Why Making Multiplayer Games SUCKS

Tom Weiland
7 Sept 202106:46
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRIn this humorous yet insightful video, the creator discusses the challenges of programming multiplayer games, focusing on client prediction and the impact of latency. They explain how latency can turn a game developer's job from easy to painful, and delve into the complexities of ensuring smooth player movement in a multiplayer environment. The script humorously highlights the trials of debugging and the importance of reading documentation, concluding with a solution to the problem of movement prediction on boats in their game.

Takeaways
  • 🤯 Programming can be frustrating, especially when small mistakes cause big problems.
  • 🎮 Developing multiplayer games introduces unique challenges due to latency.
  • ⏱️ Latency is the delay in data travel, which can be problematic in fast-paced games.
  • 🔄 Client prediction helps improve player movement responsiveness by calculating movements on both the client and server.
  • 🛡️ Cheating is a major concern, so servers must handle movement calculations to prevent exploits.
  • ⌛ Even a small delay in server-client communication can make movement feel sluggish.
  • 🔧 Client prediction aims to mitigate latency by having the client predict its own movements.
  • 📉 Movement prediction and correction are complex due to different time streams in multiplayer games.
  • 🚢 Predicting movement on moving objects, like boats, adds further complications due to outdated position updates.
  • 🔄 A workaround for smooth boat movement involves using a stationary proxy for calculations.
Q & A

  • What is the main frustration expressed by the speaker about programming?

    -The speaker expresses frustration with spending a significant amount of time trying to figure out why their code isn't working, only to find out that the issue could have been resolved by properly reading the documentation.

  • What is the specific challenge the speaker is addressing in their game development?

    -The speaker is addressing the challenge of implementing client prediction into their multiplayer game to improve player movement responsiveness while dealing with latency issues.

  • What is latency and how does it affect multiplayer games?

    -Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another, such as from a server to a player's computer. In multiplayer games, latency can cause delays in player actions, making the game feel unresponsive and affecting the gameplay experience, especially in fast-paced games.

  • Why is client prediction important in multiplayer games?

    -Client prediction is important because it allows the player's computer to calculate and update their position immediately after an input is made, making the movement feel responsive despite the latency that would otherwise cause a delay in receiving confirmation from the server.

  • What is the role of the game server in calculating player movement?

    -The game server calculates player movement to prevent cheating, as it is the only source of truth that can be trusted. This ensures that all players are moving according to the same rules and prevents exploits that could ruin the game experience for others.

  • How does the speaker describe the process of client prediction in terms of time streams?

    -The speaker describes client prediction as dealing with multiple time streams, where the client's predicted position is essentially from the future, and the server's position update is from the past. This requires careful comparison and correction to ensure the player's position is accurate.

  • What is the issue the speaker encounters when trying to predict movement on a boat in their game?

    -The issue encountered is that the server's outdated position update for the boat causes constant misprediction of the player's position on the boat. This leads to a vicious cycle of corrections and jittering, making the movement feel unresponsive and disorienting.

  • How does the speaker solve the problem of prediction on a moving boat?

    -The speaker solves the problem by creating a non-moving duplicate of the boat underwater, which both the client and the server use to calculate the player's movement. This eliminates incorrect predictions and the associated jittering.

  • What is the speaker's approach to handling the transition when players get on and off boats?

    -The speaker acknowledges that the jitter is noticeable when players jump off a boat, but since it's only for a moment, they believe a bit of smoothing should be able to hide it quite well.

  • What is the speaker's overall feeling after resolving the prediction issue in their game?

    -The speaker expresses relief and satisfaction after successfully making predictions smooth, even on boats, and is eager to test the solution with more than one player connected at a time.

Outlines
00:00
😖 The Struggles of Programming Multiplayer Games

This paragraph delves into the challenges faced by game developers, particularly when dealing with the complexities of programming multiplayer games. It highlights the frustration of debugging code and the significant issue of latency in online gaming. Latency, the time it takes for data to travel from the server to the player's computer, can make player movement feel unresponsive, which is especially problematic in fast-paced games. The narrator discusses the concept of client prediction as a solution to this problem, where both the client and server calculate movement to create a smoother experience. However, discrepancies between client and server predictions can lead to position corrections that disrupt the game's flow. The paragraph humorously touches on the developer's trials and the 'arch enemy' of latency, emphasizing the difficulty of ensuring a responsive and fair gaming environment.

