UNREAL ENGINE · MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY
Online multiplayer shooter · USC MFA thesis
Implemented Steam lobbies and server-authoritative weapons, improving the multiplayer experience under high latency.
Multiplayer shooting connects three concerns: bringing players into the same match, keeping combat outcomes consistent, and presenting movement under network latency. My work covered each part of that flow.
Integrated Steam Online Subsystem to connect lobby creation, joining, and match start into a playable multiplayer flow. The two-window recording below demonstrates players entering the same match.
Watch the lobby flow →Built a server-authoritative weapon system, using RPCs and property replication to synchronize firing, weapon state, and character interactions. Server-side trajectory, collision, and damage validation provide a shared basis for combat decisions.
Tuned the engine’s network smoothing and interpolation parameters to reduce position snapping and visual pulling under high latency. This work improved the visual continuity of movement while combat results remained subject to server validation.
Watch for: Compare both windows through lobby creation, joining, and match start, watching how each interface enters the same game.
Watch for: Watch how target objects move when the suction gun acts on them, relative to the muzzle.
Watch for: Compare the character’s state and healing feedback before and after entering the pool.
Watch for: Watch the jelly projectile’s motion and collision feedback, comparing its appearance with that of a rigid projectile.
Watch for: Compare screen visibility before and after the effect, noting how stains obstruct the affected player’s view.
Watch for: Watch the camera shake when the effect triggers, distinguishing screen motion from character movement.
Watch for: Compare character state and visual feedback before and after the photosynthesis ability triggers.
Watch for: Follow takeoff, airtime, and landing after the ability triggers, focusing on the bounce behavior.
Watch for: Follow the conveyor path through straight and curved sections, noting the direction of object travel.
Watch for: Track one object through a curved section, watching how its position follows the conveyor path.
Watch for: Compare object travel before and after using the switch, linking the interaction to the conveyor reversal.
Watch for: Watch successive objects and their spawn positions through the configurable spawning demonstration.
Watch for: Follow death, the interval, and reappearance, watching the character transition into respawn.
Watch for: Watch squash on impact, shape recovery, and bounce, relating the deformation direction to the contact surface.
View source code ↗Watch for: Track successive impacts on one object, then compare deformation and bounce across the others.