Latency compensation techniques are software algorithms that run on the game client or game server (or both) that try to mitigate the impact of latency on the players. Such techniques might improve responsiveness or increase consistency (or both), but often sacrifice one for the other (i.e., increased consistency at the cost of reduced responsiveness and vice versa). The effectiveness of the techniques depends upon many factors including, but not limited to, the game to which they are applied, the network conditions between clients and servers, and the familiarity and skill of the players with the game.
For this interactive taxonomy, clicking on each technique node in the tree above goes to a page with just that technique, providing a concise description and a list of peer-reviewed papers (and commercial talks/blogs, where appropriate) that use that technique.
For "leaf" techniques, an illustrative example of the technique is also provided.
David Jefferson, 1985. Virtual Time
Richard So and Michael Griffin, 1992. Compensating Lags in Head-Coupled Displays Using Head Position Prediction and Image Deflection
W. Dean McCarty, Steven Sheasby, Philip Amburn, Martin Stytz and Chip Switzer, 1994. A Virtual Cockpit for a Distributed Interactive Simulation
Paul Sharkey, Matthew Ryan and David Roberts, 1998. A Local Perception Filter for Distributed Virtual Environments
Wentong Cai, Francis Lee and Lihui Chen, 1999. An Auto-adaptive Dead Reckoning Algorithm for Distributed Interactive Simulation
Christophe Diot and Laurent Gautier, 1999. A Distributed Architecture for Multiplayer Interactive Applications on the Internet
Ivan Vaghi, Chris Greenhalgh and Steve Benford, 1999. Coping with Inconsistency Due to Network Delays in Collaborative Virtual Environments
Mike Fraser, Tony Glover, Ivan Vaghi, Steve Benford, Chris Greenhalgh, Jon Hindmarsh and Christian Heath, 2000. Revealing the Realities of Collaborative Virtual Reality
Martin Mauve, 2000. How to Keep a Dead Man from Shooting
Martin Mauve, 2000. Consistency in Replicated Continuous Interactive Media
Jiann-RongWu and MingOuhyoung, 2000. On Latency Compensation and its Effects on Head-motion Trajectories in Virtual Environments
Seok-Jong Yu and Yoon-Chul Choy, 2001. A Dynamic Message Filtering Technique for 3D Cyberspaces
Jorg Schirra, 2001. Content-based Reckoning for Internet Games
Yow-Jian Lin, Katherine Guo and Sanjoy Paul, 2002. Sync-MS: Synchronized Messaging Service for Real-Time Multi-Player Distributed Games
Jouni Smed, Timo Kaukoranta and Harri Hakonen, 2002. Aspects of Networking in Multiplayer Computer Games
Lothar Pantel and Lars Wolf, 2002. On the Suitability of Dead Reckoning Schemes for Games
Eric Cronin, Burton Filstrup and Sugih Jamin, 2003. Cheat-Proofing Dead Reckoned Multiplayer Games
Thomas Duncan and Denis Gracanin, 2003. Pre-reckoning Algorithm for Distributed Virtual Environments
Carl Gutwin, Jeff Dyck and Jennifer Burkitt, 2003. Using Cursor Prediction to Smooth Telepointer Jitter
Sudhir Aggarwal, Hemant Banavar Amit Khandelwal, Sarit Mukherjee, Sampath Rangarajan, 2004. Accuracy in Dead Reckoning Based Distributed Multi-Player Games
Carl Gutwin, Steve Benford, Jeff Dyck, Mike Fraser, Ivan Vaghi and Chris Greenhalgh, 2004. Revealing Delay in Collaborative Environments
Martin Mauve, Jurgen Vogel, Volker Hilt and Wolfgang Effelsberg, 2004. Local-Lag and Timewarp: Providing Consistency for Replicated Continuous Applications
Greger Wikstrand, Lennart Schedin and Fredrik Elg, 2004. High and Low Ping and the Game of Pong- Effects of Delay and Feedback
