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[Lord Error]

Here's a report about a Cell-based tech demo/game that features server side calculated physics. I remember I said once how things like this seem to be one of the goals of people behind this chip, but quite a few people though it would be unfeasable. I'm not sure under what conditions this demo operates exactly, but it's interesting nonetheless.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/615/615521p1.html

Lastly, we saw a demo of a network game with entirely server-side physics. The goal here was to prove that a high-end server could run some of the most computationally-intensive parts of a game, saving the client machines from having to process what would wind up being redundant data. The demo featured some huge mechs, large buildings and a couple tanks. As parts of an object were fired upon, pieces of it would crumble off and collide and bounce with surrounding objects. While it honestly wasn't the most impressive piece of physics tech we've ever seen, the fact that it was all running server-side was kinda neat.

 

[rastex]

There are a few games that do this, like Halo, and most of them suffer from horrible horrible lag, even on LANs the games have higher than normal lag (20-30 instead of 0).

 

[Discordian_taco]

Thats freakin' sweet....can't wait to program for this chip its gonna be low-level heaven

 

[Lord Error]

There are a few games that do this, like Halo, and most of them suffer from horrible horrible lag, even on LANs the games have higher than normal lag (20-30 instead of 0).

Halo? PC version when you play it online does that?

 

[rastex]

As far as I know

 

[MetalAlien]

I doubt we'll see much of this unless some new multi 100+ megabit braodband access becomes the norm. It won't so we won't see it for the PS3...

I'd be cool if we could SLI a few PS3s together LAN style in home though.

GT5, with enhanced graphics if you hook up mutiple PS3s.... Expensive, but if you have buddies who own a PS3... have them bring it over for a GT5 party.

Maybe if the Wifi connection is fast enough, multiple PS3s could share power in the same home just over their own WLAN...

 

[shuri]

I would think that such a system would create much more traffic, therefore more lag

 

[Vince]

I doubt we'll see much of this unless some new multi 100+ megabit braodband access becomes the norm. It won't so we won't see it for the PS3...

:roll:

 

[aaaaa0]

The tech demo doesn't make any sense to me. You WANT redundant physics calculations on the client. All modern multiplayer FPSes do this: Halo 2, UT, Quake, etc. With the typical pings on broadband connections today, pure server side physics just wouldn't be playable.

In most architectures today, the server (which in the case of some games like Halo 2, is just a selected peer) computes the authoritative physics for the world, but the clients also run a parallel subset of the simulation and they're kept in sync with update packets.

The client simulation is necessary to compensate for network lag -- the clients can continue to run the simulation even in the face of lost or delayed update packets. The idea is that normally the client simulations don't get too out of synch before the network lag is resolved -- usually before the player even notices there was any lag.

In a perfect world where the Internet has sub-10ms ping, has infinite bandwidth, and has zero packet loss, maybe pure server-side physics would be useful. But in the real world, I just can't see it being practical for anything but a LAN game.

 

[SpokkX]

There are a few games that do this, like Halo, and most of them suffer from horrible horrible lag, even on LANs the games have higher than normal lag (20-30 instead of 0).

uhm?

you played halo 2 online?

lag?

Halo 2 is really the least laggy fps I ever played.. I can play (from europe) with americans without much problems (though there IS much prediction).. can´t say the same for any pc fps

 

[MetalAlien]

:roll:

That's a great counterpoint, I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[rastex]

I meant HaloPC

 

[midnightguy]

Marconelly, I posted posted this about a week and a half ago

http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=48229&highlight=cell

 

[Barnimal]

That's a great counterpoint, I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

:lol

 

[cyberheater]

What's the point. The future of network gaming is not having the server calculate physics. The next gen machines have more then enough grunt to do the job.

 

[newsguy]

That's a great counterpoint, I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

:lol

 

[WHOAguitarninja]

uhm?

you played halo 2 online?

lag?

Halo 2 is really the least laggy fps I ever played.. I can play (from europe) with americans without much problems (though there IS much prediction).. can´t say the same for any pc fps

He said halo. Not halo 2.

 

[Thraktor]

Actually, Half-Life 2 already uses server-side physics processing (Havok's got fairly good tools for such a purpose), but only in fairly specific circumstances, such as collision detection between urinals you've lobbed at people with the gravity gun, and the people you've lobbed the urinals at. Cosmetic physics is all handled locally, though, and if I'm not mistaken I think some of the server side-physics is mimiced locally (tweened, as it were) to minimise the effect of network lag, so I doubt it has any real effect on performance.

 

[rastex]

Actually, Half-Life 2 already uses server-side physics processing ... so I doubt it has any real effect on performance.

Funny you should say that, as that's one game that I thought had server side physics but wasn't totally sure. And you can tell when someone launches a toilet because the game will stutter a bit. It doesn't happen all the time, but when nobody's throwing things around, and then someone throws something there'll be a stutter.