ProtankiNetworking

NuGet package: ProtankiNetworking on NuGet

A C# library for ProTanki game communication. This project is based on code from the ProboTanki-Lib Python library, but it is not exact port.

Related Project

• ProtankiProxy uses this networking library in a real-world proxy setup.
• It can also be very useful when debugging this library, especially for inspecting packet flow and validating encode/decode behavior.

TCP Networking Components

The library provides three main components for TCP networking:

• TankiTcpListener: Base class for TCP server implementation that accepts client connections
• TankiTcpClientHandler: Base class for handling individual client connections to TankiTcpListener
• TankiTcpClient: Base class for TCP client implementation

Usage Examples

1. Creating a Custom TCP Server

public class MyTankiServer : TankiTcpListener
{
    public MyTankiServer(IPEndPoint localEndPoint)
        : base(localEndPoint)
    {
    }

    protected override TankiTcpClientHandler CreateClientHandler(
        TcpClient client,
        CancellationToken cancellationToken)
    {
        return new MyClientHandler(client, new Protection(), cancellationToken);
    }

    protected override async Task OnErrorAsync(Exception exception, string context)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Server error in {context}: {exception.Message}");
    }

    protected override Task OnClientConnectedAsync(TcpClient client)
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }

    protected override Task OnClientDisconnectedAsync(TcpClient client)
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

// Usage:
var endPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.1"), 8080);
var server = new MyTankiServer(endPoint);
server.Start();

2. Creating a Custom Client Handler

public class MyClientHandler : TankiTcpClientHandler
{
    public MyClientHandler(
        TcpClient client, 
        Protection protection, 
        CancellationToken cancellationToken) 
        : base(client, protection, cancellationToken)
    {
    }

    protected override async Task OnRawPacketReceivedAsync(byte[] rawPacket)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Received raw packet of length {rawPacket.Length}");
    }

    protected override async Task OnPacketReceivedAsync(Packet packet)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Received packet of type {packet.GetType().Name}");
    }

    protected override async Task OnErrorAsync(Exception exception, string context)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Handler error in {context}: {exception.Message}");
    }

    protected override Task OnConnectedAsync()
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }

    protected override Task OnDisconnectedAsync()
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }

    protected override Task OnPacketUnwrapFailureAsync(Type packetType, int packetId, Exception exception)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Unwrap failed for {packetType.Name} ({packetId}): {exception.Message}");
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

3. Creating a Custom TCP Client

public class MyTankiClient : TankiTcpClient
{
    public MyTankiClient(IPEndPoint serverEndPoint, Protection protection) 
        : base(serverEndPoint, protection)
    {
    }

    protected override async Task OnRawPacketReceivedAsync(byte[] rawPacket)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Received raw packet of length {rawPacket.Length}");
    }

    protected override async Task OnPacketReceivedAsync(Packet packet)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Received packet of type {packet.GetType().Name}");
    }

    protected override async Task OnErrorAsync(Exception exception, string context)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Client error in {context}: {exception.Message}");
    }

    protected override Task OnConnectedAsync()
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }

    protected override Task OnDisconnectedAsync()
    {
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }

    protected override Task OnPacketUnwrapFailureAsync(Type packetType, int packetId, Exception exception)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"Unwrap failed for {packetType.Name} ({packetId}): {exception.Message}");
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

// Usage:
var endPoint = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse("127.0.0.1"), 8080);
var protection = new Protection(); // Configure protection as needed
var client = new MyTankiClient(endPoint, protection);
await client.ConnectAsync();

Project Structure

• Code/Codec/ - Data encoding/decoding system
• Code/Networking/ - Network communication utilities
• Code/Packets/ - Game packet definitions
• Code/Security/ - Security and protection mechanisms

Packets

Naming Convention

Packet direction is named from the point of view of your app using this library:

• In...Packet = packet comes in to your app (server -> client)
• Out...Packet = packet goes out from your app (client -> server)

Examples:

• LoginSuccessInPacket is received by the client from server.
• LoginOutPacket is sent by the client to server.

Packet Class Structure

Every packet class inherits from Packet and usually defines:

• ID_CONST (the packet id constant)
• Id override returning ID_CONST
• Description override
• fields/properties marked with [Encode(order)] for payload serialization

Minimal example:

public class LoginOutPacket : Packet
{
    [Encode(0)] public string? Username { get; set; }
    [Encode(1)] public string? Password { get; set; }
    [Encode(2)] public bool RememberMe { get; set; }

    public const int ID_CONST = -739684591;
    public override int Id => ID_CONST;
}

What [Encode(order)] Means

• Only members with [Encode(...)] are serialized/deserialized.
• order defines exact write/read order in payload.

Unknown or Failed Packet Mapping

• PacketManager maps packetId -> packet type using reflection.
• If id is unknown, or decoding fails, library falls back to UnknownPacket.
• RawData keeps original full bytes (header + payload).
• DecryptedData keeps decrypted payload bytes only.

Encodable Data

Encodable Class Structure

Every encodable data class implements IEncodable and usually defines:

• IsOptional flag for nullable object encoding metadata.
• IsArrayOptional flag for nullable array/vector encoding metadata.
• fields/properties marked with [Encode(order)] for payload serialization.

Minimal example:

public class AssaultCC : IEncodable
{
    public bool IsOptional { get; } = false;
    public bool IsArrayOptional { get; } = false;

    [Encode(0)] public ClientAssaultFlag?[]? BlueFlags { get; set; }
    [Encode(1)] public Resource? FlagPedestalModel { get; set; }
    [Encode(2)] public Resource? FlagSprite { get; set; }
}

What [Encode(order)] Means

• Only members with [Encode(...)] are serialized/deserialized.
• order defines exact write/read order in payload.

Optional Flags (IEncodable)

• IsOptional = true adds a leading boolean marker indicating whether the object is null.
• IsArrayOptional = true adds a leading boolean marker when this type is used in arrays/vectors.

Disclaimer

This library is for educational purposes only. Use of this library should comply with ProTanki's terms of service. (so you can't use it at all :D)