Hybrid Communication Model for Multiplayer Gaming Server Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current online multiplayer gaming systems face significant challenges with lag and server congestion due to excessive data communication and processing requirements, limiting the number of simultaneous players and necessitating costly infrastructure, as existing models like peer-to-peer and client-server architectures are inefficient in managing large-scale interactions.
Innovation Solution
The hybrid communication model reduces message size and processing load by distributing calculations between servers and user devices, using dedicated communication channels, and implementing asynchronous communication to minimize server congestion and optimize data transfer, allowing for a significant reduction in server costs and processing power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a centralized server model is used to handle all user and game data processing, then hardware requirements of the user computing device are minimized, but the server becomes overloaded when many users join simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized server model into a hybrid architecture where rendering and game logic processing are separated from physics and collision detection. User devices handle rendering locally while servers handle physics calculations, dividing the computational load to prevent server overload while maintaining low user device requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of computation by implementing a hybrid model that operates across multiple processing layers. Instead of purely centralized or decentralized processing, the system adds a intermediate layer where critical gameplay elements (physics, collisions) are processed separately from visual rendering, enabling scalable multi-user support.
2Ease of manufacture
If thin-client gaming systems are used where user devices run from central server resources, then user device hardware requirements are reduced, but servers quickly become congested and prone to lag
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the most computationally intensive tasks (physics calculations, collision detection) from the thin-client server model and handles them through optimized server-side processing. This extraction prevents server congestion by efficiently managing the specific tasks that cause lag, while allowing the thin-client architecture to maintain its hardware advantages.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the processing parameters by implementing asynchronous communication protocols and optimized data transmission formats. This reduces the frequency and size of server-to-client communications, thereby decreasing server congestion and lag while maintaining the thin-client architecture's benefits.
3Productivity
If peer-to-peer networking with bidirectional communication is used, then distributed processing is achieved, but server resources are excessively consumed creating excessive lag
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional peer-to-peer model by making the server the active initiator of communications rather than passive responder. The server pushes updated game state data to clients based on physics calculations, reducing the need for bidirectional communication and decreasing server resource consumption while maintaining distributed processing benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial bidirectional communication where clients send only essential input data to the server, and the server responds with processed game state updates. This partial action approach maintains the distributed processing capability while avoiding the excessive communication overhead that causes server lag in full peer-to-peer models.
4Reliability
If thin-client systems communicate all data to servers, then centralized control is maintained, but message size increases dramatically slowing down communications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential data elements needed for centralized control (physics state, collision information, game logic variables) from the full game data set. By transmitting only these extracted critical elements rather than all game data, message sizes are dramatically reduced while centralized control integrity is maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the communication parameters by implementing differential updates that transmit only changed elements between game states, and by using compressed data formats. This reduces message size and transmission time while maintaining the accuracy and reliability of centralized control over the game state.
Data Source
AI summary
A user device, for environmental processing and communication, the device comprising a multiple and preferably independent communication module; the multiple and preferably independent communication module configured to communicably coupling to one or more communication networks, wherein the one or more multiple and preferably independent communication modules couple the user device to one or more servers, one or more processing modules, a memory module comprising instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the one or more processing modules cause the one or more processing modules to perform operations comprising, receiving one or more messages from the one or more servers through the one or more communication networks, extracting an information from the one or more messages, storing the extracted information in the memory module for immediate execution by the one or more processing modules.