Jouni Smed, Henrik Niinisalo and Harri Hakonen, 2004. Realizing Bullet Time Effect Multiplayer Games with Local Perception Filter
Mao-Jun Zhang and Nicolas Georganas, 2004. An Orientation Update Message Filtering Algorithm in Collaborative Virtual Environments
Sudhir Aggarwal, Hemant Banavar, Sarit Mukherjee, Sampath Rangarajan, 2005. Fairness in Dead-reckoning Based Distributed Multi-player Games
Sebastian Zander, Ian Leeder and Grenville Armitage, 2005. Achieving Fairness in Multiplayer Network Games through Automated Latency Balancing
Ryan Hanna and Michael Katchabaw, 2005. Bringing New HOPE to Networked Games: Using Optimistic Execution to Improve Quality of Service
Gabriel Shelley and Michael Katchabaw, 2005. Patterns of Optimism for Reducing the Effects of Latency in Networked Multiplayer Games
Jeremy Brun, Farzad Safaei, Paul Boustead, 2006. Managing Latency and Fairness in Networked Games
Xinbo Jiang, Farzad Safaei and Paul Boustead, 2006. Latency and Scalability: A Survey of Issues and Techniques for Supporting Networked Games
Shayne Burgess and Michael Katchabaw, 2006. Design and Implementation of Optimistic Constructs for Latency Masking in Online Video Games
Yi Zhang, Ling Chen and Gencai Chen, 2006. Globally Synchronized Dead-Reckoning with Local Lag for Continuous Distributed Multiplayer Games
Shaolong Li and Changja Chen, 2006. Interest Scheme: A New Method for Path Prediction
Wladimir Palant, Carsten Griwodz, and Paal Halvorsen, 2006. Evaluating Dead Reckoning Variations with a Multi-player Game Simulator
Dai Hanawa and Tatsuhiro Yonekura, 2006. A Proposal of Dead Reckoning Protocol in Distributed Virtual Environment based on the Taylor Expansion
Dingliang Liang and Paul Boustead, 2006. Using Local Lag and Timewarp to Improve Performance for Real Life Multi-Player Online Games
Ling Chen, Gen-Cai Chen, Hong Chen, Jack March, Steve Benford and Zhi-Geng Pan, 2007. An HCI Method to Improve the Human Performance Reduced by Local-lag Mechanism
Anh Le and Yanni Ellen Liu, 2007. Fairness in Multi-Player Online Games on Deadline-Based Networks
Shaolong Li, Changja Chen and Lei Li , 2007. A Method of Using Personal Habits for Path Prediction in Network Games
Alexey Tumanov, Robert Allison and Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, 2007. Variability-Aware Latency Amelioration in Distributed Environments
Dane Stuckel and Carl Gutwin, 2008. The Effects of Local Lag on Tightly-Coupled Interaction in Distributed Groupware
Regan L. Mandryk and Carl Gutwin, 2008. Perceptibility and Utility of Sticky Targets
Shaolong Li, Changja Chen and Lei Li, 2008. A New Method for Path Prediction in Network Games
Doowon Paik, Chung-Ha Yun and Jooyeon Hwang, 2008. Effective Message Synchronization Methods for Multiplayer Online Games with Maps
Dave Roberts, Damien Marshall, Seamus McLoone, Declan Delaney, Tomas Ward and Rob Aspin, 2008. Bounding Inconsistency Using a Novel Threshold Metric for Dead Reckoning Update Packet Generation
Naoki Ishii, Yutaka Ishibashi and Shinji Sugawara, 2009. Enhancement of Adaptive Delta-Causality Control with Adaptive Dead-reckoning for Multiplayer Online Games
Sili Zhao, DuLi, Hansu Gu, BinShao and NingGu, 2009. An Approach to Sharing Legacy TV/Arcade Games for Real-Time Collaboration
Cheryl Savery, T.C. Nicholas Graham and Carl Gutwin, 2010. The Human Factors of Consistency Maintenance in Multiplayer Computer Games
Arnaud Kaiser, Nadjib Achir and Khaled Boussetta, 2010. Improving Energy Efficiency and Gameplay Fairness for Time-sensitive Multiplayer Games in MANET
Scott Bateman, Regan L. Mandryk, Tadeusz Stach and Carl Gutwin, 2011. Target Assistance for Subtly Balancing Competitive Play
