Development of an analogue of Discord - a cross-platform VoIP platform

Until recently, Discord was known only in narrow circles, and was used by gamers for instant messaging and VoIP communications. Then he acquired wider functionality, after which his fame went far beyond the gaming community.

Today, Discord is a full-fledged social network that supports cross-platform, which is aimed at improving VoIP protocols and minimizing traffic consumption. It provides users with the following features:

• Separation of contacts into separate chats and rooms, which, moreover, are placed on separate IRC servers.

• Instant delivery of text and multimedia messages.
• Efficient audio encoding and decoding protocol.
• Screencasting protocol that supports the integration of streaming software.
• Expanding the functionality of API servers.
• Telephony in radio format.
• Customizable and changeable GUI (Graphical User Interface).

If discord is so good, then what is the point of developing a similar application and competing with it? The question suggests itself, and in order to answer it, we suggest looking at Discord from the other side, through the following theses:

• The Discord interface is far from ideal. This is a consequence of the fact that Discord was originally created as an application for gamers. Many functions in it rely on the API, which is not very convenient from the point of view of the average layman who is used to using other tools that use /bash commands for control.
• To create an analogue, you do not need to develop all the functionality at once. To be successful in the market, it’s better to focus on something specific, like VoIP and IRC, or building the features that make Discord a social network.

• Discord weighs too much. Like many other applications, Discord was originally fast and compact. But as the client acquired new functionality, it became too cumbersome, and now it is almost impossible to use it on laptops and computers with a small amount of RAM. Moreover, even on powerful devices, there are often problems with it. That is, now Discord is not an application for everyone.
• Audio and video transmission protocols have come a long way. Now, to create an application similar to discord, you do not need to develop a data transfer protocol from scratch. Instead, you can use existing solutions that provide maximum speed and stability at a low cost. For example, the decentralized Matrix protocol may well become an alternative, which will allow you to refuse to create servers for storing correspondence.

To launch an analogue of discord on the market, you will need to implement at least a basic set of functionality. Let’s take a closer look at what it includes.

IRC

IRC is an application layer protocol that allows users to exchange messages in real time. In other words, this is a basic feature, without which it is impossible to imagine the release of such a project.

A viable alternative to having a separate server for each chat, as is the case with Discord, is to use peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. For example, Matrix protocols can be used for this. In this case, the delivery of messages will be completely transferred to the users themselves. At the same time, they will also act as a local data storage for text and multimedia files.

VoIP

With VoIP, you have the choice of creating your own data protocol or using one of the existing solutions. The fact is that now a lot of ready-made protocols have appeared on the market, but each of them has its own strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, when working with VoIP, you will have to prioritize what devices the platform will target: modern computers, laptops and smartphones, or older models.

Data storage

Discord-style storage organization can be built in several ways: through creating your own servers or renting storages. It is also possible to arrange everything through P2P by means of forced copying of information by all users. In the latter case, you need to take into account the fact that over time the application may become too heavy.

Streaming features

Everything is pretty simple here. For an analogue of discord, it will be enough to implement the ability to broadcast the screen to other users. A good solution would be to connect ready-made streaming and screen capture services – HP OBS integration.

When developing a giant like Discord, it is important to choose the optimal technology stack.

There are several options here. For example, the C++/JavaScript/Python programming languages can become the basis of the program, as in the original. You can also consider using Java, with its virtual machine, PHP and the Django/Flask/Yii2/Laravel frameworks. The reactive frameworks Vue and React are suitable for implementing Gui.

The mobile frontend can be built on native technologies: Kotlin for Android and Swift for IOS. It may also be appropriate to use the cross-platform Flutter framework and, accordingly, the Dart language.

As a result, we get the following stack:

• C++ – for developing the basic core of the application.
• JavaScript is the base scripting language.
• PHP/Python or Django/Flask/Yii2/Laravel frameworks for network code.
• Vue and React – to create GUI.
• Java – ensuring cross-platform.
• Kotlin/Swift/Flutter – mobile development.

From a technical point of view, Discord is a complex software product, so when creating its counterpart, you need to take into account many nuances.

As a rule, in our team, the development of such solutions is carried out in short sprints according to the Scrum methodology and consists of six stages.

Stage 1. Gathering information

First of all, the requirements of the client are studied and analyzed. It is quite possible that at this stage new ideas will appear on how to make the analogue more separate and functional.

Therefore, all questions are carefully discussed.

Stage 2. Design

At this stage, developers test the viability of new ideas, design GUI and functionality, and determine how individual modules will interact with each other at a technical level. As a result, we get a finished prototype, which includes:

• Interface warframes.
• Flowcharts that visualize the logic of the functionality.
• A feature table describing all the features of the product.

To present the prototype to the customer side, our team records demo videos that allow you to understand at an early stage how exactly the new product will look and work, and what budget will be required for its development.

Stage 3. Design development

The interface has become one of the biggest weaknesses of modern Discord. In an effort to follow modern standards, he lost flexibility, but could not become user-friendly. Therefore, when creating an analogue, this issue should be given special attention.

For example, you can take the standards of popular messengers such as Telegram and Viber as a basis, and implement your own GUI on their basis. This approach will make the interface easy, convenient, well readable, and most importantly, recognizable to users.

Stage 4. Programming

The technical development of the Discord analogue is the longest and most laborious stage. It can be divided into two components:

• Frontend development. This part is responsible for the interaction of the user with the application on the client side. The frontend includes layout, creation of animations, event handlers and other components that make working with the product comfortable and efficient.
• Backend development. The backend, or simply the server side of the application, is responsible for storing data and presenting it to the client at the request of the user. At this stage, developers implement all the functionality, network capabilities, API, VoIP, IRC, and also form the architecture of the server and databases.

Stage 5. Testing

At all stages of the development of the Discord analogue, QA engineers participate in the team. They test the product, supervise bug fixes, and are responsible for ensuring that the application fully complies with the initial plans and is released with a minimum number of bugs (ideally, no bugs at all).

Stage 6. Technical support and development

Launching a Discord equivalent is just the first step. Further, painstaking work on its development lies ahead, thanks to which the application will be able to provide users with relevant functionality and will always remain in demand in the market. To solve this problem, the product is transferred to technical support.

Despite the promoted brand, Discord continues to be imperfect: heaviness, inconvenient Gui, complex and incomprehensible functionality for many users – all this hinders its development. By investing in the development of an analogue, you can take into account these and other mistakes of the original and make a truly useful product that will find its audience not only in the gaming community, but also far beyond it.

For our part, our team can take care of all the technical issues related to the implementation of such a product – from design and development to launch on the market with subsequent support. To do this, we have the necessary experience in creating high-load systems and already formed teams of qualified specialists.