05:02
🛥️ Overcoming Latency in Multiplayer Game Movement

The second paragraph focuses on the specific problem of player movement on boats within a multiplayer game environment. The narrator describes the vicious cycle of corrections caused by latency and outdated position data, which results in a jittery and unresponsive player experience. To address this, the developer introduces a 'proxy' boat that remains stationary underwater, allowing for accurate client and server calculations of player movement without the complications of the moving boat. This solution effectively eliminates jitter when players are on the boat, although there is still a noticeable hiccup when players board or disembark. The paragraph concludes with the developer's relief at finding a working solution and the need for further testing with multiple players to ensure stability.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Client Prediction
Client prediction is a technique used in multiplayer game development to make player movement appear smooth and responsive. It involves having both the client (the player's computer) and the server calculate the movement. The client predicts the movement based on the player's input, and when the server's calculation arrives, it compares the two. This concept is central to solving latency issues in fast-paced games, as it ensures immediate feedback to the player.
💡Latency
Latency refers to the delay between a user's action and the response from the server in a networked environment. In multiplayer games, high latency can cause significant issues, making the gameplay experience sluggish and unresponsive. The video describes latency as the main enemy for game developers, highlighting its impact on player movement and overall game performance.
💡Multiplayer Games
Multiplayer games are video games where multiple players can interact and play together over a network. These games require complex systems to manage the interactions and movements of all players in real-time. The script discusses the challenges in developing such games, particularly the issues of latency and ensuring fair play without cheating.
💡Server
In the context of multiplayer games, a server is a powerful computer that hosts the game and handles all the game logic and interactions between players. The server ensures that all players have a synchronized game experience. The script explains how the server must calculate player movements to prevent cheating, which introduces challenges related to latency.
💡Cheaters
Cheaters in multiplayer games are players who exploit vulnerabilities to gain unfair advantages, such as using speed hacks or fly hacks. The video emphasizes the need for servers to calculate player movements to prevent cheating, as trusting clients could lead to widespread cheating and a poor gaming experience.
💡Player Movement
Player movement in multiplayer games refers to how a player's character moves within the game world. Achieving smooth and responsive movement is crucial, and the video discusses the difficulties of implementing client prediction and dealing with latency to ensure that movement feels natural and immediate.
💡Proxy
A proxy in the video refers to a duplicate or stand-in object used for calculations to avoid latency issues. In the case of boats, a proxy boat is used to calculate player movement, allowing the server and client to work with a consistent starting point. This helps avoid incorrect predictions and jittery movements.
💡Collider
A collider is a component in game development that defines the physical boundaries of objects for collision detection. The script mentions how incorrect predictions can lead to a player's position intersecting with a boat's collider, causing the game's physics system to malfunction and resulting in jittery movements.
💡Network Delay
Network delay is the time it takes for data to travel from the player's computer to the server and back. This delay is a major factor in latency and affects the responsiveness of player actions in multiplayer games. The video uses this concept to explain why immediate feedback is challenging in a networked environment.
💡Game Physics
Game physics refers to the simulation of physical systems within a game, such as movement, collisions, and interactions between objects. The video explains how incorrect position predictions can cause issues with the game's physics engine, leading to erratic behavior like jittering when a player is on a moving boat.
Highlights

Programming can be frustrating, with simple documentation oversights causing significant delays in problem-solving.

The challenges of implementing client prediction in multiplayer games to ensure smooth player movement.

Introduction to latency as a critical issue in multiplayer game development affecting real-time interactions.

Explanation of how latency affects the gameplay experience, especially in fast-paced multiplayer games.

The dilemma between allowing client-side movement calculations and preventing cheating in multiplayer games.

The concept of client prediction as a method to counteract the sluggish movement feeling due to server latency.

How client prediction works by having both client and server calculate movement for immediate feedback.

The complexity of correcting predicted positions when they don't match the server's calculations.

The analogy of time travel in programming to explain the synchronization of client and server positions.

The specific problem of boat movement in multiplayer games and how latency affects prediction accuracy.

The solution to boat movement issues by using a stationary proxy object for position calculations.

The technical challenge of managing the transition between land and boat movement calculations.

The ongoing testing and refinement process necessary for multiplayer game development.

The relief and satisfaction of overcoming programming hurdles in multiplayer game development.

The importance of testing with multiple players to ensure the robustness of game mechanics.

Transcripts

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Related Tags
Multiplayer GamesProgramming HumorLatency IssuesClient PredictionGame DevelopmentCheating PreventionMovement ResponsivenessInternet LatencyCode DebuggingGame Physics