System designHardsd-g518

Subject Real time systemsLevel Senior–Staff~50 minCommon in Distributed systems interviewsIndustries Computer games, Technology, Software development

Question

Design the authoritative server netcode for a fast multiplayer shooter. 64 players per match, server tick rate 60Hz, players have 20–150ms RTT over the public internet. Requirements: cheat-resistant (server is authoritative), feels responsive (firing/movement appear instant locally), and resolves 'did my shot hit?' fairly despite latency. Bandwidth per client is limited.

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.

Learn the concepts

Narrate your design

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Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.