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Latency Compensation Techniques The delay (and variance in delay) illustrated in Chapter 5 comes from both delay caused by processing updates and delay caused by the network. While processing delay can be reduced by hardware and game algorithm improvements, networking delay is harder to reduce. There is an old network saying: Bandwidth problems can be cured with money. Latency problems are harder because the speed of light is fixed you can t bribe God. David Clark, MIT The first section of this chapter presents the need for latency compensation techniques against the backdrop of a basic client server game architecture. Next, we talk about how the architecture can be enhanced using prediction, both for the server response to user input and for the behaviour of other units, to mitigate the impact of latency. Manipulation of game time using time delay and time warp can equalise gameplay for players with disparate latencies to the server. Various data compression techniques primarily reduce game bitrates, but in doing so can also reduce latency by reducing the time to process network data. Although not network related, visual tricks can reduce the user awareness of any remaining residual latency. Lastly, latency compensation can also have an impact on cheating and cheat detection, and so extra precautions must be taken. 6.1 The Need for Latency Compensation While there has been substantial work in network congestion control toward reducing queuing delay at routers and reducing packet loss (thus avoiding extra delays added by any retransmissions), substantial delays remain, especially for network connections over the Internet to last-mile hops in home residences. Some see broadband as a solution for the latency problems with online gaming. However, while broadband generally offers significant improvements in network bitrates, there are other factors in network designs that limit the benefits of broadband. (a) Despite the promise of higher bitrates, some broadband solutions still have periodic high latencies or significant packet loss during congestion. Networking and Online Games: Understanding and Engineering Multiplayer Internet Games Grenville Armitage, Mark Claypool, Philip Branch . 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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