how to handle sound in a multiplayer game.

Game Mechanics
#1

so, should i just have the server send “play this sound” commands over the network?

#2

I should just handle sound as you handle graphics, so for example:
Server Sends Message: You Die.
Client: Screen Goes Black.
Client: Play Sound

#3

Things like sound etc should be entirely client-side.

For a ‘die’ sound, the server dispatches only data which needs to be synchronized (for example, a player’s health, or the fact that they’ve died) The client takes over when it comes to playing the blood-splash effects, or the die sound by inferring from what is presented by the server. The server should never say “play this sound” unless it explicitly wants to play the sound for just the sake of playing the sound.