Supportsoft Glossary

Netcode: Synchronizing Gameplay

Netcode is what stops online games from being a laggy mess. Information takes time to travel from Sydney to New York. Good netcode hides that delay. It uses tricks like "prediction"—guessing where a player is going to move before the server even confirms it.

When it works, you don't notice it. When it breaks, you get "rubber-banding"—teleporting backwards. It’s infuriating. As a game developer in Sydney, this is our bread and butter. We optimize the data packets to be tiny, ensuring the game stays synced even if someone is