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Serva & Rollo — server authority, working with rollback
The idea in play: one source of truth, and a way to stay fair when an input arrives late.
Player A's screen shows a hit. Player B's screen shows a miss. Both clients insist they're right.
If each client decides for itself, whoever cheats or lags worst wins.
Rollo's job: when an input arrives late, rewind to the moment it was sent, apply it, and replay forward so the result is fair. On a server this is often called lag compensation.
Who decides whether it was a hit?
Screens can disagree. Only one of them can be the truth.
The team logs every disputed hit for a week. The server's call matches the replay every time.
Who made this?
“In reality, every technology reflects decisions made by designers, companies, and communities, and carries the values and power of those choices.”
Ticks & Relay — a 17-year-old running a small multiplayer game for friends
The idea in play: a faster tick rate costs bandwidth and CPU, and interpolation can make a moderate rate feel smooth.
Kai's game server updates 10 times a second. Players say other characters stutter across the screen. His laptop server is already busy, and his friends' connections are slow.
Ticks knows the trade: 60 updates a second is six times the messages of 10.
Relay knows the other lever: each screen can smoothly draw the in-between positions from the last two updates it received.
What should Kai try first?
Why does drawing in-between positions help without sending more messages?
Update often enough, then let each screen fill the gaps.
Who made this?
“In reality, every technology reflects decisions made by designers, companies, and communities, and carries the values and power of those choices.”