Android Question Wanting advice: Making multiplayer card game

[Scotter]

I'm wanting to make a multiplayer card game and looking for advice or ideas before I spend eons making the same mistakes other people already made

I've already prototyped a database in MS Access. I will export to something like mySQL or SQL Server, depending on various factors. I have a server I can use to facilitate data use/sharing/etc.
I haven't played with B4A in a couple years and even then I was not a pro.
I feel like I'm starting from scratch almost.
I'd like to use the latest improvements in this 8.50 version, rather than stuff I've built using older versions of B4A.
Are there any templates for this kind of thing?
I have 90 card images but they are so plain that the more efficient way to display will be text on a colored background.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, ha!
The biggest challenge will be how and what kind of database to set up for this. I'm guessing I can probably store what is needed for game play local on the device but it will check the server database for updates and especially use it to save game data as games are being played, as well as for finding / matching players, and maybe some kind of record after the game has finished. Oh and "friending" so that people can find each other and play again in the future. If it helps any, I'll post a screenshot of the database table/field relationships view here.

Thank you for any help or guidance you can give!

 

[LucaMs]

https://www.arubacloud.com/vps/virtual-private-server-range.aspx

 

[LucaMs]

You could work locally on your PC, before renting a VPS (which you can also find for 5 or 6 dollars a month).

... should...

 

[Scotter]

OK I'm going to rent a cheap VPS - yes I heard and value the idea of doing it locally but I can afford <$20/mo - so that I can benefit from being able to test from anywhere.
I'd love to hear some ideas regarding how beefy I need it to be.
Seems like if it will run only a bare minimum site in order to access a SQL Server or MySQL database, I don't need massive power, yes?
Please critique this rough idea for that server:
- Windows Server w/IIS 10
- 2 core Xeon E5
- 4GB RAM
- 30GB SSD

 

[LucaMs]

OK I'm going to rent a cheap VPS - yes I heard and value the idea of doing it locally but I can afford <$20/mo

If the development of your software will take 5 months, paying $ 20 a month, we good mathematicians would say you threw $ 100, which you could use for B4A updates.

Working locally and then transferring the server to a VPS is quite simple. The only thing is that clients will point to the IP address of the VPS.

 

[LucaMs]

Seems like if it will run only a bare minimum site in order to access a SQL Server or MySQL database, I don't need massive power, yes?

To use SQL Server you need Windows, of course, and Linux VPS are cheaper.
Also, SQL Server is heavier and IIS is not needed.

- 2 core Xeon E5
- 4GB RAM
- 30GB SSD

In my opinion they are more than enough.

 

[udg]

Don't forget about an SSL certificate for your server. A free one like those from Let's Encrypt should suffice to begin with.
If you are not a specialist about OS and server management, consider hiring one for hardening the production system when ready to go public. There's a lot of documentation available but it could be too time consuming to digest it all and you will be left with the doubt whether you really covered any aspect of it.

I would prefer a Linux box over a Windows Server one if there are not specific reasons in favor of the latter. Just my 2c.