Rollback netcode is a technique used in online games to keep clients in sync by simulating remote input and correcting discrepancies after the fact. One example is handling local animations. When an animation is played locally for an entity that isn’t your character, it doesn’t replicate to others. A common solution is sending a RemoteEvent to all clients and waiting for them to respond. This creates dependency on each client’s network delay — a method known as delay-based netcode. However, this approach depends on varying client speeds. To address this variability, rollback netcode comes into play.
Rollback netcode eliminates delay for the initiating client while ensuring all other clients remain synchronized. This ensures smoother gameplay experiences.
For a deeper understanding, watch this video on Why Rollback Netcode Is Better.
Here’s a conceptual analogy using animation to illustrate how rollback-style compensation could look in a simplified form:
Example Implementation:
local Delta = (os.clock() - LastTime)
local Animation = AnimationController.LoadedAnimations[AnimationName]
if Delta > Animation.Length then
return
end
-- Set Time Position to Match Delta
Animation:Play()
Animation.TimePosition = Delta
This simplified example isn’t a real rollback implementation, but it gives a sense of how a game might compensate for delay using rollback-style logic.
Extreme Case Example:
In scenarios with extreme latency (e.g., a 500ms delay), the result can look visually strange or jittery.
Conceptual Rollback Netcode Example
While such high delays are uncommon in most games, it’s important to note that rollback netcode is designed to handle moderate latency effectively — often making the delay nearly imperceptible to players.
Keep in mind, this is just a conceptual example, not a full implementation of rollback netcode.
A true rollback netcode system typically includes:
- Input prediction
- State saving
- Re-simulation
- Deterministic behavior across clients
This example simply illustrates the core idea behind how rollback can help correct for delay.
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