Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesA browser football game can skip the authoritative game server by having every browser run the same deterministic simulation and exchange only player inputs. In the open-source WebSoccer project, each browser computes the match and the score itself. A small relay pairs players and forwards messages. “Serverless” here means no central server simulates or validates the match. It does not mean no network service at all.
What WebSoccer actually does
WebSoccer is a browser-based arcade football game. Its README describes online play through four-character room codes. The simulation is pure and deterministic and runs at a fixed 60 Hz timestep. Randomness lives inside the game state, so it is part of what both browsers calculate identically. Each player’s controls are packed into a six-bit input mask.
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Peers never send positions, ball coordinates or scores. They send button inputs, and each browser works out the rest independently. The figures in this article are implementation parameters from the project’s own README (publication year not stated). They are not independent benchmarks.
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The role of the relay
The README puts it plainly: “The server pairs players by code and passes messages along — it does not know the rules and keeps no score.” That sentence comes from the project documentation, not a named individual.
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A relay is still needed because two browsers cannot find each other unaided. The README says WebRTC could lower latency by connecting players directly, but something would still have to introduce them. The project supports a self-hosted relay and describes a Cloudflare Worker option. That is implementation documentation, not an endorsement.
So there are two different things:
- A gameplay server runs the rules, decides goals and holds the truth. WebSoccer has none.
- A matchmaking, signaling or relay service introduces peers and carries bytes. WebSoccer still uses one.
How the mechanism works, step by step
- Both browsers load the same game version and start from equivalent state.
- Each browser advances the same fixed simulation step, so the same inputs always give the same result.
- Players exchange input masks rather than world snapshots. Determinism lets both sides derive identical ball, player and score state.
- Inputs are sent ahead of the tick where they will be used. This input delay gives remote input time to arrive. The delay adapts per player.
- If an input has not arrived, the simulation waits. It does not predict what the player did, so the two sides cannot guess differently.
- Each message repeats the last eight ticks of input. The README says this lets the protocol repair packet loss without a retransmission round trip.
- Once per second, peers exchange a state hash. A mismatch stops the match with a visible message, so divergence is detected rather than silently ignored.
The README estimates about 4 kB/s per player for the current JSON messages. That is the project’s own estimate, not a measurement by a third party.
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Lockstep versus rollback
WebSoccer uses input-delay lockstep. A different design point is rollback, which the browser library Telegraph implements. Rollback requires a deterministic fixed update loop and game state that can be saved and restored. It predicts the remote player’s input and carries on. When the real input arrives and differs, it restores an earlier state and re-simulates. Telegraph uses PeerJS, a WebRTC wrapper, for peer-to-peer data connections. It also says it needs a lobby server to connect peers before play.
| Axis | WebSoccer-style lockstep | Rollback (Telegraph) |
|---|---|---|
| Requirement | Identical results from identical state and inputs | Same, plus save/load of state and re-simulation |
| Late input | Simulation waits, so play can stall | Predicts, then corrects when real input arrives |
| Traffic | Compact inputs, not world snapshots | Inputs between peers |
| Peer discovery | Relay pairs players | Lobby server connects peers |
Host-authoritative designs differ again. Inputs go to the host and state updates come back, so traffic scales with state size.
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Trust and cheating
With no independent authority, nobody validates the result. The WebSoccer relay does not know the rules or keep scores. The state-hash check catches accidental desynchronisation, but the README does not describe it as an anti-cheat system. Treat competitive integrity as limited unless a trusted authoritative service is added.
Where transport choice fits
Browsers offer WebSockets, WebRTC and WebTransport. A published comparison of these emphasises latency, jitter and loss. It describes a tradeoff: WebSockets give reliable delivery, WebRTC data channels can behave more like UDP, and WebTransport offers datagrams. That is a general comparison, not a measurement of WebSoccer. It does not show that WebRTC always improves gameplay.
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What to remember
- “No game server” usually still leaves a relay, signaling or lobby service.
- Lockstep sends inputs. Every peer computes the state.
- Input delay reduces disagreement, but late inputs stall the match.
- Repeated recent inputs handle loss, and state hashes expose divergence.
- Rollback is a separate approach that needs saved state and re-simulation.
Repository details, hosted relay availability and browser transport support can change, so check the project before relying on it for deployment.
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