game-netcode-and-multiplayer

name

game-netcode-and-multiplayer

description

Netcode and multiplayer DESIGN for the Arcade crown (The Netweaver). Selects the network model (rollback / lockstep / client-prediction+server-reconciliation / snapshot-interpolation), draws server-authority boundaries, plans lag compensation, interest management, and host migration, and specifies determinism for RTS lockstep. Produces a netcode_model spec — never engine code (that ships as a DEV_TASK to engineering game-netcode-team). Ties to the server-authority-fairplay rubric and The Sentinel venom gate. Read before any online: true feature.

Game netcode & multiplayer skill

You are producing a netcode model spec — the document an engineer reads to wire replication, authority, and lag handling. You choose the model and draw the trust boundaries; you do not write replication code. Replication graph wiring, RPC implementations, rollback buffers, and reconciliation loops ship as a DEV_TASK to the engineering squad (team game-netcode-team, agent netcode-programmer, taxonomy 4.6/4.7).

Lead head: The Netweaver (netcode-lead, advisory). Hard gate: every spec is reviewed against the server-authority-fairplay rubric (HITL when online == true) and any client-trust violation is a venom-class event for The Sentinel (game-security-gate, the Cerberus-equivalent). See sibling skills game-ai-behavior (server-auth for AI inputs) and game-qa-and-balance (netcode soak/regression).

The cardinal rule

The server owns truth. The client renders a prediction. Position, health, damage, currency, inventory, hit registration, RNG outcomes, and progression are server-authoritative. The client may predict them for responsiveness but the server decides and corrects. A client that asserts any of these is a cheat vector, not a feature.

Anti-patterns to refuse

• Client-authoritative value state. Client sends "my health is 100 / I have 5000 gold / I dealt 999 damage" and the server believes it. REFUSE — this is the canonical cheat. Server computes; client requests intent only. Flag to The Sentinel.
• Trusting client damage/position/currency. Accepting raw transforms or damage numbers without server validation, speed clamps, and sanity checks. The client sends inputs/intents ("I pressed fire toward X"); the server resolves.
• Lockstep with client-seeded RNG / non-determinism. In Spring/Recoil-style lockstep, every client must compute the identical simulation from identical inputs. Per-client rand() seeds, floating-point divergence, iteration-order nondeterminism, or wall-clock reads desync the match. REFUSE.
• No interest management at scale. Replicating every actor to every client. A 100-player or large-world game without relevancy/interest management saturates bandwidth and leaks position (wallhack via packets). Mandatory above ~16 actors.
• Snapshot interpolation with no lag compensation for hitscan. Shooters that interpolate remote players but don't rewind on the server for hit validation feel broken ("I shot them dead-on"). Specify the rewind window.

Model selection — when to use which

Model	Use when	Cost	Engine fit
Rollback	Fast 1v1/small fighting/action; input-latency intolerant	Re-sim CPU; needs determinism	GGPO-style custom; some Unity (Fish-Net/Photon Quantum)
Lockstep	RTS, 1000s of units, low bandwidth (send inputs only)	Hard determinism; latency = slowest peer	Spring/Recoil (native), custom
Client-pred + server-recon	MMO/shooter/action; responsive + authoritative	Reconciliation/jitter handling	UE5 (CharacterMovement default), Unity NGO
Snapshot interpolation	Many remote entities you only observe (other players)	Visual latency ~100ms buffer	Source-style; web authoritative

Most online action games = client-prediction + server-reconciliation for the local player + snapshot interpolation for remote players + server lag compensation for hit validation. State the combination explicitly.

Per-engine mapping

• Unreal Engine 5 — Actor Replication + RPCs (Server/Client/Multicast), Replication Graph for relevancy at scale, Push Model (MARK_PROPERTY_DIRTY) to cut replication cost, Network Prediction plugin for movement. Server is authoritative by default — keep it that way.
• Unity — Netcode for GameObjects (NGO) NetworkVariable/RPCs with ownership/authority flags; or Mirror / Fish-Net (Fish-Net has built-in prediction & lag comp). Never grant clients write authority over value state.
• Godot — high-level multiplayer (MultiplayerSpawner, MultiplayerSynchronizer, @rpc with authority/call_local); set synchronizer visibility for interest management; validate on the authority peer.
• Web — WebRTC data channels (P2P, low latency) or WebSocket (relayed); authority MUST be a trusted server process, never a peer. Browser clients are fully untrusted — assume tampering.
• Spring/Recoil (RTS) — lockstep: broadcast inputs per simframe, every client simulates deterministically. Fixed-point or determinism-audited float math, shared RNG stream, ordered iteration.

Templates

Template: replication topology

model: client_pred_server_recon + snapshot_interp + lag_comp
engine: ue5
topology: dedicated_server          # dedicated | listen | p2p-relay
scale: { max_players: 64, relevancy: replication_graph }
tick: { server_hz: 30, client_send_hz: 60, snapshot_buffer_ms: 100 }
push_model: true

Template: authority matrix (who owns what state)

State	Authority	Client may	Validation
Local movement	Server (predicted by client)	predict + reconcile	speed/teleport clamp
Health	Server	display only	never trust client value
Damage dealt	Server (resolves)	send fire intent	rewind + LOS + range check
Currency/inventory	Server	request transaction	server ledger is truth
RNG drops/crits	Server	display result	server seed only
Cosmetic anim	Client	own	none (no gameplay effect)

Template: rollback budget sheet

input_delay_frames: 2
max_rollback_frames: 7              # ~116ms @60fps
state_snapshot_bytes: <= 4096      # must be cheap to save/restore
resimulate_cost_ms: <= 4.0         # per rolled-back frame, cross-ref game-perf-budget
determinism: fixed_point_or_audited_float
desync_detection: per-frame state checksum compare

Template: host-migration plan

trigger: host_disconnect | host_quit
detection_timeout_ms: 5000
new_host_selection: lowest_ping_then_oldest_session
state_handoff: last_authoritative_snapshot from migration candidate
grace_period_ms: 8000              # freeze sim, show "reconnecting"
fallback: if migration fails → graceful match-end + partial credit

Lag compensation & interest management (always specify)

• Lag compensation: server rewinds world to the shooter's render-time (~RTT/2 + interp buffer) to validate hits. State the max rewind window (typ. 200–250ms) and the anti-abuse cap.
• Interest management / relevancy: distance/cell/PVS culling so a client only receives actors it can perceive. Prevents bandwidth blowup and packet-sniff wallhacks. Required above ~16 replicated actors.

Constraints

• The crown produces the netcode_model spec only. Replication code, RPCs, rollback buffers → DEV_TASK to engineering (game-netcode-team / netcode-programmer).
• Every value state in the authority matrix is server-owned; clients send intent.
• Every online == true spec passes server-authority-fairplay (HITL) before production; client-trust violations escalate to The Sentinel as venom-class.
• Lockstep specs include an explicit determinism contract (shared RNG, fixed/ audited math, ordered iteration, checksum desync detection).
• Specs at scale (>16 actors) include interest management; shooters include lag compensation with a stated rewind window.
• Re-sim / replication cost carries a budget (cross-ref game-perf-budget).