FRONTIER

Details

Project Description
This personal project is a third-person multiplayer shooter built in Unreal Engine 5, serving as both a technical deep dive into advanced multiplayer networking and a hands-on exploration of game feel and design. While the core mechanics are still evolving, I am actively conducting playtests—both within my own project and across other games in the genre—to refine movement, shooting responsiveness, and overall player experience. Through structured playtest questionnaires, I am gathering data to better understand what makes third-person shooters engaging and how those principles can be applied to my game. This iterative process not only lays the foundation for a strong future direction but also sharpens my ability to balance technical implementation with gameplay refinement.

Multiplayer Plugin & Lag Compensation
A major focus of this project has been designing a custom Unreal Engine plugin for multiplayer matchmaking and network optimization, ensuring smooth, low-latency interactions in a fast-paced shooter environment. The system leverages several lag compensation techniques, including server-side rewind, where the server reconstructs past game states to verify player actions against hit registration. I also implemented lag simulation tools to test networking scenarios, helping fine-tune prediction models and reduce desync. The networking layer is built around client-side prediction and frame reconciliation, allowing player inputs to be processed instantly while still being validated against authoritative server updates. These optimizations create a responsive gameplay experience where movement and shooting feel smooth even in high-latency conditions, making online play more reliable and engaging.

CI/CD Pipeline & Scalable Development
To support rapid iteration and scalable development, I built a cloud-based CI/CD pipeline using Unreal Engine Horde, AWS, and Perforce. This system automates builds across distributed cloud machines, enabling parallelized compilation that significantly reduces build times. By offloading these tasks to cloud resources, the pipeline ensures that new changes can be tested and deployed efficiently without manual intervention. The power of this approach lies in its ability to maintain a continuous feedback loop—developers can push updates, trigger automated tests, and receive build results quickly, allowing for a faster development cycle. This infrastructure is crucial for multiplayer development, where frequent network adjustments require rigorous testing across multiple machines to ensure stability and performance at scale.