Timely Arbitrator Selection in P2P Virtual Environments with 3D Voronoi Diagrams

Abstract

Dynamically selecting game-play arbitrators remains a key concern in fully Peer-to-Peer Virtual Environments (P2P-VE). The lack of hierarchical structures and dedicated servers mean suitable candidates must be chosen from amongst the peer population. These selected peers are elevated to the role of momentary referees, deciding on the outcomes of interactions (e.g., combat) between adversarial peers. Accordingly, a timely selection process will aid game-play responsiveness in such time-sensitive applications. There is a need to promptly affirm the arbitrator as delays will hinder peers from initiating combat, impeding game-play. The aim is to address this singular issue, investigating a myriad of selection policies contrived within the context of 3D Voronoi Diagrams (3D-VD). Prior art utilized basic 2D varieties to spatially cluster peers and limit network traffic growth. The work presented here augments this approach with a non-spatial Z-axis and the use of unique selection algorithms. Each mechanism is discussed and extensively tested, with detailed simulation results presented herein. We thus demonstrate 3D-VD's unique ability to deterministically appoint such on-the-fly adjudicators from localised candidate pools in a timely manner.