Accuracy in dead-reckoning based distributed multi-player games

ABSTRACT

Distributed multi-player games use dead reckoning vectors to intimate other (at a distance) participating players about the movement of any entity by a controlling player. The dead reckoning vector contains the current position of the entity and the velocity components. When a participating player receives a vector, traditionally it puts the entity at the current position specified by the vector and starts projecting the path of the entity from that point using the local clock of the receiver. In this paper we show that this traditional method of usage of dead reckoning vector brings in inaccuracy in the receivers' rendering of the entity. This inaccuracy can be substantial even with low network delay between the sender-receiver pairs and increases with network delay. We propose the use of globally synchronized clocks among the participating players and a time-stamp augmented dead reckoning vector that enables the receiver to render the entity accurately. We modified the popular game BZFlag with this technique, and compared the accuracy seen in game playing using the traditional method and the proposed technique. We conducted several types of experiments varying the frequency of generation of dead reckoning vectors and the delay between the sender and the receivers. The experiments show significant quantitative improvement in accuracy even for 100ms delay between the sender-receiver pairs and appreciable qualitative improvement in game playing experience.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.4 Distributed Systems
          Subjects: Distributed applications

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
accuracy, clock synchronization, dead-reckoning, distributed multi-player games, network delay