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Game Mechanics / 4 min /

Delay or rollback? How online games hide lag: netcode explained

Online games have to keep two computers in agreement while messages take time to travel. Delay-based netcode waits for both players' inputs, so everything stays in sync but your controls feel late. Rollback netcode runs your presses instantly, guesses the other player, and rewinds and replays when the guess was wrong.

Use the interactive to change your ping and see how long a press waits, and how big a correction gets.

Two rows of frame squares: delay-based waits several frames for a press to appear, rollback shows it next frame then rewinds when a guess is wrong

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