Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers

It not PvP that was the problem. For me, I just dont wanna deal with Pc players, and at times..Xbox servers tend to be quiet and silly rather than crazy and hectic.

Keep them.

@burnbacon said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

It not PvP that was the problem. For me, I just dont wanna deal with Pc players, and at times..Xbox servers tend to be quiet and silly rather than crazy and hectic.

Keep them.

No offence, but that seems to be quite a 'you' problem though. If you don't like PC players, I fail to see why that should affect everyone else?

From my experience playing COD on my 360 back in the day, and playing Overwatch on the current gen of Xbox, Xbox players can be just as loud/toxic as any other group. A quick look through this sub-reddit will show you that https://www.reddit.com/r/XboxMessages/. Xbox players aren't all unicorn loving, peaceful, angelic players, despite their claims to the contrary. There is overwhelming evidence to prove this isn't the case, so renders your point moot. And being a 'girl gamer' on these games, I know better than most the kind of messages that are sent, as I'm on the receiving end of them!

But this is besides the point, we all know any person online can be rude/loud/toxic etc, irrespective of the platform they are using. I don't want this to turn into "they are worse than us" situation as it will be locked.

And anyway, isn't the one of the reasons they could be "crazy and hectic" due to PC players being more manoueverable with keyboard and mouse? So really, you have inadverantly provided support for this idea without even realising it! Controller players with other controller players, irrespective of platform.

This is why I presented a serious viewpoint with actual facts and reasons for the removal of this current setup, which currently only benefits one group.

Input-based servers, benefits everyone.

@maidenofarkham wanting to get rid of x box only sounds like a “you” problem;)

@robby0316 Making the game fairer for everyone who uses a controller, isn't a 'me' problem though.

One of the original arguments presented by Xbox players for these servers, was that their hardware wasn't comparable (especially the lack of an SSD, even though all PC's don't come with an SSD as standard), well, now it is, so that argument is out the window.

I've already provided proof that Xbox players can be loud/toxic, just like PC players, so that argument is out the window.

Given that the current setup means Xbox players can still enter the crossplay pool, but my suggestion means they won't, Xbox players also benefit from this change.

Do remember, I own both an Xbox and PC, so have no leanings towards either platform. I play SoT almost exclusively on my Xbox.

@maidenofarkham I know x box kids who use keyboard and I know of pc kids who use controllers. I think the problem is accuracy of keyboard kids vs controller as the center of the screen/ where your bullet goes is your mouse. Meaning x box kids actually have to think before they shoot instead of just whipping a mouse around while doublegunning

Do you know how easy it would be for a pc player who is mad to just swap back to keyboard and mouse?

@robby0316 said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

@maidenofarkham I know x box kids who use keyboard and I know of pc kids who use controllers. I think the problem is accuracy of keyboard kids vs controller as the center of the screen/ where your bullet goes is your mouse. Meaning x box kids actually have to think before they shoot instead of just whipping a mouse around while doublegunning

And having input-based servers fixes this, as it will be controller vs controller and k/m vs k/m.

Do you know how easy it would be for a pc player who is mad to just swap back to keyboard and mouse?

And so can Xbox players. Plus, I'm certain there will be a way for Rare to lock the input method when chosen, other games can do this.

@maidenofarkham the odds of x box players on keyboard are much lower than playing with pc kids who start losing and switch to keyboard.

If they could cancel your ability to switch input then I would 100% agree with you

@robby0316 said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

If they could cancel your ability to switch input then I would 100% agree with you

100%, I'd want this too.

@robby0316 Microsoft was able to do it in halo infinite. Locking a server to just controllers would create a very fair environment. The other just be all.

I'm a pc/controller player. Most of my friends are pc/kbm. So clearly it doesn't matter what server I play on.

@galactic-geek Spitting facts Sir. Input-based servers will even this for both sides.

@fishyjoesalt Oh look, a toxic reply from an Xbox player, imagine that. Apparently these don't exist though. Someone else who doesn't care about the entire community, only themself. Nice contribution to the discussion, really mature and helpful.

I don't know if you even read my post, but my suggestion literally says this would also benefit existing Xbox players, as you'd NEVER have to play on cross-play servers, like you currently do.

As an FYI, I currently play on an Xbox for SoT, but also have access to play on PC. More often than not, I play on Xbox though as I like to play on the bigger screen.

There should be last gen/current gen and PC spec required servers too then if you're trying to keep it fair.

We didn't hear about "rampant cheating as often before the Steam version was released either.

I play Xbox only because I appreciate my walled garden.

@pithyrumble said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

There should be last gen/current gen and PC spec required servers too then if you're trying to keep it fair.

We didn't hear about "rampant cheating as often before the Steam version was released either.

