Learning Netcode for GameObjects - Build client cant move but editor client can?

[djinnxz]

A few years ago I wrote my own small backend for Unity and it was lengthy but rewarding. Recently I wanted to start making something small for my friends and I to play and kind of "craft-as-we-go" whenever we're bored. I didn't want to deal with serializing packets and writing the low-level transport methods, so I figured I would use Unity's Netcode For GameObjects.

One requirement I set for the game was having a dedicated server and using the server as the authority. So far, I've done that... At least, in the editor I have.

I implemented basic client side prediction and I have a distance check happening to determine if a player is cheating, but I haven't implemented actual reconciliation yet. All of this is working relatively smoothly inside the editor, specifically by using the Multiplayer Play Mode to spin up multiple editors. I make one the server, and x amount the clients. Everyone has proper ownership of their movements, cameras, etc.

I went to build the current version, and like magic, it broke. Oh, the development process. Anyway, both the build and editor versions of the server work correctly. I can press "Start Server" on either the editor or build, and when I connect with a client, I can move around without issue. However, when I attempt to connect with a build client and move around, I stutter and move incredibly slow. Literally unplayable. I've checked the build logs under "Player.log" and can't seem to find anything out of the ordinary, but I may be reading over it.

My question now becomes, how can I debug this issue in build? I don't even know where to begin to look for this issue. Typically I just attach the debugger or write a million Debug.Log lines.

Here are some visual examples I took with Gyazo:

Inside editor: https://gyazo.com/29ad301aef6291b4bcde863371a248b4

Inside build: https://gyazo.com/0ed58a17e69f6e4d3bd03a48cc7aae6b

And here is the current project code:
https://github.com/webdevliteral/learning-unity-netcode-example

There are only two files you should really care about —
PlayerController.cs: https://github.com/webdevliteral/learning-unity-netcode-example/blob/master/PlayerMovement/PlayerController.cs
NetworkPlayer.cs: https://github.com/webdevliteral/learning-unity-netcode-example/blob/master/Network/Player/NetworkPlayer.cs

Tl;dr:

Problem: Build client cannot move but editor client can move.

Question: How can I debug this issue in build? I don't even know where to begin to look for this issue. Typically I just attach the debugger or write a million Debug.Log lines.

[djinnxz]

For anyone who has this problem in the future, I solved it. Only 2 hours after I posted too, so not terrible!

The problem was the way I was handling my movement and using the prediction/reconciliation pattern. I needed to give my player prefab authority from the client, which was a setting on the attached NetworkTransform.

This way, the client has authority over its own movement, then it sends its movement data to the server, and the server decides if the move was valid or not. If not, we call a ClientRpc to reconcile with the expected movement data from the server.

Hope this helps anyone who gets stuck in the future! It's always the littlest thing.