SSR
dioxus-fullstack — no use_websocket, no WebSocketOptions
#[cfg(feature = "server")] — no server/server split
dx serve — the desktop binary runs with cargo run
UUID dependency — iroh's PublicKey replaces UUID for player identity

What's next?

This workshop series is complete. You have built a multiplayer MUD engine through eleven parts:

Environment setup
Terminal REPL
File-based world loading
Dioxus GUI (single-player)
Component library polish
Multiplayer with WebSockets
Save & load persistence
Inventory and chat
Cooperative quest
Desktop with Blitz renderer
Peer-to-peer hybrid (this part)

The dungeon is yours. Extend the world, add new quests, build an editor, or port it to mobile — the engine is in your hands.

🎯 What we achieved

Concept	How we used it
iroh Endpoint	Each player is a QUIC endpoint with a unique Ed25519 key
iroh-gossip	Replaced `broadcast::Sender` for real-time game state distribution
mDNS discovery	Players on the same LAN find each other automatically
Authoritative host	One desktop player owns `GameState`; everyone else connects to them
WebSocket relay	Bridges browser players into the gossip mesh without modifying game logic
Game engine extraction	`GameEngine` is a plain Rust struct, independent of any transport

📚 What we learned

Concept	How we used it
iroh Endpoint	QUIC-based P2P connection with Ed25519 identity
iroh-gossip	Publish-subscribe mesh for broadcasting game state
mDNS address lookup	Automatic LAN peer discovery
Authoritative host	One peer owns the game state; no CRDT needed
WebSocket relay	Bridges browser clients into the iroh mesh
GameEngine extraction	Game logic as a library, independent of transport
Hybrid architecture	Desktop players use QUIC, browser players use WebSocket

📚 References

Step 12 / 12

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