Unlock PWs on multiplayer list for consoles
TomRotfl
Member Posts: 26
Hey there, it has been a while since I have been writing something in here!
I am super active on Discord though, between the NWN Vault and NWNX channels, as well as on GitHub, where I report issues whenever I find one.
I have been quite busy in the development of my PW, and I am really satisfied with what we have achieved so far.
There is still a long road to perfection, but we have reached a level of stability, optimization and content quality which makes me proud of the team of developers that worked with me so far.
Now that I see the results of the hard work we all put in here, a question comes to my mind about consoles multiplayer PWs:
Is there in the plans the idea to consider unlocking the multiplayer list to all other PWs?
I remember that only 2 PWs were allowed in the beginning because NWN was just released on consoles, mobile devices were still to upgrade, and there were some requirements for a PW to be allowed on consoles, like the use of NWSync (which was quite new as a feature at that time), have a stable PW that could support high amount of players, etc.
Now, I believe that most of popular PWs have achieved these goals, and it would be fair to allow other PWs to be played on consoles.
What do you guys think?
I am super active on Discord though, between the NWN Vault and NWNX channels, as well as on GitHub, where I report issues whenever I find one.
I have been quite busy in the development of my PW, and I am really satisfied with what we have achieved so far.
There is still a long road to perfection, but we have reached a level of stability, optimization and content quality which makes me proud of the team of developers that worked with me so far.
Now that I see the results of the hard work we all put in here, a question comes to my mind about consoles multiplayer PWs:
Is there in the plans the idea to consider unlocking the multiplayer list to all other PWs?
I remember that only 2 PWs were allowed in the beginning because NWN was just released on consoles, mobile devices were still to upgrade, and there were some requirements for a PW to be allowed on consoles, like the use of NWSync (which was quite new as a feature at that time), have a stable PW that could support high amount of players, etc.
Now, I believe that most of popular PWs have achieved these goals, and it would be fair to allow other PWs to be played on consoles.
What do you guys think?
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Comments
It has been asked for and debated several times over and unfortunately I think it is not as low effort as it may seem.
There has been no real answer on why and I doubt it will happen.
That demands a disproportionate effort from both the developer and the amateur authors (not to mention censorship).
If that's the case here, the wonder is that any PWs have made it onto consoles.
Can you give an example?
Hard to imagine
TR
You should be asking @felipebsr - you just fell in the hole I dug - my bad
I highlighted the applicable part to this topic in this Julius quote from several years ago. For anyone needing a translation to such an amazingly evasive statement the answer then, as is now, is: "It will never happen, but at least we're not actually going to tell you it will never happen!"
Perhaps
i said specifically about the license required for devs to publish on consoles. Perhaps it would be more productive if you provided examples of fan made content vetoed then connect to the PW issue originally posted here. Because PWs are not intrinsically fan made contents.
This thread has nothing to do with developer licenses.
It's about whether consoles allow fan-made content without vetting.
They definitely do, the 2 PWs allowed so far ARE fan-made content. Beamdog has made the choice to select them based on some parameters I do ignore (probably population and direct connection with Beamdog staff maybe.. I mean, they know each other, that's it).
This means that it is definitely possible to post other PWs if they want to.
These PWs must meet the same list of requirements to be there, and this is why I don't feel right that all other PWs are excluded.
It's not just about technical feasibility - vetting takes time and money.
We have a similar situation with SP modules - only a handful are showcased via NWSync. From what I've seen of that adoption process, it's fairly rigorous, so I wouldn't expect to see many more anytime soon.
Taking the COVID pandemic's effect on all digital media engagement into account I don't believe I have ever seen any evidence of a considerable console population for NWN. Unless Beamdog, or either Arelith staff or Ravenloft staff can share data or evidence, then I see no reason to make the conclusion that there is a significant untapped population.
In a practical sense as the current evidence stands I only support one general reason for console access to persistent worlds. Do you want to allow access to a pw because a real flesh and blood friend wishes to play on your world? Or do you want to allow access to a pw because you believe it will become popular? I only support the first line of reasoning and consider the second line of reasoning as unsupported wishful thinking. On the assumption that an approval process would consume resources I do not see how the second line of reasoning can be justified in the reality we live in.
On the other hand I do believe that there ought to be access for everyone and at least an approval process for everyone. Unfortunately practical considerations weigh more heavily than what ought to be in a matter like this.
On the other-other-other hand, if you can make your pw more popular on PC than either Arelith or Ravenloft then Beamdog ought to give your pw fair consideration. That would be somewhat consistent with their previous behavior.
Because, you know, they have the source-code of the game. Spawning all custom content in a area for checking, a algorithm to check violations to their PEG 12 classifications are not really hard to do. I'd like to see a post from them regarding this subject, it's of their interest too getting more people to buy their game and play.
As for it being in their interest to make the game popular I don't think anyone can really say that without some kind of evidence to support their assumption. As far as I know none of the parties involved have shared or commented on the console related metrics, but the online server list never blew up in player population except for COVID lockdowns. So without better evidence what we have strongly suggests: not worth it.
Even if it's not satisfactory I do think people are due an updated official response on this in 2022. Even if the vetting process takes too much to be worthwhile as some have assumed just posting a message on their website or forum should cost nothing.
Except for @JuliusBorisov's wages
TR
I run a PW too and would love to see console support open up. So I'm genuinely interested in this if anyone familiar with consoles can chime in with some data.
Personally I think this is the biggest barrier for consoles and probably why it would vetted. That and their typically anti-consumer practices. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo tend to mostly be similar in this regard. Android doesn't have this restriction. iOS is also pretty restrictive about the data and amount allowed on your device. iOS and Android don't have any multiplayer server restrictions iirc. No toolset is included either similar to consoles.
4GB is pretty restrictive depending on what you use and adding any content from the community like cep or project q will quickly put you over this limit. That is in addition to any other barriers - knowing how to setup a web server for nwsync for example.