isn't this basically a solved problem (if tricky to implement correctly)? you have a game simulation update rate that is decoupled from the graphics framerate a

isn't this basically a solved problem (if tricky to implement correctly)? you have a game simulation update rate that is decoupled from the graphics framerate and give a local timestamp to every update. then the server compares the timestamps to decide which action occurred first and updates game state accordingly. if you make the simulation logic simple enough or pick a conservative update rate (I believe battlefield is or used to be 10 Hz), you can ensure that even min-specced machines almost never have to skip a simulation frame.