Enable & Disable Button On Your Turn in Unity with Photon

Learn how to manage player turns and enable or disable UI buttons in your Unity game using Photon. This guide will help you create an engaging multiplayer experience where each player has exclusive control during their turn.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/69850371/ asked by the user 'Shem Tom' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/16614210/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/69850521/ provided by the user 'derHugo' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/7111561/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Enable & Disable Button On Your Turn in Unity with Photon

Creating a multiplayer game where multiple players take turns can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing user interface (UI) elements like buttons. In this guide, we will discuss how to enable and disable buttons on a per-player basis using Photon in Unity. This will ensure that only the player whose turn it is can interact with the button, creating an organized and engaging gaming experience.

The Problem

In a scenario where six players are connected to the same room, it’s essential to allow only one player to be able to perform an action at a time. For example, when the game starts, only the Master Client (the first player) should have access to a specific button. Once they complete their action, this should transfer to the next player, and so forth. This switching must be smooth, and clear feedback must be given to the players regarding whose turn it is.

Proposed Solution

Using Room Properties

While a common approach might suggest using custom player properties, this is not necessary for our scenario. Instead, we can utilize room properties to maintain the state of the active player. Here’s how to implement this concept in Unity using C# and Photon.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Setup GameManager Class: We will create a structure that manages the game state. This includes handling the current active player and setting up the button interactions.

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Initialize Room Properties: In the Awake method, we should set up the initial player and button states based on whether the local player is the Master Client.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Handle Room Property Changes: Implement a method that listens for changes in room properties. When a player’s turn changes, it will update the UI accordingly.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Manage Player Turns: Implement the logic that determines the next player and updates the UI upon button click.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Update UI Based on Active Player: Finally, apply the active player changes locally to reflect whose turn it currently is.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can create an effective turn-based system in your Unity multiplayer game with Photon. Room properties allow you to easily manage which player is currently active, ensuring a smooth and organized gaming experience for everyone involved.

Now that you have a clear understanding of how to enable and disable button interactions based on player turns, you can enhance your game with more interactive features. Happy coding!