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[2020] Myths and Facts about crossplay in Spellbreak!


over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Hi y'all, I wanted to give some more information on how crossplay works in Spellbreak to clear up some common misconceptions.

Enabling crossplay allows you to create parties with players on other platforms. This is always enabled on Switch and PC, but you have the option to disable crossplay on PS4 and Xbox One. (Sony and Microsoft require this.) On those platforms, you can enable/disable Crossplay from the Accounts page.

MYTH: Enabling cross-play on PS4/XB1 means I'll be playing against PC players. Not true! You will only play against PC players if you have a PC player in your party.

MYTH: Switch players are playing at a disadvantage, since they are against PC/PS4/XB1 players. Not true! Switch players will only play against other Switch players, unless you have a player from PC or another console in your party.

FACT: Disabling Crossplay increases the time between matches. If you disable crossplay, you will only play in matches with other players who have crossplay disabled, which is a relatively small percentage of the overall playerbase. This is probably not what you want!

FACT: Disabling Crossplay means that you simply cannot play with friends on any other platform. This is probably an obvious point, but it means that you, a PS4 player, can't party with your buddy on XB1. You can, however, still play with your PS4 friends.

The Way Crossplay Actually Works

When crossplay is enabled, there are essentially 3 different matchmaking buckets:

  1. Switch Players
  2. XB1/PS4 Players
  3. PC Players

By default, you'll go into the bucket corresponding to your platform. If you make a party with other players, you will go into the bucket of the "highest" platform in the list. For example, if I'm on Switch and make a party with a PS4 player, we'll play in the XB1/PS4 bucket. If I'm on XB1 and make a party with a PC player, we'll play in the PC bucket.

The system was set up this way to help ensure everyone is on a level playing field, due to the variance in performance, resolution, and control schemes between the different platforms. We appreciate any feedback on the system and how it works as we continue to evolve.

Thanks and have fun, Breakers!

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over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Narwhal_Rider

And how does it work for solos? I ask because I mostly solo on PS4 with crossplay enabled, and will sometimes fight pc players. Never seen an xbox or switch player, but absolutely do fight pc players from time to time.

Solo is "you're in your bucket, period", since parties (and cross-platform parties) are not a thing. So, Switch Solo is always only against other Switch players, XB1/PS4 is separate, PC is separate.

[edit] If you see a PC-ish looking icon, that means they're on the opposite platform, not on PC. (Sony and Microsoft each prefer to pretend the other doesn't exist, so we can't show the other's platform's icons. That icon is intended as "generic other platform".)

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by lolidoli12

honestly massive thanks for this post, this realy helps clear up some stuff ^^

Happy to help! We're going to try to clear up some of the in-game messaging about this too.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Ozza_1

Could there be a possibility of adding maybe a slider for crossplay that could get you into different buckets? As a switch player I wouldn't mind trying to play against ps4 and xbox players as switch lobbies still are fairly bot dominated (Australia at least).

I can understand why it may not happen but I would interested.

It's an interesting idea. Obviously we wouldn't allow you to go to a "lower" platform, but an opt-in to go "higher" is possible.

We are also looking at adjusting the buckets per-region. Some regions (e.g. South America) have very few Switch consoles at all, which can lead to a subpar experience.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by mercury-me

Kinda makes me wonder how big the playerbase is on the Switch, compared to the other consoles? I play on Switch, and really enjoy this game! Probably one of my favorite games I've played in a while, just don't want it to die down on the Switch and leave me stranded, unless I want to play duos/squads with a random PC/Xbox/PS4 player. I suppose if this became an issue, Switch crossplay would probably be tweaked.

Switch playerbase is overall healthy, but as I mentioned in another reply, some regions simply don't have many Switches period (as in, there aren't even that many hardware units, let alone those playing Spellbreak). We're keeping an eye on that and may tweak things further on a per-region basis.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Narwhal_Rider

Thanks so much for clearing this up. So whenever i see that icon, it's someone on xbox. Good to know. It wasn't a huge deal, but now I can't blame my loss on superior mouse/keyboard aiming. Refreshing to see a developer be so honest about it. Thanks again, you are all fantastic. Really hooked now that I finally managed to win a few solo games. You have a truly unique game, and it is a blast to play.

Aw thanks. Means a lot. We have so much more in store. <3

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Happy_llama

Can PC players join a squad with friends on the PS4?

Yep! Add them as Spellbreak friends and you can party up. You’ll be playing in the “PC” bucket.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Sunnytoaist

pc players with controllers aren’t in console lobbies ?

Not currently. We may look at input-based matchmaking in the future, but doing that for PC raises some thorny questions because input method is only one factor of a level playing field.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Kururisama

Is there any insight into how AA is over performing on PC at this time? Is it anything above 60 FPS or a significantly higher threshold?

Playing on MKB, I haven’t run into a bunch of players landing most of their conduit shots like some people are describing. I have a friend I group with from time to time and think he runs at 60 FPS with an Xbox controller. Not seeing the extreme results that others are reporting and he avoids using conduit as a result.

Either way, hope you guys get it sorted soon without busting controller support on PC. It’s nice to have a level playing field for any supported input. I’m sticking to MKB either way. Don’t think I could stomach a projectile based game with a game pad. :p

Yeah, I think we've effectively resolved AA/PC issues in the next patch, but we'll be keeping an eye on it after the patch is out. (Still no ETA other than "ASAP".)

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by [deleted]

What about voice chat problems? Is this on the radar? My nephews and i play together and we have problems. Im on xbox and theyre both on ps4. They can hear each other fine but it says im muted, and i cant hear them

Haven't heard about this to be honest. If you would, please send an email to [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]), they can help you grab info to better diagnose.

over 3 years ago - /u/ogles_proletariat - Direct link

Originally posted by Yoshzilla

Hey thanks for the information. But its wrong. Tried it and turned Crossplay on. Played with three friends on Playstation 4 and we still get PC Player in our Lobby.

That "PC-ish" looking icon is meant as a generic "other platform" icon. Not PC. We're going to make a new icon to try to clarify this, but we cannot show explicit platform icons on other platforms.

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