[MUD-Dev] The Lag monster...

[Justin Randall]

"Sean Kelly" <sean at f4.ca> wrote:
> On Mon, 8 Nov 2004, Kiztent Hatepriest wrote:

>> Note to self: don't post before coffee.

>> I can see how optimizing the data sent might help performance,
>> but I don't think data transfer is the bottleneck in regular
>> gameplay.

> I think it depends on the game and on the client in question.
> I've played MMORPGs before where the limiting factor was
> definately network lag, as I kept a pretty close eye on network
> performance with traceroutes and such--there was a direct
> correlation between packet round-trip time and the lag I was
> experiencing.  But since I've moved and switched broadband
> providers I've really only experienced server lag.  To that end
> (and I think I mentioned this earlier in the thread, though the
> message may have bounced), I'm quite interested in seeing how the
> new crop of PCI Express graphics cards is used for server-side
> processing.  I would like to believe that massively parallel
> floating point computations could be useful for pathfinding,
> physics, and possibly other simulation work on the server, but I
> don't have the experience to back up that speculation.

Offloading *authoritative* server calculations to one or more
clients only leads to new avenues of grief. Rule #1 in online
gaming: NEVER trust the client, even if other clients are watching.

<EdNote: The practical rule of thumb seems to be: Is your approach
safe against an in-circuit emulator and data scope?>
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