I mean, the "rampant cheating" doesn't really exist, you've said as much yourself recently in this thread https://www.seaofthieves.com/community/forums/topic/148474/anti-cheat/70

@pithyrumble said

Played since launch week.
Like 102 days of game time according to Xbox lol.
I have never seen a cheater or had a cheat used against me...

So you've played since week one, which was before the opt-out existed, yet have never seen a cheater.

And in regards to this

I play Xbox only because I appreciate my walled garden.

It's not a fully walled garden, as it's only a 'preferred' choice. With locked input-based, it will be fully walled.

@fishyjoesalt said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

Those that gripe about things not being "fair" are often those that always think they're owed something. Get on with it

Well, how did Xbox players get their 'Xbox preferred' servers? By doing exactly that. Slightly hypocritical don't you think? Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

@maidenofarkham

I stand by that statement.
Because I play Xbox preferred.

I don't think there is a cheat problem. But I avoid everyone like the plague.

Making input the decision opens me up to playing with PC players, who is my own experience are much more aggressive. It's easier to get cheats on a PC. What would be better is offering a platform and input option.

My issue isn't with kbm, it's with PC. I don't want to play with pc/controller either if I can help it.

@pithyrumble Xbox preferred hasn't existed since week one though. So you played all that time before it was introduced, and still didn't see a cheater.

We can't just be making up non-existant reasons to try and backup arguments. I would also refer you to my earlier post, where I said this "But this is besides the point, we all know any person online can be rude/loud/toxic etc, irrespective of the platform they are using. I don't want this to turn into "they are worse than us" situation as it will be locked."

It seems to me, that those who are against this, have no valid reason other than "they are worse than us". I've provided proof that this isn't the case.

I've provided valid reasons and arguments which help everyone, including existing Xbox players, which is the platform I mainly play on.

@maidenofarkham

Steam version wasn't either.

Not everyone has the new Xbox and even if you did it would not take long for a pc to surpass it.

I vote to keep things the way they are.

It's not just SSDs, PCs have access to graphics settings. I've seen streamers reduce their water settings just so they can spot players easier. You can't do that on console.

The crossplay issues between a controller player and a KB+M player are pretty substantial in accessibility and ease of skill.

There are very few controller players that are remotely (heh) fantastic on crossplay server. KB+M players make PvP not fun for those relaxing on controller that are limited to the many button binds built into the controller.

Input-based servers sound like a fine solution so PC players on controller can play with other controller players, but at the same time, I just don't see that making enough sense to happen, especially since input methods, while shared, can be deactivated/reactivated at any time, and you can't really just turn off a keyboard - speaking as a current gaming laptop user, - that would be a disastrous approach just for parity over an input method.

The controller players ultimately have no better choice but to play on controller on their Xbox systems, and being outskilled endlessly by PC players with CS:GO and Fortnite (PC) experience is just not fun for a crossplay game, I would be against it, but this is a Microsoft game that was better meant to be played on an Xbox controller, not a PC's keyboard.

No offence, but that seems to be quite a 'you' problem though.

None taken.

There is overwhelming evidence to prove this isn't the case, so renders your point moot.

Overwhelming evidence? I do say, I would love to see this yet I have been given no such thing.
Aww how rude to moot my own personal opinion.

And being a 'girl gamer' on these games, I know better than most the kind of messages that are sent, as I'm on the receiving end of them!

Age old complaint that today it non relevant. I know a group of fine female gamers who get these messages, send them back and talk bigger smack than your average "male gamer" It no longer one sided. So don't use this argument.

we all know any person online can be rude/loud/toxic etc, irrespective of the platform they are using.

True, but everyone can agree. Majority of the toxic players who come to these forums to talk about being sunk, toxic encounters with others or want pve servers are all...pc players.

Ever since they released "prefer xbox", My sailing days have been more enjoyable. I read people always running into players who do these horrible things, yet I never can. Why is that? But once I switch over to the "Pc" side, I found I can't do anything I use too. Maybe its luck? Time of day? Who knows.

But from my own personal experience, using Xbox preferred choice has been a great deal for me and many others here.
Combat isn't the issue, input server selection wont benefit anyone.
Frankly, I'm more curious...why not just idk...ask for both? Pc servers-Xbox servers & Input

Make everyone happy.

From my experience playing COD on my 360 back in the day, and playing Overwatch on the current gen of Xbox, Xbox players can be just as loud/toxic as any other group

haha..But this be SoT and 2022, so old days vs New day have evolved, dont compare.

@unfadingshimmy No it wasn't, it was added due to the upcoming addition of Arena, so that Xbox players could have a better experience vs other controller users. As clearly, if we were in Arena with k/m players, Arena would have been extremely annoying to try and play.

