Class AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>

A variable that can be synchronized over the network. This version supports basic client anticipation - the client can set a value on the belief that the server will update it to reflect the same value in a future update (i.e., as the result of an RPC call). This value can then be adjusted as new updates from the server come in, in three basic modes:

• Snap: In this mode (with StaleDataHandling set to Ignore and no OnReanticipate(double) callback), the moment a more up-to-date value is received from the authority, it will simply replace the anticipated value, resulting in a "snap" to the new value if it is different from the anticipated value.
• Smooth: In this mode (with StaleDataHandling set to Ignore and an OnReanticipate(double) callback that calls Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate) from the anticipated value to the authority value with an appropriate Lerp(float, float, float)-style smooth function), when a more up-to-date value is received from the authority, it will interpolate over time from an incorrect anticipated value to the correct authoritative value.
• Constant Reanticipation: In this mode (with StaleDataHandling set to Reanticipate and an OnReanticipate(double) that calculates a new anticipated value based on the current authoritative value), when a more up-to-date value is received from the authority, user code calculates a new anticipated value, possibly calling Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate) to interpolate between the previous anticipation and the new anticipation. This is useful for values that change frequently and need to constantly be re-evaluated, as opposed to values that change only in response to user action and simply need a one-time anticipation when the user performs that action.

Note that these three modes may be combined. For example, if an OnReanticipate(double) callback does not call either Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate) or Anticipate(T), the result will be a snap to the authoritative value, enabling for a callback that may conditionally call Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate) when the difference between the anticipated and authoritative values is within some threshold, but fall back to snap behavior if the difference is too large.

Inheritance

object

NetworkVariableBase

AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>

Implements

IDisposable

Inherited Members

NetworkVariableBase.GetBehaviour()

NetworkVariableBase.Initialize(NetworkBehaviour)

NetworkVariableBase.SetUpdateTraits(NetworkVariableUpdateTraits)

NetworkVariableBase.DefaultReadPerm

NetworkVariableBase.DefaultWritePerm

NetworkVariableBase.Name

NetworkVariableBase.ReadPerm

NetworkVariableBase.WritePerm

NetworkVariableBase.SetDirty(bool)

NetworkVariableBase.MarkNetworkBehaviourDirty()

NetworkVariableBase.CanClientRead(ulong)

NetworkVariableBase.CanClientWrite(ulong)

object.Equals(object)

object.Equals(object, object)

object.GetHashCode()

object.GetType()

object.MemberwiseClone()

object.ReferenceEquals(object, object)

object.ToString()

Namespace: Unity.Netcode

Assembly: Unity.Netcode.Runtime.dll

Syntax

[Serializable]
[GenerateSerializationForGenericParameter(0)]
public class AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T> : NetworkVariableBase, IDisposable

Type Parameters

Name	Description
T	the unmanaged type for NetworkVariable<T>

Constructors

AnticipatedNetworkVariable(T, StaleDataHandling)

Initializes a new instance of the AnticipatedNetworkVariable class

Declaration

public AnticipatedNetworkVariable(T value = default, StaleDataHandling staleDataHandling = StaleDataHandling.Ignore)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
T	value	The initial value for the network variable. Defaults to the type's default value if not specified.
StaleDataHandling	staleDataHandling	Determines how the variable handles authoritative updates that are older than the current anticipated state. Defaults to StaleDataHandling.Ignore.

Fields

OnAuthoritativeValueChanged

Invoked any time the authoritative value changes, even when the data is stale or has been changed locally.

Declaration

public AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>.OnAuthoritativeValueChangedDelegate OnAuthoritativeValueChanged

Field Value

Type	Description
AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>.OnAuthoritativeValueChangedDelegate

StaleDataHandling

Controls how this network variable handles authoritative updates that are older than the current anticipated state

Declaration

public StaleDataHandling StaleDataHandling

Field Value

Type	Description
StaleDataHandling

Properties

AuthoritativeValue

Retrieves or sets the underlying authoritative value. Note that only a client or server with write permissions to this variable may set this value. When this variable has been anticipated, this value will alawys return the most recent authoritative state, which is updated even if StaleDataHandling is Ignore.

Declaration

public T AuthoritativeValue { get; set; }

Property Value

Type	Description
T

PreviousAnticipatedValue

Holds the most recent anticipated value, whatever was most recently set using Anticipate(T). Unlike Value, this does not get overwritten when a server update arrives.

