- Devlog
- Spike result: the netcode holds
Spike result: the netcode holds
Twelve hard metrics, all green, even with 200 bots at 150 ms latency. What the spike built, what it measured and what is still open.
The spike is built and measured. The image above is honest: this is what it looks like, with a debug overlay, placeholder bars and a test map. The point is not beauty but whether the technology holds.
What was built
Three weeks in three stages, 113 tests, protocol v1.3:
- Foundation: binary codec, 20 Hz server tick, delta snapshots, a movement validator, time sync, interpolation, a Phaser client with a test map, and bots.
- Combat: abilities as data, hit rolls, a global cooldown with a queue window, casts in server time, interrupts with lockout.
- Boss and load: threat table, a boss with ground effects, adds, enrage and reset, role bots, a load matrix.
What was measured
| Metric | Threshold | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Server tick p99 | below 20 ms | 2 ms at 100 bots |
| Snapshot bytes per client | below 12 kB/s at 50 figures | 1.7 kB/s |
| Corrections for honest clients | 0 | 0 |
| Faulty interrupts | below 2 % at 100 ms | 0 of 28 |
| Cast bar deviation p95 | below 50 ms | 0.5 ms |
| Dodged and still hit | below 3 % | 0 of 45 at 100 ms |
All twelve hard metrics are green, with headroom up to 100 players per zone process and 200 at the edge. The fallback plan (an off-the-shelf networking framework) was not needed.
The decision
- K2 art pipeline: green. Workshop sprite sheets run unchanged in the client.
- K3 estimate: green. The MVP is expected at about 4.5 months, 8 in the pessimistic case.
- K1 netcode: provisionally green. The hard half is measured; the fun half (four sessions with a questionnaire) runs in parallel.
So the first MVP plan starts: account, login, persistence, zone servers, character creation. This portal is the first visible part of it: one account for the website and the game.
What is open
All measurements ran on one machine with simulated latency. A run over a real network is still to come, as are interest management for large zones and reconnect rules for the hardcore realm.
Rivenward Online is inspired by classic MMORPGs and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any other game or its publisher.
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