Predictive server-side rendering of scenes

A method for predicting user input and rendering a future scene of an application comprising:

• at a server device:
• receiving, at a server application program executed on the server device, a current user navigation input in a stream of user navigation inputs from a client device, over a network;
• calculating a predicted future navigation input based on the current user navigation input and a current application state of the server application program;
• determining, based on the current application state of the server application program, a plurality of alternative impulse input sequences for different permutations of impulse inputs that can occur within a communication lag time between the server device and client device;
• rendering a plurality of future scenes based on each of the alternative impulse input sequences and the predicted future navigation input to a plurality of rendering surfaces;
• and
• sending the plurality of alternative impulse input sequences and the plurality of rendering surfaces to the client device over the network.

A server device, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a storage device holding instructions for a server application program, executable by the processor to:
• receive, at the server application program, a current user navigation input in a stream of user navigation inputs from a client device over a network;
• calculate a predicted future navigation input based on the current user navigation input and a current application state of the server application program;
• determine, based on the current application state of the server application program, a plurality of alternative impulse input sequences for different permutations of impulse inputs that can occur within a communication lag time between the server device and client device;
• render a plurality of future scenes based on each of the alternative impulse input sequences and the predicted future navigation input to a plurality of rendering surfaces, wherein the plurality of future scenes are rendered with a larger field of view than a viewport of the client device;
• and
• send the plurality of alternative impulse input sequences and the plurality of rendered rendering surfaces to the client device over the network.