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Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

Cryptic's Anti-Cross Platform Play Masterstroke.

leemwatsonleemwatson Member Posts: 5,508 Arc User
edited March 16 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
We've seen over the years that Consoles got STO, requests and questions why we can't play cross-platform. Basically the answer is because if one platform's update doesn't get pushed, it locks out those players and naturally some people refused to believe it.

Well, it happened to SEGA's live-service game, Phantasy Star Online 2, yesterday, and we're still waiting for MS to push the update after 36 hours. Everyone on Windows Store and XB is locked out of the game!

https://pso2.com/players/news/1387/

I think at least twice there has been an issue with Sony or MS pushing updates for STO, but it didn't keep folk locked out, because we're all on different servers.

So Cryptic deserve some credit in their decision to not go this route.
"You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on

Comments

  • annemarie30annemarie30 Member Posts: 2,698 Arc User
    I don't think it's that as much as getting the languages on different servers to talk to each other. I'm sure the programming language from 14 years ago is not the same as what is on the PS and Xbox servers
    We Want Vic Fontaine
  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,690 Arc User
    edited February 15
    annemarie30 wrote: »
    I don't think it's that as much as getting the languages on different servers to talk to each other. I'm sure the programming language from 14 years ago is not the same as what is on the PS and Xbox servers

    The two consoles would've been easier to integrate since they were new development at the same time, but there you run into Sony -- at the time Sony was very much against cross play.

  • banshirbanshir Member Posts: 104 Arc User
    leemwatson wrote: »
    Everyone on Windows and XB is locked out of the game!

    You mean Microsoft Store users are locked out. I don't see anyone complaining on the Steam forums. Microsoft Store users could just download the Steam version and link accounts and continue playing. And maybe Epic Games Store version too.
  • crypticarmsmancrypticarmsman Member Posts: 4,115 Arc User
    The issue has always ben that both Sony and Microsoft require more in depth validation of a patch WRT bugs, etc. before they will allow it to be pushed. Since the PC version is the one Cryptic has total control over; they release the patch to PC - and with a effective Live test, it allows them to do better bug fixing and validation for the PSx and XBox versions so that the patch can be pushed there.

    As far as the servers - they're all either some flavor of Linux or whatever the current version of MS Server is these days. The only bespoke server side interfaces are the stores which need to go through Sony/MS; but overall the servers are the same codebase and the only real code diversions are the clients for PC and PSx and Xbox.
    Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012
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  • leemwatsonleemwatson Member Posts: 5,508 Arc User
    banshir wrote: »
    leemwatson wrote: »
    Everyone on Windows and XB is locked out of the game!

    You mean Microsoft Store users are locked out. I don't see anyone complaining on the Steam forums. Microsoft Store users could just download the Steam version and link accounts and continue playing. And maybe Epic Games Store version too.

    Apologies, that's what I meant...lol
    "You don't want to patrol!? You don't want to escort!? You don't want to defend the Federation's Starbases!? Then why are you flying my Starships!? If you were a Klingon you'd be killed on the spot, but lucky for you.....you WERE in Starfleet. Let's see how New Zealand Penal Colony suits you." Adm A. Necheyev.
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,980 Arc User
    edited February 16
    crypticarmsman wrote: »
    The issue has always ben that both Sony and Microsoft require more in depth validation of a patch WRT bugs, etc. before they will allow it to be pushed. Since the PC version is the one Cryptic has total control over; they release the patch to PC - and with a effective Live test, it allows them to do better bug fixing and validation for the PSx and XBox versions so that the patch can be pushed there.

    It's surmountable. The issue is that the xbox, PC, and Sony versions of the game were built for each platform and not interoperability. That would have taken more resources which, at the time STO was released on consoles, wasn't likely to play out well as Sony/Microsoft were far less interested in crossplatform play then. So that equates to higher cost and longer development time for a more complex implementation (cue long term issues in keeping that running) for little benefit. Also factor in the marketing call of allowing console players to have a fresh go at the game without long-embedded PC players dominating PVE and markets.

    Build a game from the ground up now and Cryptic's more likely to go cross platform (which is increasingly becoming a default, in spite of certification). But for 2016 Cryptic (and the general lesson of the thread): build within your means and strategic priorities.
    Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
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  • phoenixc#0738 phoenixc
    phoenixc#0738
         Member Posts: 5,881 Arc User
    edited February 16
    There is also the factor that back in 2014 or 2015, which would be the latest STO would have been planning the Console version(s) of the game for them to be able to launch them by 2016, consoles had a lot more differences between them and PCs.

    For instance, Defiance had no end of troubles trying to work within the limits of the overlap between the various systems' capabilities without breaking the game for one or more of them. PC physics was a lot better than Console physics then for one thing, and trolls found out they could crash out all the console players nearby by firing the Crimefighter shotgun (it had bouncing energy 'pellets') into a tight space so the rapid bouncing would crush the console's (relatively) limited ability to handle the physics calculations, and that game's devs had no choice but to eventually nerf the Crimefighter into uselessness to fix the problem despite trying many other solutions first.

    And that was just one of many compatibility issues they had back then. It is true that PC and Console have closed the gap a lot since then, but even nowadays there are still differences that can cause interplay issues depending on exactly how a particular game is coded.

    And yes, it is not insurmountable, especially nowadays, but is allocating the large amount of people and other resources required to try and combine three systems that already work well enough separately into one interoperable one really worth the results when STO is so shorthanded already?
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