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I learned about this multiplayer segregation recently, and It puzzles me. Is this a business decision? Or do they just not bother tp build their multiplayer pro

by pqhwan 10y ago

I learned about this multiplayer segregation recently, and It puzzles me. Is this a business decision? Or do they just not bother tp build their multiplayer protocols to be platform-agnostic?

huhtenberg 10y ago
If I were Valve, I would absolutely require isolating Steam players from the Microsoft Store buyers. The last thing Valve needs is leaking its customer base to Microsoft.
- Waterluvian 10y ago
  When a game has multiplayer servers, is Valve involved at all?
  - calessian 10y ago
    The steam API allows servers to verify a player owns the game and provides a server list. Actual networking once players are connected isn't part of its scope iirc.
  - huhtenberg 10y ago
    Don't know, but it doesn't really matter. Player segregation would be a clause in a contract between Activision and Valve first and foremost. How it's technically implemented is secondary.
  - catmanjan 10y ago
    Probably, a big factor could be the anticheat stuff - without the steam client inspecting game state, Microsoft store players could get away with aim bots or other exploits
prodigal_erik 10y ago
In the past they've justified segregating console players from the PC Master Race(tm) using better controllers, but Steam vs Windows Store seems pointless.
- darklajid 10y ago
  It's not. One is a 3rd party store that heavily invests into cross-platform support. The other one is a collection of useless gadgets with a crappy UI bolted on top of a generic OS. If the Windows Store dies (or stays irrelevant for games, forever and ever) than that's a good thing. I agree with your sibling comment: This is good for Valve and as long as Microsoft DOES refund people that use the Windows Store I'd say there's no harm done.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- monocasa 10y ago
  And I'd heard rumors of the excuse in the past wrt even cross console play (eg. Xbox vs Playstation) was semi officially security. They didn't want their network running code that didn't go through their cert process, and their mutual NDAs kept them from being able to officially cert the other system's build. That being said I'm sure their were marketing reasons too.

by pqhwan 10y ago

I learned about this multiplayer segregation recently, and It puzzles me. Is this a business decision? Or do they just not bother tp build their multiplayer protocols to be platform-agnostic?

huhtenberg 10y ago

If I were Valve, I would absolutely require isolating Steam players from the Microsoft Store buyers. The last thing Valve needs is leaking its customer base to Microsoft.

Waterluvian 10y ago
When a game has multiplayer servers, is Valve involved at all?
- calessian 10y ago
  The steam API allows servers to verify a player owns the game and provides a server list. Actual networking once players are connected isn't part of its scope iirc.
- huhtenberg 10y ago
  Don't know, but it doesn't really matter. Player segregation would be a clause in a contract between Activision and Valve first and foremost. How it's technically implemented is secondary.
- catmanjan 10y ago
  Probably, a big factor could be the anticheat stuff - without the steam client inspecting game state, Microsoft store players could get away with aim bots or other exploits

prodigal_erik 10y ago

In the past they've justified segregating console players from the PC Master Race(tm) using better controllers, but Steam vs Windows Store seems pointless.

darklajid 10y ago
It's not. One is a 3rd party store that heavily invests into cross-platform support. The other one is a collection of useless gadgets with a crappy UI bolted on top of a generic OS. If the Windows Store dies (or stays irrelevant for games, forever and ever) than that's a good thing. I agree with your sibling comment: This is good for Valve and as long as Microsoft DOES refund people that use the Windows Store I'd say there's no harm done.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
monocasa 10y ago
And I'd heard rumors of the excuse in the past wrt even cross console play (eg. Xbox vs Playstation) was semi officially security. They didn't want their network running code that didn't go through their cert process, and their mutual NDAs kept them from being able to officially cert the other system's build. That being said I'm sure their were marketing reasons too.