Declaration

public T PreviousAnticipatedValue { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
T

ShouldReanticipate

Indicates whether this variable currently needs reanticipation. If this is true, the anticipated value has been overwritten by the authoritative value from the server; the previous anticipated value is stored in PreviousAnticipatedState

Declaration

public bool ShouldReanticipate { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
bool

Value

Retrieves the current value for the variable. This is the "display value" for this variable, and is affected by Anticipate(T) and Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate), as well as by updates from the authority, depending on StaleDataHandling and the behavior of any OnReanticipate(double) callbacks.

When a server update arrives, this value will be overwritten by the new server value (unless stale data handling is set to "Ignore" and the update is determined to be stale). This value will be duplicated in PreviousAnticipatedValue, which will NOT be overwritten in server updates.

Declaration

public T Value { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
T

Methods

Anticipate(T)

Sets the current value of the variable on the expectation that the authority will set the variable to the same value within one network round trip (i.e., in response to an RPC).

Declaration

public void Anticipate(T value)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
T	value	The anticipated value that is expected to be confirmed by the authority

Dispose()

Virtual IDisposable implementation

Declaration

public override void Dispose()

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.Dispose()

ExceedsDirtinessThreshold()

Checks if the current value has changed enough from its last synchronized value to warrant a new network update

Declaration

public override bool ExceedsDirtinessThreshold()

Returns

Type	Description
bool	True if the value should be synchronized, false otherwise

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.ExceedsDirtinessThreshold()

~AnticipatedNetworkVariable()

Finalizer that ensures proper cleanup of network variable resources

Declaration

protected ~AnticipatedNetworkVariable()

IsDirty()

Gets Whether or not the container is dirty

Declaration

public override bool IsDirty()

Returns

Type	Description
bool	Whether or not the container is dirty

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.IsDirty()

OnInitialize()

Initializes the network variable, setting up initial values and registering with the anticipation system

Declaration

public override void OnInitialize()

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.OnInitialize()

ReadDelta(FastBufferReader, bool)

Reads delta from the reader and applies them to the internal value

Declaration

public override void ReadDelta(FastBufferReader reader, bool keepDirtyDelta)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
FastBufferReader	reader	The stream to read the delta from
bool	keepDirtyDelta	Whether or not the delta should be kept as dirty or consumed

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.ReadDelta(FastBufferReader, bool)

ReadField(FastBufferReader)

Reads the complete state from the reader and applies it

Declaration

public override void ReadField(FastBufferReader reader)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
FastBufferReader	reader	The stream to read the state from

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.ReadField(FastBufferReader)

ResetDirty()

Resets the dirty state and marks the variable as synced / clean

Declaration

public override void ResetDirty()

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.ResetDirty()

Smooth(in T, in T, float, SmoothDelegate)

Interpolate this variable from from to to over durationSeconds of real time. The duration uses deltaTime, so it is affected by timeScale.

Declaration

public void Smooth(in T from, in T to, float durationSeconds, AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>.SmoothDelegate how)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
T	from	The starting value for the interpolation
T	to	The target value to interpolate towards
float	durationSeconds	The duration of the interpolation in seconds
AnticipatedNetworkVariable<T>.SmoothDelegate	how	A delegate that defines how the interpolation should be performed between the two values. It provides a function to interpolate between two values based on a percentage.

Update()

Updates the smooth interpolation state if active

Declaration

public void Update()

WriteDelta(FastBufferWriter)

Writes the dirty changes, that is, the changes since the variable was last dirty, to the writer

Declaration

public override void WriteDelta(FastBufferWriter writer)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
FastBufferWriter	writer	The stream to write the dirty changes to

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.WriteDelta(FastBufferWriter)

WriteField(FastBufferWriter)

Writes the complete state of the variable to the writer

Declaration

public override void WriteField(FastBufferWriter writer)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
FastBufferWriter	writer	The stream to write the state to

Overrides

NetworkVariableBase.WriteField(FastBufferWriter)

Events

CheckExceedsDirtinessThreshold

Determines if the difference between the last serialized value and the current value is large enough to serialize it again.

Declaration

public event NetworkVariable<T>.CheckExceedsDirtinessThresholdDelegate CheckExceedsDirtinessThreshold

Event Type

Type	Description
NetworkVariable<T>.CheckExceedsDirtinessThresholdDelegate

Implements

IDisposable