Packet Loss and Latency in Unreal Tournament 2003

Tom BeigbederRory CoughlanCorey LusherJohn Plunkett

Background Major draw of first person shooters (FPS) is

the multiplayer aspect The Internet was not designed for the real-

time nature of computer games Most games descend from one of two

lineages – Quake or Unreal

Game Information Majority of research has been done on

Quake-engine based games, in particular Half-Life

Unreal Tournament 2003 is a popular fast-paced FPS game

Includes multiple types of weapons, typical of most other FPS

Network Traffic Unreal Tournament 2003 transmits over

5000 packets per minute Majority of game traffic is carried over the

User Datagram Protocol No retransmission functions built in Need for precise movement and aiming

requires constant updates from a game server, which requires low latencies and packet loss rates

Goals of the Project Determine the impact of packet loss on

player performance

Contrast with the effects of latency

Determine the specific components of gameplay that are most effected by network connection degradation

Technologies Utilized Unreal Tournament 2003 NIST Net Ethereal All Seeing Eye

Lab Setup

Methodology Divided game into basic components such

as precise aiming, and movement Performed controlled tests at different

levels of packet loss and latency Analyzed results

Complex Movement Results

Precise Shooting Results

Restricted Deathmatch Results

Full Game Results

Conclusions Despite making gameplay less enjoyable,

levels of packet loss and latency likely to be encountered by average players do not statistically impact player scores

Latency was more detrimental to player performance than packet loss

Packet loss was only noticeable at levels higher than 25%

Future Work “Bursty” Loss Variable Latency Unreal Tournament 2003 compared to

different game lineages

Questions