More often, rubberbanding is caused by periodic spikes in ping that result in connection delays to a server. The ping needed to make rubber banding happen is high enough that you would immediately notice it. When we list high ping as an issue, we are referring to exceptionally high ping. This is more often an issue in fighting games where the density of inputs is extremely high.ĭropped or delayed inputs are usually a result of overall speed or the route your data takes to the server. Sometimes, it may feel like the game is not responding or “eating” your inputs due to a delay. Your controller inputs are relayed to a server through data packets. While the former is to create challenges for a human player, the latter exists to balance accuracy across a server. This holds true insofar that both put a strong emphasis on player position to improve the gaming experience. The principle of rubberbanding AI is in some ways similar to the rubberbanding at hand here.

The principle remains the same as in rubberbanding AI: to keep players on their toes, never totally outshining the in-game challengers. In some RPGs, enemies scale as players level up in order to ensure a consistent level of challenge. Rubberbanding also exists as a form of difficulty balancing in other types of single-player games. Though it adds tension, some may feel it punishes players for pushing ahead early in races. No matter how fast the player goes or how skillfully they maneuver, second place is always right behind them. prevents in-game opponents from drifting too far behind the player. In practice, sometimes no amount of skill is enough to put distance between you and other racers. In theory, a top racer should be able to leave the competition trailing far behind them. Each player has their own special position on the track in a racing game. is a notorious feature of many racing games, viewed as a way to add artificial difficulty.

Sisyphus tables