¶ Naraka's netcode
¶ Explaining Client-Server architecture
If Client-Server architecture doesn't ring a bell, then you shouldn't skip this part in order to understand the following parts.
Client definition: A client is in our case the game itself on a player's computer.
Server definition: A server is a computer, in our case hosted by Netease, that answers to client demands and that can be seen as the referee during a game.
When you make an action that interacts with other player, this action is sent to NetEase's server, is analyzed and is sent back to every other players impacted.
In general, any action sent by a client is verified by NetEase's server to watch if the user is trying to cheat (teleportation, fly-hack, invincibility, etc.).
¶ Information synthesis
¶ Initiative is key
Hitbox detection is effective on the client of the attacker. If you attack and on your screen you hit your opponent, even if the defenser saw himself dodge on the screen, he will be rollbacked on the position where he got hit by the attacker (on attacker client side).
Attakers will have priority in most actions.
As a defensive player, you can’t play passively and only play on reaction, because the ennemy’s attacks visuals are late compared to active hit frames.
Sometimes, you even take dammage before you can see the animation starts.
¶ Heroe specific
- Yoto-Hime f skill and v ultimate counts as a melee weapon.
- Tarka-Ji F3 fireball and Valda-Cui single bubble F1 have startup frames that sends a projectile, consequently the defensor see’s the same thing as the attacker.
Skills that can’t be rollback, this is why they break what we call semi-true combo :
| Charater | Skills | Skills icons |
|---|---|---|
| Tarka-Ji | F1, F2 |   |
| Justina | F1, F2, F3 |    |
| Viper-Ning | F1, F2, F3 |    |
¶ Bots specific
Training with bots is not the best option for the following reasons:
- They are fully managed on the server side, making their active frames perfectly synchronized with the server compared to what us, on the client side, can see.
- At 120 of ping and more, bots can’t touch you anymore.
- Sound of the attacks of bots is late compared to the animation.
¶ Parry
Parries are ping dependent.
The better your ping is, the more reactive it will be on the server side.
Parrying during a dodge animation cancels the delay between the client and the server, whatever your ping the parry is effective frame 1 after the i-frames dodge.
¶ Range weapons
- Shots of ranged weapons are not based on the client of the attacker, but server side.
- When you shoot even in movement, the bullet will go exactly where you shot, but with a delay depending on your ping.
- At long range this netcode is not really felt because the bullets have travel time anyway, consequently you have to predict like in classic FPS (First Person Shooters).
- However at short range you also have to predict more or less depending on your ping.
¶ Additional information
- The netcode is server-based.
- Grapples on ennemies are considered as an attack from a melee weapon in terms of netcode.
- Stagger duration are inconsistent, but no solid explanation was found on those
- Great sword release after a stoneform is very inconsistent.
- It can vary from 49 to 73 frames with a ping of 60 as a defensor.
- As the active frame of parry is 25 frames, you have to be quite precise.
¶ Conclusion
In general, Naraka is a game that stands out quite well with a server based netcode.
Even if rollback can happen in fights with a player having a high ping, most of the time the player with the lowest ping will have a significant advantage.
¶ Source
Source of previous information - Published in May 2022.
Synthesis of all those points was first written by LongNotes and translated by Maltemo.