Latency – what is it? In gaming, this is the time it takes between you completing your action (a pull of a trigger, a push of a button) and the game reacting. Ideally, you want latency to – almost – not exist.
If you’re suffering with high latency, you can think of that as excessive lag, or ping issues. If you’re not experiencing latency, that’s no lag (the dream). As real-time interactions become more crucial to gaming, the need for reduced latency has only grown.
Gone are the days of dial-up internet and stuttering screens, but how did we get here – and is it getting better? Let’s take a look at some of the different technologies that are helping to reduce latency. It’s not just about software updates for maintaining efficiency anymore!
5G – Revolutionizing Mobile Gaming
If you’re a mobile gamer, or someone in an area with poor wifi connection then 5G is going to be a game changer (literally). This technology provides ultra-fast speeds and with that? Ultra-low latency. 5G is massively changing how we experience games on mobile devices.
This leap forward in mobile connectivity has transformed all kinds of games, but has brought on particularly noticeable leaps in games like online roulette. While RNG roulette has always been a staple that many of us love, live dealer roulette provides a more modern update.
Now that you don’t need a stable broadband connection (thanks to 5G), you can play titles like live dealer roulette on your phone – with virtually no lag. The dealer’s actions, your bets, and real-time interactions occur almost instantaneously.
5G allows uninterrupted streaming, making it feel (as much as possible) like you’re sitting at a table in a physical casino. Before 5G, the idea of seamless live roulette on a mobile device was far-fetched. Now, with never-before-seen data speeds, you can enjoy a fully responsive experience – with no lag.
Edge Computing for Real-Time Reactions
We’re going to look at edge computing next, particularly in the realm of fast-paced games like first-person shooters (Call of Duty, Halo, etc). In these games, latency can mean the difference between winning and losing. So, it’s super important to combat it using any means possible! Enter: edge computing. This tech is key to minimizing lag in these games by processing data closer to where it’s generated. Instead of relying on distant cloud servers to process inputs and provide responses, edge computing places servers near your location. This reduces the time it takes for data to travel, which in turn speeds up your interactions within the game.
For shooters, this means that the delay between firing your weapon and seeing the result on-screen is brought down – right down. Every millisecond counts, and this technology ensures that your reactions are captured in (as close to) real-time (as possible). Whether you’re aiming for a headshot or dodging enemy fire, edge computing keeps everything snappy, giving you the best chance of outmaneuvering your opponents.
Content Delivery Networks
Open-world games (think The Witcher 3, Skyrim, and Red Dead Redemption II) rely on massive amounts of data being streamed in a timely manner. It needs to arrive to your device as fast as you can explore the expansive landscape. To reduce the lag involved in loading new environments – or processing in-game interactions – developers use what are called Content Delivery Networks. For brevity, we’ll call them CDNs. CDNs distribute game data across a global network of servers, allowing the game to load assets from a server closer to your location rather than a central data center.
This localization of data processing basically ensures smoother gameplay. You’ll experience fewer delays when rendering environments or loading new areas. Players who got one of the big open-world games in the early days will remember glitches as textures caught up with your movement, or graphics “popped-in.” Now, this should be a thing of the past! CDNs reduce latency and make world exploration feel seamless. So, whether you’re galloping across the plains in Red Dead Redemption II or scaling mountains in Skyrim, CDNs keep everything much more immersive by reducing what? Latency.
AI-Powered Latency Prediction
AI was always going to make an appearance, now wasn’t it? It seems as though you can’t avoid it nowadays, and the truth is, it has been revolutionary in reducing latency, particularly in real-time strategy games (think Starcraft II or Age of Empires). In these games, rapid decision-making and precise execution are pretty much the name of the game. As such, latency can severely impact your ability to manage resources, command armies, or respond to enemy movements in time. To counteract this, AI-powered systems are being used to predict and manage latency – all in glorious real-time.
By analyzing your network conditions, AI can predict moments where latency might spike and adjust the game’s settings to minimize its impact. For example, it might lower the quality of non-critical elements, like background animations, while keeping the more crucial gameplay features responsive. AI might also reroute data to faster servers or optimize the timing of in-game commands. This adjustment helps keep your strategies intact, allowing you to execute your plan perfectly, without lag disrupting your flow.