"Recent quotes from Craig Duncan (Studio Head):

"We aren’t removing crossplay; we are adding an option for console players using controller to opt out of crossplay if they choose. We expect most players, especially in Adventure, to still play using crossplay, but this is important option to add with The Arena coming""

And for further proof, listen to Joe Neate describe the reason at 1:05 in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsHTmzKUq2Q. Same thing. So that controller players would have a fairer experience.

Yet with the current setup, it's only fair for us Xbox players with controller, not for other players on other platforms who also use controller.

My proposed suggestion, to have locked input-based servers, solves this and is fair for everyone, irrespective of where you play.

And Microsoft already have locked input-based servers for Halo Infinite, so it's not a stretch to suggest they could do this for SoT.

@burnbacon said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

Overwhelming evidence? I do say, I would love to see this yet I have been given no such thing.
Aww how rude to moot my own personal opinion.

You seem to suggest Xbox players are not toxic, I provided evidence they can be. Even on this thread, there was a toxic Xbox player telling me to "suck it up buttercup". I wasn't mooting your opinion, but your claim.

@burnbacon said

haha..But this be SoT and 2022, so old days vs New day have evolved, dont compare.

Except, as I said, I play Overwatch on my Xbox to this day, and still see toxic messages on Xbox.

@burnbacon said

Make everyone happy.

That's what my suggestion is aimed to do. Everyone who uses controller can be happy knowing they are on a level playing field. Currently, that's not the case.

@wdw1011971 said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

Not everyone has the new Xbox and even if you did it would not take long for a pc to surpass it.

I can use the same argument in return. Not everyone has a top spec PC....so...yeah. Not really sure what this proves or adds to the argument.

@thornbush42 said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

Why my experiences were different is another topic up for debate, but this is the reason I choose one over the other - not just for control input reasons, but for a better matchmaking and gameplay experience in general. I played on PC for a full year, so I feel my experience isn't an outlier.

I've played on Xbox since day one on crossplay servers with my crewmate. We are not a fan of PvP and never go looking for it, sometimes we try to defend ourselves, but mostly we run and turn in our loot. Yet in our experience, despite thousands of hours between us, we've seen no players we suspected of cheating/hacking and hardly ever encounter PvP. We play around twice a week for up to five hours each session, most weeks, no PvP at all.

We're based on EU servers, using crossplay, which includes Russian players. No offensive to our fellow friendly Russians, but it's pretty common knowledge (and easily searchable online) that Russian players are a big driver of cheats/hacks in games. Yet, we don't see this overwhelming PvP nor cheating/hacking.

@burnbacon said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

Ever since they released "prefer xbox", My sailing days have been more enjoyable. I read people always running into players who do these horrible things, yet I never can. Why is that? But once I switch over to the "Pc" side, I found I can't do anything I use too. Maybe its luck? Time of day? Who knows.

My sailing days on the crossplay servers are also generally peaceful. I've played on full crossplay servers since day one with my crewmate. My stats show 591 ships sunk, which includes skeleton ships. For the PL commendation to sink skeleton ships, I'm on around 400. So less than 200 PvP sinks in around 2000 hours of gameplay on crossplay servers. 10%. Not exactly an excessive number and means 90% PvE.

@burnbacon said in Removal of 'Xbox preferred' servers:

True, but everyone can agree. Majority of the toxic players who come to these forums to talk about being sunk, toxic encounters with others or want pve servers are all...pc players.

And how many of these reports are actually true representations of what happened? Anyone can easily type out their experience (whether it's true or not), it doesn't really add any weight to the argument against input-based servers though, because it's just that, an experience/opinion, which anyone could make up if they wanted to. I could make a new post that says there's a toxic pirate called BurnBacon who keeps attacking me whenever I login. No-one knows if that's true or not without evidence 🤣🤣. Just because someone writes something on the internet, doesn't make it true.

As I just said, my experience sounds pretty similar to yours, peaceful and mainly PvE, yet I'm on crossplay servers in the EU since day one. So we've just cancelled out each others argument.

The actual facts are, controller players on other platforms are disadvantaged due to the current setup when it comes to PvP (especially pirate on pirate combat). Despite playing on Xbox myself, I suggest we change this and have fully locked, input-based servers. This way, there is zero chance of encountering a m/k player, whereas with the current setup, it's only a 'preferred' opt-out.

I see a lot of people trying to argue against this suggestion by bringing in the claims of "rampant cheating" or "PC cheats".

Let's take this forum, the SoT Reddit page and the SoT Facebook page as examples. What do we have, thousands of users across those three platforms? How many daily posts of cheating do we see? Five? Ten if we exaggerate the number?

So ten reports, from thousands of users. That's a tiny percentage. If this was such a problem, don't you think the reports would be constant and in much larger numbers? Or does evidence not fit with the narrative?