Freejam Chris
Latency Optimisation Update
We recently posted a technical blog article on our new server technology in Robocraft 2 and highlighted all the amazing potential it will offer for new types of gameplay that were not possible in Robocraft 1. We also explained one of the key challenges related to the server approach we were taking which is achieving responsive gameplay and eradicating “latency”. Here is some new information on our progress:
Did you know that when you play the current live version of the game in Test Mode you are actually running a client and a server and are playing the game as it would feel in multiplayer online with a 0ms ping? Yes, that’s right. So, if you had a 0ms ping to our servers (impossible of course) then your experience of responsiveness in online multiplayer would be the same as your experience in Test Mode in the live version right now.
Well, we have already optimised latency since the last update and have found savings of 48ms. Yes, that is 48ms of latency savings that we haven’t yet released. What does this mean?
As long as your ping to one of our servers is <48ms then your experience of responsiveness in online multiplayer will be virtually the same as your experience in the current live version when playing Test Mode [because we haven’t released our latest latency optimisations yet].
If your ping is better than <48ms, then you will find it more responsive than it is now.
What’s great to know is that we still have loads more room for improvement as well as being able to do a lot more on the ‘cosmetic’ side to make the game feel even more responsive. Where it will be most noticeable will be the character aiming and shooting with his weapon. This is an area where we’re currently working to employ some tricks so that it feels super responsive even with 100ms ping.
Did You Know: When joining an online game, the server will handle all online physics and will use fewer resources on your PC and will result in an increase in framerate and performance.