Dynamic Host-Client Role Switching in Network Game Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional peer-to-peer network game systems face issues where a game does not start even if there are more than a predetermined number of users wanting to play, due to the number of client terminals connected to each host terminal not reaching a required number, leading to prolonged waiting times for network establishment.
Innovation Solution
A network game system where game devices can dynamically switch between operating as host or client terminals by transmitting and receiving connection requests, allowing a host terminal to connect to another host terminal if the number of client terminals in its group is insufficient, thereby forming a game device group efficiently and allowing the game to start without prolonged waiting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If each user terminal operates as a host terminal and creates a game session, then the system maintains peer-to-peer architecture without high-capacity server requirements, but the game does not start when the number of client terminals connected to each host terminal does not reach the predetermined number, leading to prolonged waiting times
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the role of user terminals between host and client based on real-time connection status. When a host terminal has insufficient client connections, it automatically transitions to client mode and connects to another host terminal, allowing flexible adaptation to varying network conditions and player availability, thereby reducing waiting time for game start.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring all terminals to wait until a host terminal accumulates sufficient clients, the invention inverts the approach by enabling host terminals to proactively seek other host terminals when client count is insufficient. This reversal of the traditional host-client formation logic allows the game to start as soon as any two host terminals connect, significantly improving game start efficiency.
2Reliability
If a host terminal waits for a predetermined number of client terminals to connect, then the game session can be properly formed, but users experience prolonged waiting times when not enough users are available
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the game session formation criteria based on available players. When sufficient clients are available, traditional host-client sessions are formed. When not enough clients are available, the system dynamically creates host-host sessions as an alternative, ensuring reliable game start while minimizing waiting time.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the connection parameter from requiring a fixed number of client terminals to accepting either sufficient clients or an alternative host terminal connection. This parameter flexibility allows the system to form valid game sessions under varying player availability conditions, maintaining reliability while reducing waiting time.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the system requires a predetermined number of clients per host terminal, then proper game session structure is maintained, but the system cannot efficiently utilize available players when total player count exceeds host capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically determines session structure based on player availability. When player count exceeds host capacity, the system transitions from static host-client structure to dynamic host-host structure, allowing efficient utilization of all available players while maintaining stable game sessions through flexible role assignment.
Solution Approach 2:
User terminals are designed with universal functionality to operate as either host or client depending on network conditions. This multi-functionality allows the system to adapt its structure universally to different player counts, maintaining session stability whether forming traditional host-client groups or alternative host-host connections.
Data Source
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AI summary
A host terminal, to which a client terminal is connected, transmits a connection request to another host terminal to which another client terminal is connected. When the connection request is accepted, the host terminal, which is a source of the connection request, disconnects a connection between the host terminal and the client terminal, and then the host terminal is connected, as a client terminal, to said another host terminal which is a destination of the connection request. This prevents users from waiting for a long time, and allows a peer-to-peer network to be efficiently established.