Server-Side Ray Tracing for Wall Hacking Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current anti-cheat technologies in video games, particularly for preventing wall hacking in first-person shooter games, are invasive and ineffective due to reliance on client-side solutions that can be circumvented by sophisticated cheating software, leading to trust issues and unfair advantages in competitive gaming.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a server-side system that uses real-time ray tracing to filter data packets and prevent wall hacking by generating visibility matrices based on player geometries and frustums, ensuring that only visible players are displayed to other players, thereby eliminating the need for invasive client-side monitoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If client-side anti-cheat software is used to detect wall hacking, then cheating detection capability is improved, but system invasiveness increases and reliability decreases due to easy circumvention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional anti-cheat approach by moving the detection logic from the client side to the server side. Instead of trusting the client to report accurate player positions and visibility information, the server independently calculates what players should see by casting rays from each player's viewpoint through the game world geometry. This inversion makes the system less invasive on client machines while dramatically improving reliability, as the server now controls the authoritative visibility determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - the server-side ray tracing system - that acts as a mediator between the game world state and the clients. Rather than clients directly accessing or reporting enemy positions, the server computes visibility matrices through ray tracing and sends only the necessary visible player information to each client. This intermediary layer prevents wall hacking by ensuring clients receive authenticated visibility data rather than trusting client-side calculations.
2Reliability
If server-side ray tracing is implemented to prevent wall hacking, then cheating prevention reliability is improved, but computational power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the visibility calculation problem by computing visibility matrices in discrete time steps corresponding to game ticks or frames. Rather than continuously tracking all possible ray intersections, the system calculates visibility at specific intervals based on player positions and map geometry at those moments. This segmentation allows the computationally intensive ray tracing to be performed periodically rather than continuously, reducing overall power requirements while maintaining effective wall hacking prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality optimization by performing ray tracing only for players and map regions that are relevant to current gameplay. The server casts rays from each player's viewpoint but only through the specific map geometry and player positions that exist in their local vicinity. This localized approach means computational resources are focused on the immediate game area rather than the entire map, significantly reducing the computational power required compared to a global visibility calculation.
3Ease of operation
If traditional client-side anti-cheat is used, then ease of operation is maintained, but detection precision worsens due to sophisticated cheating software circumvention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by having the server automatically and independently verify player visibility without requiring any special client-side software or hooks. The server casts rays through the game world geometry and player positions to determine what each player should see, then sends this authenticated visibility information to clients. This eliminates the need for invasive client anti-cheat software while achieving superior detection precision, as the server's independent calculation cannot be fooled by client-side modifications.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a method and a system for preventing wall-hacking by using server side ray tracing to filter data packets to be provided to user devices during a multiplayer video gaming session. Map information and player updates indicative of player actions are received, and an acceleration structure is generated. Primary rays from the virtual frustum associated with players are generated and intersections between rays and players geometries on the map are determined based on the acceleration structure. The visibility matrix is generated based on the determined intersections. The visibility matrix includes pair wise visibility information between each player. Data packets provided to each user device are then filtered based on the visibility matrix.