Tag Archives: networking

Understanding packet loss

Packet loss is a potential issue for multiplayer games and recognizing it earlier rather than later can be very helpful in making your game more enjoyable, especially for players with sub-optimal connections. In this article we’re going to explore the different types of packet loss, how to identify the issue and how to solve it when it appears. Continue reading

Handling network switches on mobile devices

In the last blog post we talked about what happens behind the scenes when we pull the ethernet cable or shut down the wifi network, and why this isn’t a reliable way to test a “sudden disconnection” scenario.

In this new article we’ll continue our journey “behind the scenes” taking a look at mobile devices and in particular at how to correctly handle the switch between networks, such as WiFi, 3G and 4G. Continue reading

What really happens when you unplug your network or wifi

In this brief article we’re going to take a look at what really happens when we shut down a device’s wifi or unplug the ethernet cable off of a computer. While intuitively one would expect the current connections to go down, this is likely not the case.
We are going to see why this happens and clarify a few misconceptions that arise when testing disconnection scenarios in a multiplayer game. Continue reading

The importance of ping times

In this brief article we will take a look at the simple concept of “ping times” and how we can use it in our multiplayer games to improve the user’s experience.

The connection speed is the single most important key element in an online game as it affects the whole experience. Being able to detect slow downs and “hiccups” could help removing some of the frustration when the client’s network is not behaving as expected. Also, being able to signal critical network issues could help the final user improve their game performance. Continue reading