02-19-2011, 06:57 PM
You're confusing complexity with scale, most of the complex physics interaction and realtime effects in large multiplayer games are handled client-side, because you're all running the same engine with the same variables, the same thing will happen, it doesn't need to sync with the server or other players. (although this sometimes causes bugs where things glitch out, as probably all of us have seen at least a dozen times)
You also have to bare in mind that an engine for an FPS and an engine for a fighter are actually totally different.
Most FPS engines or other arena shooter-type games are effectively hardcoded for multiplayer, often the singleplayer campaign is actually a modification of the multiplayer, and not the other way around, they pull lots of tricks to fake things, like predicting where people are heading or filling in the gaps if there's packet-loss, this is why you see less people teleporting around these days.
But with fighting games there are no multiplayer-centric engines around, and because they rely heavily on latency and instant input there's no way to cover-up any lag or delay, especially if you're going right from single player to multi, the effect with be very obvious, in such fast-paced games even a phenomenal ping for an FPS will give you noteworthy delay in a fighter.
So you see, it's not that the game engines are more complex or less complex, they're actually not comparable because they work in totally different ways.
You also have to bare in mind that an engine for an FPS and an engine for a fighter are actually totally different.
Most FPS engines or other arena shooter-type games are effectively hardcoded for multiplayer, often the singleplayer campaign is actually a modification of the multiplayer, and not the other way around, they pull lots of tricks to fake things, like predicting where people are heading or filling in the gaps if there's packet-loss, this is why you see less people teleporting around these days.
But with fighting games there are no multiplayer-centric engines around, and because they rely heavily on latency and instant input there's no way to cover-up any lag or delay, especially if you're going right from single player to multi, the effect with be very obvious, in such fast-paced games even a phenomenal ping for an FPS will give you noteworthy delay in a fighter.
So you see, it's not that the game engines are more complex or less complex, they're actually not comparable because they work in totally different ways.