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Game Development vocabulary · Multiplayer & Networking

Authoritative server

Meaning in game development, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In game development, authoritative server means: A server that has the final say on what happens in an online game: players send their inputs, and the server decides the real results, which makes cheating harder.

In Turkish: yetkili sunucu, authoritative server

How it is used

Network programmers say a game is server-authoritative, or that the server is authoritative over health or position. The basic rule is 'never trust the client'. It is usually combined with client-side prediction to hide latency.

Example sentences

  1. With an authoritative server, a hacked client can't just give itself more gold.

  2. Damage is always calculated on the authoritative server, never on the player's machine.

Common collocations

  • server-authoritative
  • never trust the client
  • authoritative over
  • server validation
  • dedicated serverA computer, usually in a data center, that runs only the game server and the shared game world, while players connect to it instead of one player hosting the match.
  • client-side predictionA netcode technique in which the player's own device shows the result of their input immediately, before the server confirms it, and corrects it later if the server disagrees.
  • netcodeThe networking code of an online game that sends game data between players and servers and keeps everyone's view of the match in sync despite delays.
  • multiplayerDescribes a game or mode in which several people play together or against each other, online or on the same device. As a noun, it means the multiplayer part of a game.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Multiplayer & Networking

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