Timelines: simplifying the programming of lag compensation for the next generation of networked games

Abstract

Lag compensation algorithms used in networked games require programmers to manage the complexities of dealing with both time and shared state. This can make implementing lag compensation techniques challenging. The difficulties in expressing these algorithms limit experimentation with different algorithms and inhibit programmers from exploring the space of the algorithms and testing their effects. The solution is to have a programming model that is better able to deal with time. In this paper, we present such a programming model, timelines. Timelines dramatically reduce the time and effort required to implement lag compensation techniques by allowing for the explicit treatment of time. The timelines model has been implemented as part of the Janus toolkit.

A Survey and Taxonomy of Latency Compensation Techniques for Network Computer Games

“…Savery et al [121] provide a toolkit for game developers to implement interpolation, including local perception ilters and also smooth corrections to interpolate rendered game state towards the actual game state when a client gets updates. The authors also evaluate how smooth corrections are perceived by players compared to abrupt corrections when ixing inconsistent game state [119].…”

“…Mauve et al [98,100] apply and formalize incoming delay as depicted in Figure 13. Savery and Graham [121] provide a toolkit for implementing incoming delay.…”

Modeling and Understanding the Quality of Experience of Online Mobile Gaming Services

“…Delay compensation techniques can strongly compensate the influence of delay in online gaming. These techniques can be categorized according to [7] into predictive techniques, delayed input techniques, and time-offsetting techniques. Predictive techniques, such as Dead Reckoning, predict the next state of the game based on the latest information from the server.…”

The effects of consistency maintenance methods on player experience and performance in networked games

“…The study used custom software written in C#, XNA, and the Janus toolkit [23], and ran on two computers connected via a dedicated network. The system maintained a frame rate of approximately 60 FPS.…”