Netcode field notes

Change one thing. Play the same moment. Understand the difference.

These lessons connect the arena’s controls to specific networking ideas. Each experiment holds the recorded inputs constant, so you can inspect the consequences of one change. Read the model limits before using a result to explain a real match.

• Client-side prediction: move before the reply

  Play a controlled netcode experiment to understand why prediction makes your own movement feel immediate.

• Server reconciliation: agree without forgetting your inputs

  Follow acknowledgements, authoritative snapshots and unacknowledged commands in a playable reconciliation lesson.

• Entity interpolation: smooth motion by looking back

  Compare latest-snapshot movement with buffered interpolation and see the smoothness-versus-delay trade-off.

• Jitter and packet loss are different problems

  Change one network variable at a time and compare delayed packets with missing packets in a seeded replay.

• Why a game can pull you back: rubberbanding

  Use a local/server position comparison to understand authoritative corrections and their limits.

• Tick rate and snapshot rate are not the same

  Learn why simulation frequency, snapshot frequency and display frame rate must be kept separate.

New to the lab? Play the example replay, pause it, then use the timeline to inspect the moment the projectile crosses your player.