Replayable & Delta-Driven

[eduardomoroni]

2. Replayable & Delta-Driven:
   • Core Idea: Every game must be fully replayable from an initial state and a sequence of actions. State updates are primarily communicated and stored as "deltas" (the differences between states).
   • Rationale & Benefits:
     • Network Efficiency: Sending only deltas significantly reduces bandwidth, crucial for responsive online play, especially with complex game states.
     • Latency Reduction: Smaller data payloads contribute to faster transmission and a smoother player experience.
     • Auditing & Debugging: Allows for precise reconstruction of any game state for debugging, analyzing specific scenarios, or even for cheat detection.
     • Robust Synchronization: Clients can efficiently catch up or reconcile by applying a sequence of deltas from the server.
     • Optimistic Updates & Reconciliation: Clients can apply deltas optimistically and later reconcile with server-authoritative deltas.