I want to build a real-time multiplayer web game using JavaScript for both client and server sides. The game will support up to 20 players per session. I need advice on handling these challenges:
Network Synchronization: How can I make sure all players see events at the same time? I’m considering measuring each player’s connection speed and making faster connections wait so everyone stays in sync.
Client-Server Architecture: Would it work to run the game logic on both browser and server? My idea is to let the browser handle smooth gameplay while the server checks for cheating and sends corrections when needed.
Input Handling: What’s the best way to process player inputs like keyboard presses? Should I send these through websockets to all clients while the server tracks the complete game state and broadcasts updates periodically?
Are there other important factors I should think about when designing this type of multiplayer system?
that’s ambitious! what game mechanics are you going for? fast-paced action needs a totally different approach than turn-based stuff. instead of making faster connections wait, why not use client-side interpolation and prediction? should feel way smoother. also - why 20 players exactly?
From my experience with real-time multiplayer games, go with an authoritative server setup. The server keeps the definitive game state, which cuts down on sync issues and cheating. Don’t throttle faster connections - instead, use delta compression to only send state changes to clients. For player inputs, I’d use tick-based processing for regular updates and better lag compensation. Socket.IO works great for reliable connections and handling fallbacks when things go wrong.
Networking’s definitely the hardest part. Check out Colyseus or the ws library for WebSockets. Running game logic on both client and server works well - just make sure the server always wins any conflicts. Also, ditch JSON for binary protocols when you’ve got 20 players running at once. Way better performance.