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Hack-proof synchronization protocol for multi-player online games

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Abstract

Synchronization protocols based on “dead-reckoning” are vulnerable to a popular type of cheat called speed-hack. A speed-hack helps a cheater to gain unfair advantages by essentially speeding up the actions of the avatar controlled by the cheater, so that the cheater can move, explore and gather items faster than honest players. This paper presents a novel version of a dead-reckoning protocol that is invulnerable to speed-hacks. Existing games based on dead-reckoning can easily be modified to use this hack-proof dead-reckoning protocol and how the protocol works on both client-server architecture and peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture will be demonstrated in this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science & Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Ma Liu Shui, China

    Yeung Siu Fung & John C. S. Lui

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  1. Yeung Siu Fung
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  2. John C. S. Lui
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Correspondence to John C. S. Lui.

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Fung, Y.S., Lui, J.C.S. Hack-proof synchronization protocol for multi-player online games. Multimed Tools Appl 41, 305–331 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-008-0230-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-008-0230-3

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