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Just out of curiosity: does anyone know any real-time multiplayer game that runs the physics simulations on the server side? AFAIK, only Rocket League is doing this (and they have some good talks about it on GDC).



If it's anything serious/competitive and has to have integrity without having trust between enemy players, the server has to run the simulations. Otherwise it would be extremely easy to cheat just by modifying the client code and memory.


Though you can have client-side physics engine running as an interpolation between authoritative server states.


Physics on the server? Nearly every shooter game. Server-authoritative is the way. As per the article, the clients only predict some physics objects (requires simulation) and interpolates & extrapolates others (does not require simulation). The clients have no first authority over the server’s simulation, other than their own player inputs.


Here is the GDC talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueEmiDM94IE

Of particular note is the fact that they run their physics loop at 120hz to minimize error.


Minecraft does physics and lighting on the server, although the physics model is very simplistic.


Physics is also ran on the client, but the server is authoritative and can correct or override client decisions.


Pretty much every serious online games do it.


For my game, King of Kalimpong, I run physics on the client and the server. The server is the boss but the client feels good.

I suspect most games where movement is primarily physics-based are doing this, but who knows, netcode tends to be very game-specific.


Multiplay Crackdown 3 (I worked on it) runs a fairly meaty physics simulation on the server side.




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