Network Optimizing Software Solution for Multiplayer Gaming

Öz

In the digital entertainment landscape, multiplayer online games have gained immense popularity, attracting millions globally. This paper focuses on improving gaming performance by addressing two major challenges: latency and packet loss. Utilizing the Omnet++ application with the INET framework, we propose innovative network solutions to enhance the overall gaming experience. Over the past decade, multiplayer games have rapidly gained popularity due to technological advancements. As living costs rise, these games have become an economical and accessible form of entertainment, especially among the youth. The growing importance of a stable, high-quality internet connection in gaming has become crucial. Game developers and online gaming platforms also stand to gain from our network optimization solutions. Implementing these advancements can elevate service quality, leading to increased user satisfaction, positive reviews, and a stronger reputation in the gaming community. Additionally, this paper explores using real-world gaming data to simulate and test network strategies in Omnet++, offering practical insights for enhancing real-time online gaming experiences.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• End-to-End game latency
• real-time packet loss
• latency-sensitive network protocol
• core network QoS for gaming

Çok Oyunculu Oyun için Ağ Optimizasyon Yazılımı Çözümü

Öz

Dijital eğlence dünyasında, çok oyunculu çevrimiçi oyunlar büyük popülerlik kazanmış ve dünya genelinde milyonları kendine çekmiştir. Bu proje, oyun performansını iyileştirmek için gecikme ve paket kaybı gibi iki ana zorluğu ele almayı hedeflemektedir. Omnet++ uygulaması ve INET çerçevesi kullanılarak, genel oyun deneyimini geliştirecek yenilikçi ağ çözümleri öneriyoruz. Son on yılda, çok oyunculu oyunlar teknolojik ilerlemeler sayesinde hızla yaygınlaşmıştır. Artan yaşam maliyetleriyle birlikte, bu oyunlar özellikle gençler arasında ekonomik ve erişilebilir bir eğlence biçimi haline gelmiştir. İstikrarlı ve yüksek kaliteli bir internet bağlantısının önemi bu süreçte daha da belirgin hale gelmiştir. Oyun geliştiricileri ve çevrimiçi oyun platformları da ağ optimizasyon çözümlerimizden faydalanmaktadır. Bu gelişmeler, hizmet kalitesini artırarak kullanıcı memnuniyeti ve olumlu geri bildirimlerle daha güçlü bir itibar kazandırabilir. Ayrıca, proje kapsamında Omnet++'da gerçek oyun verileri kullanılarak yapılan simülasyonlar, gerçek zamanlı çevrimiçi oyun deneyimlerini iyileştirmeye yönelik pratik bilgiler sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Uçtan uca oyun gecikmesi
• gerçek zamanlı paket kaybı
• gecikmeye duyarlı ağ protokolü
• oyun içi çekirdek ağ kalite hizmeti

Kaynakça

1. Q. Zhou, C. J. Miller, and V. Bassilious, “First person shooter multiplayer game traffic analysis,” in Proceedings of the 2008 International Symposium on Object/Component/Service-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing (ISORC), 2008. DOI: 10.1109/isorc.2008.28.
2. P. Moll, M. Lux, S. Theuermann, and H. Hellwagner, “A network traffic and player movement model to improve networking for competitive online games,” in Proceedings of the 2018 16th Annual Workshop on Network and Systems Support for Games (NetGames), Jun. 2018. DOI: 10 . 1109 / netgames. 2018 . 8463390. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1109/netgames.2018.8463390.
3. T. Henderson, “Latency and user behaviour on a multiplayer game server,” in Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2001, pp. 1–13. DOI: 10.1007/3-540 -45546-9_1. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/ 10.1007/3-540-45546-9_1.
4. B. Ward, Y. Khmelevsky, G. Hains, R. Bartlett, A. Needham, and T. Sutherland, “Gaming network delays investigation and collection of very large-scale data sets,” in 2017 Annual IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon), Apr. 2017. DOI: 10.1109/syscon.2017.7934779.
5. M. Ahmed, S. Reno, M. R. Rahman, and S. H. Rifat, “Analysis of netcode, latency, and packet-loss in online multiplayer games,” in 2022 International Conference on Augmented Intelligence and Sustainable Systems (ICAISS), Nov. 2022. DOI: 10.1109/icaiss55157.2022.10010926.
6. T. Motoo, J. Kawasaki, T. Fujihashi, S. Saruwatari, and T. Watanabe, “Client-side network delay compensation for online shooting games,” IEEE Access, vol. 9, pp. 125 678–125 690, Jan. 2021. DOI: 10.1109/access.2021.3111180.
7. Y. Ahn, A. K. Cheng, J. Baek, and P. Fisher, “A multiplayer real-time game protocol architecture for reducing network latency,” IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 1883–1889, Nov. 2009. DOI: 10.1109/tce.2009.5373746.
8. A. Petlund, K. Evensen, P. Halvorsen, and C. Griwodz, “Improving application layer latency for reliable thin-stream game traffic,” in Proceedings of the 7th ACM International Conference on Multimedia, 2008. DOI: 10.1145/1517494.1517513. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1145/1517494.1517513.

9. X. Che and B. Ip, “Packet-level traffic analysis of online games from the genre characteristics perspective,” Journal of Network and Computer Applications, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 240–252, Jan. 2012. DOI: 10.1016/j.jnca.2011.08.005. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnca.2011.08.005.
10. N. K.-T. Chen, P. Huang, and N. C.-L. Lei, “Effect of network quality on player departure behavior in online games,” IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems, vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 593–606, May 2009. DOI: 10.1109/tpds.2008.148. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1109/tpds.2008.148.
11. A. Wong, C. Chiu, G. Hains, J. Behnke, Y. Khmelevsky, and T. Sutherland, “Network latency classification for computer games,” in 2021 IEEE Conference on Recent Advances in Systems Science and Engineering (RASSE), 2021. DOI: 10 1109/rasse53195.2021.9686848. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1109/rasse53195.2021.9686848.
12. P. Renna, “Capacity and resource allocation in flexible production networks by a game theory model,” The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 120, no. 7–8, pp. 4835–4848, Mar.2022. DOI: 10.1007/s00170-022-09061-y. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09061-y.