Multiplayer Architecture

In this article, I will briefly discuss the peer — to — peer and client — server multiplayer architectures.

In the peer — to — peer architecture each player will communicate directly with the other players. For example, if player one decides to jump that information will be shared with player two and three directly from player one. This architecture is good when the players are close to each other.

The client — server architecture works by having an authoritative server that runs the game and all players connect to this server. An example of this is in most FPS games there is a dedicated server that runs the game and all players connect to that server to play. This architecture is good for games that are going to be played by many people from all over the world such as MMO’s

Most competitive games use client — server architecture because it allows them to prevent cheating. Because the game is run on a dedicated server that version of the game is the authoritative version. When a player try's to do anything in the game they have send a request to the server and get it authorized before they are allowed to make that action. This allows the server to authorize if the players actions are in line with the servers authoritative version. For example, if a player try’s to move but is going much faster than they are suppose too the server can prevent them from taking that action.