The tolareable lag range in a multiplayer game

Question

I am programming a multiplayer game. I calculate the ping in ms as :

ping = the_time_i_recieved_pong - the_time_i_sent_ping

I implemented client-side prediction and interpolation algorithms. When I test the game with my friends, it works quite fine for those who have a ping under 100ms, but after 120ms it becomes unplayable as they have told me. So my question is wheter I should try to improve the client's game experience under a latency more than 120 ms or not ( is a lag >120ms considered tolerable ? )

Thank you all !

NOTE : My game is a fast-paced game so the lag compensation matters.

Answer 1

Lag tolerance is very subjective - what works for one game might not work for another. That being said, if your play testers say things become unplayable, that's strong evidence that it's a problem for your specific game.

What to do about it is another matter. Before you go too deep into optimizing code, refactoring systems or working up some sort of interpolation system to approximate data that didn't arrive on time, it might help to get a better idea of what's really going on. I recall a story* in which the Halo: Reach devs added a 'I just saw lag' button to the development build to help pin down what was leading to the player's perception of lag. They used this in conjunction with system log files to focus on fixing things that were most damaging to the player experience.

*As noted on pg 318 of "Designing Games A Guide to Engineering Experiences" by Tynan Sylvester.

Answer 2

Explain multiplayer game.

In fps games, 100 milliseconds can change the outcome of your shots.

In civizilation-type games, you can have up to 1000 milliseconds without even noticing it, and up to 2000, without being seriously frustrated.

In games, where everyone does his thing, like in simcity 5 (let's assume simcity 5 is one of them, and it doesn't kicks you the moment your net goes out). A player can be offline for a long amount of time, and only send the information after he goes online again.