Dynamic Shard Negotiation for Multi-User Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-user gaming systems are limited by the number of players they can support simultaneously, and existing distribution techniques struggle with handling game graphics and state management, leading to performance issues with delays and bandwidth concerns.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that dynamically create and manage shards, which are volumetric or acoustic simulation environments, allowing multiple clients to share a space with varying attributes such as dimension, shape, and content, with the server and client negotiating and rendering within and outside these shards to optimize performance based on client and server capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If centralized servers are used to manage multi-user environments, then the system can handle more players, but the server load and bandwidth requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The simulation environment is divided into multiple shards (spatial partitions), each managed by a dedicated server. This segmentation distributes the player management load across multiple servers rather than concentrating it on a single centralized server, allowing the system to handle more players while maintaining manageable server loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a hierarchical dimension to server architecture, where shard servers manage local player groups and a master server coordinates between shards. This dimensional addition allows player capacity to scale by adding shard servers rather than increasing the capacity of individual servers.
2Reliability
If the server communicates with all connected servers and players, then complete state management is achieved, but the number of connections and communication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The communication network is segmented into hierarchical levels: master server communicates with shard servers, and shard servers communicate with players within their shards. This segmentation reduces the total number of direct connections required compared to a fully connected system, while maintaining reliable state management through the hierarchical communication structure.
3Quantity of substance
If dynamic sharding is implemented to allow more players, then player capacity increases, but the complexity of managing shard characteristics increases
Solution Approach 1:
Shards are implemented as dynamic entities with negotiable characteristics (dimension, shape, location, content, rendering, control responsibilities) that can be adjusted based on player distribution and performance factors. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to changing player loads while maintaining manageable complexity through standardized negotiation protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system manages shard complexity by allowing dynamic changes to shard parameters (dimension, shape, location, content, rendering, control responsibilities) based on performance factors and player distribution. These parameter changes enable flexible player capacity management while maintaining systematic control through defined negotiation mechanisms between servers and clients.
4Reliability
If the server sends routine updates to all clients, then state synchronization is maintained, but bandwidth consumption and delay increase
Solution Approach 1:
State synchronization is segmented at the shard level rather than being broadcast to all clients globally. Each shard server manages state updates for players within its shard, reducing the total bandwidth consumption compared to universal broadcasts while maintaining synchronization reliability through localized update management.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for managing a multi-user environment is disclosed. The system is configured to assign at least one server for each client device. The system enables to create at least shard for each user by at least one of the client devices and the server. Each shard encapsulates one or more volumetric spaces and forms at least a portion of the simulation environment. The system is configured to create a finite number of shards for every given area at any given moment. The shards are dynamically selected or created through negotiations between the client device and the server at real time. The shard design (volume and content) is dynamically configured to provide best experience for the client device at the simulation environment.