Multiplayer state sync backend
Design the real-time multiplayer state-sync backend for a fast-paced online game: rooms of up to 64 players, each sending ~20 input updates/sec, where everyone must see a consistent, low-latency view of the shared world (player positions, projectiles) despite 50–150ms client RTTs and occasional packet loss. Requirements: cheating-resistant (a client can't teleport itself), the world stays consistent across players, and a single hot region shouldn't degrade. Walk through the architecture, the consistency model, and the network protocol choices.
What a strong answer looks like
Clarify scale and constraints first. Propose a clean component breakdown, then go deep on the hard parts (data model, bottlenecks, consistency, failure modes) and name the trade-offs you are making.
Clarify5:30 left
Estimate5:30 planned
Design16:30 planned
Deep dive13:30 planned
Failure9:00 planned
Which questions mattered is sealed until you submit. Telling you now would just be handing over the edge cases.
Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.