Yusuke Hara, Yutaka Ishibashi, Norishige Fukushima, and Shinji Sugawara, 2012. Adaptive Delta-Causality Control Scheme with Dynamic Control of Prediction Time in Networked Haptic Game
Vasily Kharitonov, 2012. Motion-Aware Adaptive Dead Reckoning Algorithm for Collaborative Virtual Environments
Yuji Kusunose, Yutaka Ishibashi, Norishige Fukushima, and Shinji Sugawara, 2012. Adaptive Delta-Causality Control with Prediction in Networked Real-Time Game Using Haptic Media
Cheryl Savery, T.C. Nicholas Graham, 2013. Timelines: Simplifying the Programming of Lag Compensation for the Next Generation of Networked Games
Jingxi Xu and Benjamin Wah, 2013. Concealing Network Delays in Delay-Sensitive Online Interactive Games Based on Just-Noticeable Differences
Amir Yahyavi, Kevin Huguenin and Bettina Kemme, 2013. Interest Modeling in Games: the Case of Dead Reckoning
Haifeng Shen and Suiping Zhou, 2013. Achieving Critical Consistency through Progressive Slowdown in Highly Interactive Multi-Player Online Games
Cheryl Savery, T.C. Nicholas Graham, 2014. Reducing the Negative Effects of Inconsistencies in Networked Games
Rodrigo Vicencio-Moriera, Regan Mandryk, Carl Gutwin and Scott Bateman, 2014. The Effectiveness (or Lack Thereof) of Aim-Assist Techniques in First-Person Shooter Games
Cheryl Savery, T.C. Nicholas Graham, Carl Gutwin and Michelle Brown, 2014. The Effects of Consistency Maintenance Methods on Player Experience and Performance in Networked Games
Kyungmin Lee, David Chu, Eduardo Cuervo, Johannes Kopf, Yury Degtyarev, Sergey Grizan, Alec Wolman and Jason Flinn, 2015. Outatime: Using Speculation to Enable Low-Latency Continuous Interaction for Mobile Cloud Gaming
Zenja Ivkovic, Ian Stavness, Carl Gutwin and Steve Sutcliffe, 2015. Quantifying and Mitigating the Negative Effects of Local Latencies on Aiming in 3D Shooter Games
Wai-Kiu Lee and Rocky Chang, 2015. Evaluation of Lag-Related Configurations in First-Person Shooter Games
Iryanto Jaya, Elvis S. Liu and Youfu Chen, 2016. Combining Interest Management and Dead Reckoning: A Hybrid Approach for Efficient Data Distribution in Multiplayer Online Games
Daniel Evangelakos and Michael Mara, 2016. Extended TimeWarp Latency Compensation for Virtual Reality
Chen Gao, Haifeng Shen and Ali Babar, 2016. Concealing Jitter in Multi-Player Online Games through Predictive Behaviour Modeling
Rosane Ushirobira, Denis Efimov, Gery Casiez, Nicolas Roussel and Wilfrid Perruquetti, 2016. A Forecasting Algorithm for Latency Compensation in Indirect Human-Computer Interactions
Steven Lee and Rocky Chang, 2017. On Shot Around a Corner in First-Person Shooter Games
Huy Viet Le, Valentin Schwind, Philipp Gottlich and Niels Henze, 2017. PredicTouch: A System to Reduce Touchscreen Latency using Neural Networks and Inertial Measurement Units
Luis Fernando Kawabata de Almeida and Alan Salvany Felinto, 2018. Evaluation of the Motion-Aware Adaptive Dead Reckoning Technique Under Different Network Latencies Applied in Multiplayer Games
Axel Antoine, Sylvain Malacria and Gery Casiez, 2018. Using High Frequency Accelerometer and Mouse to Compensate for End-to-end Latency in Indirect Interaction
Youfu Chen and Elvis S. Liu, 2018. Comparing Dead Reckoning Algorithms for Distributed Car Simulations
Zhi Li, Hugh Melvin, Rasa Bruzgiene, Peter Pocta, Lea Skorin-Kapov, Andrej Zgank, 2018. Lag Compensation for First-Person Shooter Games in Cloud Gaming
Saeed Shafiee Sabet, Steven Schmidt, Saman Zadtootaghaj, Carsten Griwodz and Sebastian Moller, 2018. Towards Applying Game Adaptation to Decrease the Impact of Delay on Quality of Experience
