dev-multiplayer-server-authoritative

name	dev-multiplayer-server-authoritative
description	Server-authoritative multiplayer architecture principles. Use when designing multiplayer features.
category	multiplayer

Server-Authoritative Architecture

"All gameplay logic belongs on the server. Clients only send inputs."

When to Use

Use for EVERY gameplay feature in a multiplayer game. Server authority is not optional for real-time multiplayer.

Critical Architecture Principle

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SERVER-AUTHORITATIVE                         │
│                                                                  │
│  ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐           │
│  │ Client  │         │ Client  │         │ Client  │           │
│  │   A     │         │   B     │         │   C     │           │
│  └────┬────┘         └────┬────┘         └────┬────┘           │
│       │  INPUT ONLY       │  INPUT ONLY       │  INPUT ONLY      │
│       └──────────┬────────┴──────────┬────────┘                 │
│                  │                   │                          │
│              ┌───▼───────────────────▼────┐                      │
│              │      COLYSEUS SERVER       │                      │
│              │   (SOURCE OF TRUTH)        │                      │
│              │  - Validates all inputs    │                      │
│              │  - Runs game simulation    │                      │
│              │  - Broadcasts state        │                      │
│              └───┬───────────────────┬────┘                      │
│                  │  STATE UPDATE     │                          │
│       ┌──────────┴────────┬──────────┴────────┐                 │
│       ▼                   ▼                   ▼                 │
│  ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐         ┌─────────┐           │
│  │ Client  │         │ Client  │         │ Client  │           │
│  │   A     │         │   B     │         │   C     │           │
│  └─────────┘         └─────────┘         └─────────┘           │
│                                                                  │
│  ✓ Anti-cheat built-in    ✗ Client-authoritative = cheatable   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Start: Server-Authoritative Player Movement

Server Side (GameRoom.ts)

// server/rooms/GameRoom.ts
import { Room, Client } from 'colyseus';
import { Schema, type } from '@colyseus/schema';

// 1. Define state schema (synced to clients)
class PlayerState extends Schema {
  @type('number') x = 0;
  @type('number') y = 0;
  @type('number') z = 0;
  @type('number') rotation = 0;
}

class GameRoomState extends Schema {
  @type({ map: PlayerState }) players = new MapSchema<PlayerState>();
}

export class GameRoom extends Room<GameRoomState> {
  onCreate() {
    this.setState(new GameRoomState());
    this.setSimulationInterval((dt) => this.update(dt));
  }

  onJoin(client: Client) {
    const player = new PlayerState();
    // Random spawn position
    player.x = Math.random() * 100;
    player.z = Math.random() * 100;
    this.state.players.set(client.sessionId, player);
  }

  // 2. Receive INPUT from client (not position!)
  onMessage(client: Client, data: any) {
    const player = this.state.players.get(client.sessionId);
    if (!player) return;

    switch (data.type) {
      case 'player_input':
        // Store input for simulation tick
        player.pendingInput = data.input;
        break;
    }
  }

  // 3. Server runs simulation at fixed timestep
  update(dt: number) {
    const deltaTime = dt / 1000; // Convert to seconds

    for (const [sessionId, player] of this.state.players) {
      if (!player.pendingInput) continue;

      // Apply movement SERVER-SIDE
      const speed = 10;
      const input = player.pendingInput;

      if (input.forward) player.z -= speed * deltaTime;
      if (input.backward) player.z += speed * deltaTime;
      if (input.left) player.x -= speed * deltaTime;
      if (input.right) player.x += speed * deltaTime;

      // Validate bounds (anti-cheat)
      player.x = Math.max(-50, Math.min(50, player.x));
      player.z = Math.max(-50, Math.min(50, player.z));

      player.pendingInput = null;
    }
  }

  onLeave(client: Client) {
    this.state.players.delete(client.sessionId);
  }
}

Client Side (NetworkManager.ts)

// src/services/NetworkManager.ts
import { Client } from 'colyseus.js';

class NetworkManager {
  private client: Client;
  private room: any;
  private inputSequence: number = 0;

  async connect() {
    this.client = new Client('ws://localhost:2567');
    this.room = await this.client.joinOrCreate('game_room');

