two players

[bearda]

The user needs to poll the server periodically.

[ahwmrklas]

We might be able to have the client just always waiting for data. When it arrives put the message on a Q.
But it also might work better if the client constantly polls and the gameserver only sends a version/sequence number.

So, the game maintains a sequence number that updates on ANY change. Any tiny HINT of a change.
The client polls for that number. That way the client knows when there is a new version of game information that he should retrieve and display.

[bearda]

I didn't read this comment until now. What I did was just start polling as soon as we are in the waiting phase. The thread could be modified easily to run forever and call a menu update as soon as the server says there is a change.

This would cause a problem if the user has a window open.