To devs: concerned about crossplay

[Elegant Caveman]

I know I'm a bit late, but I just heard that crossplay is coming.

Searching the forum, I see it's been discussed for a while, but I haven't played since launch and haven't been paying much attention since then, so this was a surprise to me.

Crossplay usually means EOS (Epic Online Services), and I know your publisher is pro-Epic, having gone Epic-exclusive with Satisfactory, and I believe that was one of the first games (at least on Steam) to use EOS (it was the first time I heard of it, at any rate).

I love Valheim, but I'm not interested in crossplay, and I want absolutely nothing to do with anything from Epic. I consider the company (as a whole) cancer, and EOS (specifically) spyware. They've already proven themselves untrustworthy[www.gamesindustry.biz] when it comes to user data.

I beg you: if you do use EOS, make it optional.

In most cases, games which use EOS for their multiplayer connect to Epic's servers as soon as you launch the game, regardless of if a user is using crossplay, or even multiplayer at all, which I honestly find completely unacceptable and disgusting.

A couple of games (like Hammerting and Warhammer 40k: Gladius) only "activate" EOS when the user actually tries to use the multiplayer, which is a bit better.

The best implementation I've seen of it so far is with Titan Quest, where—after heavy backlash from the community for forcing them to use EOS—the devs made it a launch option instead.

I don't know what other crossplay options there might be, but whatever road you end up choosing, I just hope you won't force those of us who want nothing to do with it to be forced to put up with any connections to or account creation with third parties.

I bought the game on Steam, expecting to play through Steam. If I knew at the time I'd have to connect to Epic servers or through a Microsoft account, I wouldn't have bought it.

If you force us to accept a third party at this point, I hope you'll offer refunds. I know you won't. But I hope for it anyway.

[jonnin]

crossplay could just mean that the player run servers can talk to each other across platforms. That isn't hard to do -- generally you just need to keep all the versions in sync on updates & handle endian issues (long story short: integers in a CPU can be like 1234 or 4321 for the same number, depending on how they ran the wires, so you have to flip them on some platforms).

[Nascarman]

I doubt it, servers aren’t dedicated so it wouldn’t be hosted by epic anyway. There’s no need for EOS when you run player hosted servers

[Hiryukaen]

They use Playfab backend for crossplay.
https://playfab.com/
I don't even think Valheim is coming to epic games. Why would it use a connection server for a platform it's not even on?

Its on Steam and Microsoft & by association Xbox.

There was already an answered question about how Xbox users will run dedicated servers.

The short answer is xbox users can't.
They have to use a pc to host the server either themselves(or friends) or rent a server. They will however still be able to host their own games for multiplayer that are session based, just like pc users do when not using dedicated servers.

https://www.valheimgame.com/news/patch-0-211-7-crossplay/

[Elegant Caveman]

Thank you all, you give me hope.

Originally posted by Hiryukaen:

I don't even think Valheim is coming to epic games. Why would it use a connection server for a platform it's not even on?

Roboquest uses EOS for its multiplayer and crossplay, and it's not on Epic's store, so that doesn't really mean anything.

Originally posted by Hiryukaen:

https://www.valheimgame.com/news/patch-0-211-7-crossplay/

Thanks for linking this. It's great news in itself.

If they already have functioning crossplay without EOS to MS' store and PC Game Pass, they're likely to keep using that system for Xbox as well; if they planned to use EOS, they'd have probably already done so. It would be weird to use a temporary system, then switch to another.

[Irongate Smiffe]

Firstly. Crossplay (Playfab) is a microsoft system, not Epic game store.

So if you use Microsoft Game Pass, you only have the option for crossplay with playfab.

If you use the Steam client, you have the option for both!

[Elegant Caveman]

Originally posted by Irongate Smiffe:

Firstly. Crossplay (Playfab) is a microsoft system, not Epic game store.

Great to hear! Assuming you have no intention of changing that.

Originally posted by Irongate Smiffe:

So if you use Microsoft Game Pass, you only have the option for crossplay with playfab.

If you use the Steam client, you have the option for both!

If I'm understanding this correctly, this means that as long as I only play the game on Steam, and don't use crossplay, I won't be forced to interact with any third-parties outside of Steam's ecosystem?

[Hiryukaen]

Originally posted by Elegant Caveman:

Originally posted by Irongate Smiffe:

Firstly. Crossplay (Playfab) is a microsoft system, not Epic game store.

Great to hear! Assuming you have no intention of changing that.

Originally posted by Irongate Smiffe:

So if you use Microsoft Game Pass, you only have the option for crossplay with playfab.

If you use the Steam client, you have the option for both!

If I'm understanding this correctly, this means that as long as I only play the game on Steam, and don't use crossplay, I won't be forced to interact with any third-parties outside of Steam's ecosystem?

For steam users when starting a game you have the option to turn crossplay on or not.
Steam users hosting a dedicated server you have the option to enable crossplay or not.

It's fairly obvious too when you go to start your game. There are 3 toggles.
Start server this enables multiplayer instead of single player.
Community server enables it to be listed publicly in the community tab.
Cross play enables crossplay.