    // Listen for state changes from server
    this.room.state.players.onAdd((player: any, sessionId: string) => {
      if (sessionId === this.room.sessionId) {
        // This is local player - enable prediction
        this.setupLocalPlayerPrediction();
      } else {
        // This is remote player - interpolate
        this.setupRemotePlayerInterpolation(player, sessionId);
      }
    });

    // Handle state updates
    this.room.onStateChange((state: any) => {
      // Server state updated - reconcile predictions
      this.reconcileWithServer(state);
    });
  }

  // Send INPUT only, never position
  sendInput(input: PlayerInput) {
    this.inputSequence++;
    this.room.send({
      type: 'player_input',
      input: {
        forward: input.forward,
        backward: input.backward,
        left: input.left,
        right: input.right,
        jump: input.jump,
        sequence: this.inputSequence,
      },
    });
  }
}

Decision Framework

Question	Answer
Who calculates player position?	Server only - client sends input (WASD)
Who validates shooting?	Server only - client sends aim direction
Who determines score?	Server only - clients just see the result
Can client trust its own state?	No - server is source of truth
What about latency?	Client-side prediction + server reconciliation

Progressive Guide

Level 1: Basic Room Setup

// server/index.ts
import { Server } from 'colyseus';
import { WebSocketTransport } from '@colyseus/ws-transport';
import { GameRoom } from './rooms/GameRoom';

const port = Number(process.env.PORT) || 2567;

const gameServer = new Server({
  transport: new WebSocketTransport({ port }),
});

gameServer.define('game_room', GameRoom);

gameServer.listen(port);
console.log(`Colyseus server listening on ws://localhost:${port}`);

Level 2: State Schema Definition

// Always use Schema for efficient serialization
import { Schema, type, MapSchema, ArraySchema } from '@colyseus/schema';

class PlayerState extends Schema {
  @type('number') x: number = 0;
  @type('number') y: number = 0;
  @type('number') z: number = 0;
  @type('number') rotation: number = 0;
  @type('string') team: string = 'orange';
  @type('number') score: number = 0;
}

class PaintData extends Schema {
  @type('number') x: number;
  @type('number') z: number;
  @type('string') team: string;
}

class GameRoomState extends Schema {
  @type({ map: PlayerState }) players = new MapSchema<PlayerState>();
  @type([PaintData]) paintSplats = new ArraySchema<PaintData>();
  @type('number') orangeScore: number = 0;
  @type('number') blueScore: number = 0;
  @type('number') timeRemaining: number = 180;
}

Level 3: Input Validation (Anti-Cheat)

function validateInput(input: PlayerInput, player: PlayerState): boolean {
  // Sanity checks - reject impossible inputs
  if (input.movementSpeed > 20) return false; // Speed hack
  if (input.jumpHeight > 10) return false;   // Super jump hack

  // Movement constraints
  const dx = input.targetX - player.x;
  const dz = input.targetZ - player.z;
  const distance = Math.sqrt(dx * dx + dz * dz);

  // Can't move more than X meters per tick
  if (distance > 2) return false;

  return true;
}

onMessage(client: Client, data: any) {
  const player = this.state.players.get(client.sessionId);
  if (!player) return;

  if (data.type === 'player_input') {
    // VALIDATE before processing
    if (validateInput(data.input, player)) {
      player.pendingInput = data.input;
    } else {
      // Log potential cheater
      console.warn(`Suspicious input from ${client.sessionId}`);
    }
  }
}

Level 4: Shooting Validation

// Server-authoritative shooting
onMessage(client: Client, data: any) {
  if (data.type !== 'shoot') return;

  const shooter = this.state.players.get(client.sessionId);
  if (!shooter) return;

  // Validate shooter can shoot (has ammo, not on cooldown)
  if (shooter.ink <= 0) return;
  if (Date.now() - shooter.lastShotTime < 100) return; // 100ms cooldown

  // Validate aim direction is reasonable
  const aim = data.aimDirection;
  const aimLength = Math.sqrt(aim.x ** 2 + aim.y ** 2 + aim.z ** 2);
  if (aimLength > 1.0) return; // Normalized vector should be length 1

