netcode

Netcode is a blanket term most commonly used by gamers relating to networking in online games, often referring to synchronization issues between clients and servers.

Players often blame "bad netcode" when they experience lag or reverse state transitions when synchronization between players is lost. Although these events are sometimes caused by bugs, other networking-related causes include high latency between server and client, packet loss, or network congestion. Depending on the game implementation, these issues can also be caused by non-network factors such as frame rendering time or inconsistent frame rate. Netcode is often designed to mask networking irregularities and create a synchronous and smooth gamestate across multiple users.