Steven Lee and Rocky Chang, 2018. Enhancing the Experience of Multiplayer Shooter Games via Advanced Lag Compensation
Injung Lee, Sunjun Kim and Byungjoo Lee, 2019. Geometrically Compensating Effect of End-to-End Latency in Moving-Target Selection Games
Jiawei Sun and Mark Claypool, 2019. Evaluating Streaming and Latency Compensation in a Cloud-based Game
Elias Duarte, Aurora Pozo and Pamela Beltrani, 2020. Smart Reckoning: Reducing the Traffic of Online Multiplayer Games using Machine Learning for Movement Prediction
Saeed Shafiee Sabet, Steven Schmidt, Saman Zadtootagha, Babak Naderi, Carsten Griwodz and Sebastian Moller, 2020. A Latency Compensation Technique Based on Game Characteristics to Mitigate the Influence of Delay on Cloud Gaming Quality of Experience
Robert Salay and Mark Claypool, 2020. A Comparison of Automatic versus Manual World Adjustment for Network Game Latency Compensation
Joohwan Kim, Pyarelal Knowles, Josef Spjut, Ben Boudaoud and Morgan Mcguire, 2020. Post-Render Warp with Late Input Sampling Improves Aiming Under High Latency Conditions
Takato Motoo, Jiei Kawasaki, Takuya Fujihashi, Shunsuke Saruwatari and Takashi Watanabe, 2021. Client-Side Network Delay Compensation for Online Shooting Games
Ben Boudaoud, Pyarelal Knowles, Joohwan Kim and Josef Spjut, 2021. Gaming at Warp Speed: Improving Aiming with Late Warp
Edward Carlson, Tian Fan, Zijian Guan, Xiaokun Xu and Mark Claypool, 2021. Towards Usable Attribute Scaling for Latency Compensation in Cloud-based Games
David Halbhuber, Maximilian Schlenczek, Johanna Bogon and Niels Henze, 2022. Better be quiet about it! The Effects of Phantom Latency on Experienced First-Person Shooter Players
John Carmack, 1996. Here is The New Plan
Paul Bettner and Mark Terrano, 2001. 1500 Archers on a 28.8: Network Programming in Age of Empires and Beyond
Yahn Bernier, 2001. Latency Compensating Methods in Client/Server In-game Protocol Design and Optimization
David Aldbridge, 2011. I Shot You First: Networking the Gameplay of Halo:Reach
Tony Cannon, 2012. Fight the Lag! The Trick Behind GGPO's Low-latency Netcode
Benjamin Goyette, 2016. Fighting Latency on Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Tim Ford and Philip Orwig, 2016. Developer Update - Let's Talk Netcode
Matt Delbosc, 2017. Replicating Chaos: Vehicle Replication in Watch Dogs 2
Valve Developer Community, 2017. Source Multiplayer Networking
Rocket Science-Halfway Dead, 2018. RL Netcode and Lag explained - Rocket Science #16
Jared (Psyonix) Cone, 2018. It IS Rocket Science! The Physics of Rocket League Detailed
Michael Stallone, 2018. 8 Frames in 16ms: Rollback Networking in 'Mortal Kombat' and 'Injustice 2'
Peter Andreasen, 2018. Deep Dive into Networking for Unity's FPS Sample Game
Paul Haile and Mitch Sanborn, 2019. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Netcode Explained!
Ricky Pusch, 2019. Explaining How Fighting Games Use Delay-Based and Rollback Netcode
Timothy Ford, 2019. Overwatch Gameplay Architecture and Netcode
David Straily and Dave Heironymus, 2020. Netcode and 128-Servers // Dev Diaries - Valorant
Brent Randall, 2020. Valorant's 128-Tick Servers
Matt deWet and David Straily, 2020. Peeking into Valorant's Netcode
Shengmei Liu, Xiaokun Xu and Mark Claypool. A Survey and Taxonomy of Latency Compensation Techniques for Network Computer Games, ACM Computing Surveys, Article 243, Volume 54, Issue 11S, DOI https://doi.org/10.1145/3519023, September 9, 2022. Online at: http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~claypool/papers/lag-taxonomy/