Halo 2 and 3: A close look at multiplayer networking

Halo 2 multiplayerOne important aspect to a good multiplayer battle is a good network connection. And given that Halo 3 is tiered for multiplayer, it would make sense to know just how it works compared to Halo 2. To help us along on that note, we picked up on a discussion over at Bungie, which dealt with just this topic.

To get started, we’ll have to be aware of three networking terms: Latency, Lag and Ping.

  • Lag: Caused by a variety of problems in the connection. Examples include excessive traffic, router problems, damaged cables, etc.
  • Latency: The physical distance data has to travel from one end of a connection to another. Latency in this case can be affected by lag in several ways.
  • Ping: Measure of Latency.

Next on the discussion is a brief explanation of the Halo 2‘s networking:

Halo 2 uses a distributed networking model, where 1 xbox hosts the game, and all the other xboxes in that game are clients. This requires a little more bandwidth from the xbox hosting the game than if it were connected to a dedicated server.


Given this particular setup, you might be wondering “Why not use a server?” While using a dedicated server may solve some like slowdowns, in the long run, maintaining a server costs more than its benefits. For one, the problems of cheating and “host advantage” are still there. Second, a dedicated server won’t completely eliminate the problem of game lag. And third, running an maintaining a dedicated server is too expensive for either Bungie or Microsoft to delve into.

With that in mind, Halo 3‘s network model is similar to Halo 2, but with more “trust” being entitled to the client servers around the host. And while this doesn’t completely remove the aforementioned problems, it at least lessens them. For example, shots you fire will hit where they’re aimed provided that lag and latency are within workable limits.

That should provide a glimpse of one of the several improvements Bungie’s working out for Halo 3. For the guys who still prefer a more hands-on approach to see the difference, you might want to sign up for testing

Via Bungie

Halo 2 multiplayerOne important aspect to a good multiplayer battle is a good network connection. And given that Halo 3 is tiered for multiplayer, it would make sense to know just how it works compared to Halo 2. To help us along on that note, we picked up on a discussion over at Bungie, which dealt with just this topic.

To get started, we’ll have to be aware of three networking terms: Latency, Lag and Ping.

  • Lag: Caused by a variety of problems in the connection. Examples include excessive traffic, router problems, damaged cables, etc.
  • Latency: The physical distance data has to travel from one end of a connection to another. Latency in this case can be affected by lag in several ways.
  • Ping: Measure of Latency.

Next on the discussion is a brief explanation of the Halo 2‘s networking:

Halo 2 uses a distributed networking model, where 1 xbox hosts the game, and all the other xboxes in that game are clients. This requires a little more bandwidth from the xbox hosting the game than if it were connected to a dedicated server.


Given this particular setup, you might be wondering “Why not use a server?” While using a dedicated server may solve some like slowdowns, in the long run, maintaining a server costs more than its benefits. For one, the problems of cheating and “host advantage” are still there. Second, a dedicated server won’t completely eliminate the problem of game lag. And third, running an maintaining a dedicated server is too expensive for either Bungie or Microsoft to delve into.

With that in mind, Halo 3‘s network model is similar to Halo 2, but with more “trust” being entitled to the client servers around the host. And while this doesn’t completely remove the aforementioned problems, it at least lessens them. For example, shots you fire will hit where they’re aimed provided that lag and latency are within workable limits.

That should provide a glimpse of one of the several improvements Bungie’s working out for Halo 3. For the guys who still prefer a more hands-on approach to see the difference, you might want to sign up for testing

Via Bungie

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