  // Server creates paint projectile
  const projectile = {
    x: shooter.x,
    y: shooter.y + 1.5, // Shoulder height
    z: shooter.z,
    dx: aim.x * 25, // 25 m/s
    dy: aim.y * 25,
    dz: aim.z * 25,
    owner: client.sessionId,
    team: shooter.team,
  };

  this.projectiles.push(projectile);
  shooter.ink -= 1;
  shooter.lastShotTime = Date.now();
}

Level 5: Hit Detection with Lag Compensation

// Server validates hits by rewinding time
function checkHit(shooter: PlayerState, targetId: string, aim: Vector3): boolean {
  const target = this.state.players.get(targetId);
  if (!target) return false;

  // Get target position at the time of shooting (lag compensation)
  const shotTime = Date.now();
  const latency = this.getClientLatency(shooter.sessionId);
  const rewindTime = shotTime - latency;

  // Find where target was at rewindTime
  const historicalPosition = this.getPositionHistory(targetId, rewindTime);
  if (!historicalPosition) return false;

  // Raycast from shooter to historical position
  return this.raycastHits(shooter, historicalPosition, aim);
}

// Store position history for lag compensation
private positionHistory: Map<string, Array<{time: number, x: number, y: number, z: number}>> = new Map();

update(dt: number) {
  const now = Date.now();

  for (const [sessionId, player] of this.state.players) {
    // Store position for lag compensation (keep last 500ms)
    if (!this.positionHistory.has(sessionId)) {
      this.positionHistory.set(sessionId, []);
    }
    const history = this.positionHistory.get(sessionId)!;
    history.push({ time: now, x: player.x, y: player.y, z: player.z });

    // Remove old entries
    while (history.length > 0 && history[0].time < now - 500) {
      history.shift();
    }
  }
}

Client-Side Prediction (for responsiveness)

Client still feels responsive by predicting locally:

// Client-side prediction
class LocalPlayerController {
  private pendingInputs: Array<{ input: PlayerInput; sequence: number }> = [];

  update(deltaTime: number) {
    // Apply input locally for immediate feedback
    const input = this.getCurrentInput();
    this.predictedPosition.x += input.forward * this.speed * deltaTime;

    // Store for reconciliation
    this.pendingInputs.push({
      input: input,
      sequence: this.nextSequence++,
    });

    // Send to server
    networkManager.sendInput(input);
  }

  // Reconcile when server state arrives
  reconcile(serverState: PlayerState) {
    // Remove confirmed inputs
    this.pendingInputs = this.pendingInputs.filter(
      (p) => p.sequence > serverState.lastProcessedSequence
    );

    // Start from server position
    let reconciledX = serverState.x;
    let reconciledZ = serverState.z;

    // Re-apply pending inputs
    for (const pending of this.pendingInputs) {
      reconciledX += pending.input.forward * 0.016; // ~60fps
      reconciledZ += pending.input.strafe * 0.016;
    }

    // Smoothly interpolate to reconciled position
    this.displayPosition.x = this.lerp(this.displayPosition.x, reconciledX, 0.3);
  }
}

Testing Checklist

For EVERY gameplay feature:

• Server running (npm run server)
• Client connects successfully
• Feature works through network (not just locally)
• Server logs show player actions
• State updates propagate to all clients
• Inputs are validated server-side
• Impossible inputs are rejected
• No client-authoritative position updates

Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✅ Right
Client sends absolute position	Client sends input (WASD, aim)
Client reports "I hit player X"	Client sends aim, server validates hit
Server trusts client score	Server calculates score
player.x = data.x (from client)	player.x += input.forward * speed * dt
Client determines paint coverage	Server tracks paint state

Anti-Cheat Best Practices

1. Validate all inputs - Reject impossible values
2. Rate limit actions - Prevent spam exploits
3. Track position history - Detect teleportation
4. Checksum game state - Detect tampering
5. Log suspicious activity - For analysis/banning

Reference

• Colyseus Documentation — Official framework docs
• Colyseus Best Practices — Performance and architecture
• Valve Latency Compensation — Classic netcode patterns
• Gaffer On Games - Networking — Game networking fundamentals
• developer/multiplayer/prediction-basics.md — Client-side prediction patterns